Design and Implementation of Computerized Farm Management Information System
CHAPTER ONE
Aim and Objectives of the Study
The aim of the research work is to develop an information system for farm management with the following objectives:
- To design a database application to capture and store farming information of different plants.
- To design a system that can be used to find farming information.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
This chapter focuses on the literature review, the contributions of other scholars pertaining to farm information system is discussed in this chapter.
Farming Information Management System Overview
The managerial tasks for arable farming are currently transforming into a new paradigm, requiring more attention on the interaction with the surroundings (Sigrimis et al., 1999). Among other things, this managerial change is caused by external entities (government, public) applying increasing pressure on the agricultural sector to change production from a focus on quantity to an alternate focus on quality and sustainability. This change has been enforced by provisions and restrictions in the use of production input (e.g. fertilizers, agrochemicals, etc.) and with subsidies as an incentive for the farmer to engage in a sustainable production. Ingeneral, this change of conditions for the managerial tasks on the farm has necessitated the introduction of more advanced activities monitoring systems and information systems to secure compliance with the restrictions and standards in terms of specific production guidelines, provisions for environmental compliance, management standards as prerequisites for subsidies, etc. Until now, the farmers most often have dealt with this increased managerial load by trying to handle a bulk of information in order to make precise decisions. The increasing use of computers and the dramatic increase in the use of the internet have to some degree improved and eased the task of handling and processing of acquired external information but still, the acquisition and analysis of available information have proven a demanding task, since information can be scattered over many sites and not necessarily interrelated and collaborative. Specific attempts to improve this situation has included the launch of“web-based collaborative information system developments, combining different information components (models, data, text, graphics) from different but collaborating sources. However, such systems still has to be enhanced in terms of collaboration with automated acquisition of operational farm data and integration with the overall FarmManagement Information Systems (FMIS). Information management plays an important role in how well farms are able to deal with increasing demands. In plant production tasks in the field, agricultural machinery now plays a key role in process acquisition and documentation of data. It is important that field tasks are carried out according to plan, and if sudden changes in plan are needed that these follow standards and regulations and help to improve the outcome. Determination of the technological solutions for the information management system has two dimensions; determining user needs and determining the technological infrastructure. Understanding of user needs in early development state and bringing the knowledge to designing process is important when constructing new systems so, that they will achieve user acceptance efficiently. The needs are taken into account when designing the new system architecture and choosing the technology to utilize in the system. Inventory of available technologies gives understanding of technological resources and possibilities that we have as building units of the new system. As a result of the creative designing process the specifications of the new system can be presented. Management information systems encompass abroad and complex topic.
CHAPTER THREE
SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
Introduction
In this chapter, the system analysis and design is discussed. It presents the research methodology, analysis of the existing and proposed system and the system design.
Research Methodology
System analysis is the examination of user information requirement within an organization so as to establish objectives and specification for the design of a system. System analysis is concerned with becoming aware of the problem, identifying the relevant and most decisional variables, analyzing and synthesizing the various factors and determining and optional or at least a satisfactory solution. The system analysis and design methodology used to analyze the system is Object Oriented Analysis and Design Methodology (OOADM). OOADM applies object orientation in the analysis and design as a software engineering approach that models a system as a group of interacting objects. Object oriented analysis and design is the analysis and design of a system from the object point of view.
CHAPTER FOUR
SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION AND DOCUMENTATION
Introduction
At this point, the system implementation and documentation is presented. It covers the system design diagram, choice of programming language, analysis of modules, programming environment, implementation and software testing.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
This chapter presents the summary, conclusion, constraints of the study and offers useful recommendations.
Constraints of the study
In carrying out the research work, some challenges were faced that limited the study such as:
Finance: The high cost of textbooks, internet browsing and transportation to different libraries to gather materials stood as a constraint to the research work.
Limited Materials: Few textbooks were found pertaining to the concept of farming information system.
Summary
Farm information system in the context of this research study aids the capturing and viewing of information concerning the planting requirements of different plants. This information will help farmers have accurate
knowledge of their job and also boost food production. The ministry of agriculture will also find the information provided by the system useful as it will disseminate it to as many farmers that seek information about any registered plant.
Conclusion
Farm information system is an important system for those that are actively engaged in the farming business. It will provide valuable information to enable farmers know the best conditions under which they should conduct farming activities. With a rich database of farm information records it will be easy to retrieve needed information that pertain to the plant or crop that is to be cultivated.
Recommendations
The following recommendations are offered based on the study conducted:
- More research should be encouraged in the area of farm information system.
- The ministry of agriculture should engage the services of ICT professionals in the development of farm information system
- The manual method of storing farming information should be complemented with a computerized system to aid easy retrieval of farming information.
REFERENCES
- Bryant, L. (1999): Computers on the Farm. Farmers’ usage patterns and impact on farm management, A report for the Rural Industries Research, RIRDC Publication, no. 99/13.
- Doye, D., Jolly, R., Hornbaker, R., Cross, T., King, R.P., Lazarus, W.F., Yeboah, A. (2000): Case Studies of Farmers’ Use of Information Systems, Review of agricultural economics RAE, Vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 566–585.
- Fountas, S., Blackmore, S., Ess, D., Hawkins, S., Blumhoff, G., Lowenberg-Deboer, J.,Sorensen, C.G. (2005): Farmer experience with precision agriculture in Denmark and the US Eastern Corn Belt, Precision Agriculture, Vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 121–141.
- Glauben, T., Tietje, H., Weiss, C. (2006): Agriculture on the move: Exploring regional differences in farm exit rates in Western Germany, Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft,Vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 103–118.
- Gerloff, D.C and R.W Holland (2006): Establishing and using a farm financial Record – keeping system: The University of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service U7 PB1540.
- McCown, R.L. (2002): Changing systems for supporting farmers’ decisions: problems, paradigms, and prospects, Agricultural Systems, Vol. 74 No. 1, pp. 179–220.
- Malcolm, B. (2004a): Farm Management analysis: a core discipline, simple sums, sophisticated thinking, AFBM Journal, Vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 45-56.
