Overview / Usage

According to USAID, about 75 percent of Kenyans derive all or part of their livelihoods from the agricultural sector accounting for 18 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
However, only 20 percent of the country’s land is arable, and maximum yields have not been reached in these areas, leaving considerable potential for increases in productivity.
The country's population has increased significantly (growing from 11 million in 1970 to 39.5 million in 2011) and at the current rate of growth, it will be double in the next 27 years, reaching 81 million in 2039.
As a result of this rapid increase, land parcels in the areas of high agricultural potential are decreasing in size, affecting food production.
This is what inspired me to come up with a soil moisture sensor that will enable farmers to practice agriculture, conserving water and maximizing on productivity.

Methodology / Approach

A soil moisture sensor measures the amount of water in soil.
It consists of a two probes through which current pass through and measure the resistance value to measure moisture value.
When soil moisture content is high, there is less resistance and high conduction of electricity.
When soil moisture is low, there is high resistance hence less conduction of electricity.

The data fetched from the soil moisture sensor is sent to the cloud and can then be visualized to be able to measure water to be used for irrigation according to seasons and growth curves of plants.
This also helps determine plant growth in places where irrigation is practiced i.e. germination, plant growth and plant nutrition

Technologies Used

Technologies - Internet Of Things

Hardware:
The things Arduino Leonardo
Moisture sensor
Connecting cables
Cup of water

Arduino software

The things network

Repository

https://github.com/CynthiaKamau/IOT-Soil-Moisture-Sensor