User-Technological Index of Precision Agriculture (UTIPA) is a comprehensive system based on mutual sharing of opinions and experience within community of people related to precision agriculture - farmers, technology suppliers and researchers. The main goal of UTIPA is to present the calculated index level for particular technology (method) for precision agriculture and compare it to other technology. The index is based on evaluation of technological advancement and usefulness for agricultural practice. The paper discusses methods for collecting data for questionnaire in general. It elaborates on the technical solution developed for data collection for UTIPA. The system allows data collection as well as visualizations available to all participants.
The concept of precision agriculture is in the interest of the professional public since
the 1990s. It generalizes the effort to identify solutions, tools and processes that can
improve productivity and profitability while protecting the environment
A key factor in deciding whether a particular technology should be incorporated to practice is the understanding of agricultural production processes as well as the technology itself. Workers in agriculture management must choose among various options for applied research and technology and in this decision-making process there is a necessity to merge previous experience of the staff and the introduction of new technologies and procedures (Kumhala, F; Kroulik, M; Masek, J; Prosek 2003). It is vital to establish effective decision models and support resources for that particular phase of the production process.
The data for evaluation is collected from farmers, technology suppliers,
researchers and general public. The optimal way to get the data is to run a survey.
Therefore, there is a need to spread questionnaires and get them back. Questionnaires
can be disseminated in two major forms - printed on paper or electronically via
Internet. As
The purpose of the User-Technological Index of Precision Agriculture (UTIPA) is to
propagate the knowledge of users, suppliers and researchers in the use of modern
technology in agriculture. It is primarily based on a five-point evaluation of selected
technologies (methods) of precision agriculture in terms of technological
advancement and applicability in agricultural practice. It evaluates technologies in
principle and does not reflect specific products, brands or manufacturers
The questionnaire for UTIPA is compiled from several general questions (email, country, background) and rating for each technology (1 – 5 for both evaluation criteria). Rating is based on individual knowledge and experience of the respondents. An important characteristic of the evaluated technology is also its unfamiliarity among the respondents. The web based version of the rating is shown in Figure 1.
Many surveys usually only spread a questionnaire and collect data. Results are delivered to the participants only occasionally. On the contrary, UTIPA works on the principle of "what data I provide is the type of data I gain access to". Therefore, each participant who filled the questionnaire has access to the results and can benefit from them.
The system of data collection for UTIPA works on a simple principle. Each participant fills email address, basic information and the ratings for selected technologies (approximately around 10, based on the questionnaire and the occasion). To validate the contribution a confirmation email is sent to the given address. Once the provided link is clicked, the data are verified and the participant can create a password. The user is automatically signed in and can immediately access all the collected data. The whole process is shown in Figure 2.
Department of Information Technologies runs a survey among Czech farmers
about their ICT equipment every two years since 2010. Questionnaires are primarily
spread over the Internet via emails. Aside from that, some of questionnaires are sent
in paper form via classic post. The return rate of the printed questionnaires is still on
a significantly higher level. In addition, the level of ICT equipment among Czech
farmers is lower than a national average. The level of a knowledge is significantly
low in long-term as well
User-technological Index of Precision Agriculture is a complex system that includes a methodology for collection, processing and presentation of data and software, which is available via a web interface. The software is optimized for mobile devices. It will be also possible to use native applications for iOS and Android operating systems (currently under development).
The data collection system for the questionnaire was maximally simplified. While user is filling the form all data are continuously saved via AJAX. This approach allows having the data even when some participants do not finish the questionnaire for whatever reason. The user can even continue filling it in later.
After successful email confirmation all participants have access to the collected data. There are currently two main views. Each view then can visualize the data in a different way. 3.1
This view contains three visualizations. The main one shows the results for each
technology in a chart as shown in Figure 3. The X-axis indicates applicability in
agricultural practice and the Y-axis indicates technological advancement. Each point
in the chart represents certain technology. When the number is hovered over,
additional information is displayed. It contains name of the technology, exact values
for both evaluation criteria, and the computed UTIPA index. The index consists of
two parts, the numeric value and an additional character. The numeric part of the
index has values between 0 and 1 and reflects the degree of usefulness and
sophistication of the technology. The numeric value can be supplemented with the
character, which can be either “u” or “t” and expresses better ranking in favor of
applicability in practice or technological advancement - the location in the chart in
Figure 3. The methodology for calculation of the index was published by
Participants of the survey have also an option to indicate the unfamiliarity with certain technology. It is an important characteristic for the results. The output is then a comparison of unfamiliarity of technologies.
Another view lists all the technologies with the calculated values for each technology. It shows the UTIPA index, both criteria value and technology annotation. If the user has not rated the technology, the rating option is shown. In the detail page of each technology, there is a heat map chart showing graphical presentation of scatter of all the ratings (Figure 4). Users have also the possibility to change their ratings when the technology evolves, opinion changes or their knowledge raises.
User-Technological Index of Precision Agriculture is a complex system for the international community of people related to precision agriculture, it is accessible to anyone who respects the rules of use. It works on the principle of "what data I provide is the type of data I gain access to".
The proposed system for collecting questionnaire data was designed primarily as a web application gathering data online. It is also simultaneously spread in a printed form. The data is continuously saved during the filling of the online form. In addition, the system provides access to the visualizations of collected data for all participants. Moreover, as the number of technologies increases it will be possible to rate them individually.
The UTIPA index benefits all the stakeholders. Farmers can find out whether a given technology is useful and has real importance. Suppliers need to know what their customers (farmers) want or expect, but also how they perceive their products. For academia it can be a source of data for science and research. The importance and significance of the index grows with the number of respondents.
Future research will focus on two main areas. Firstly, there will be analyzed the data from collecting surveys. The question is to determine the optimal way of spreading surveys of this type, where and why people stopped filling the form etc. Secondly, the visualization of the gained data will be enhanced. New types of displays and comparisons will be introduced.
UTIPA system is freely available as a web application at https://www.utipa.info/. Acknowledgments. The results and knowledge included herein have been obtained owing to support from the following institutional grants. Internal grant agency of the Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, grant no. 20171023, „User-Technological Index of Precision Agriculture “.