Diagnosis about the perspectives of precision applications of coffee growing technologies in municipalities of Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world and precision agriculture (PA) is essential for the efficient management of crops. However, one of the challenges is finding the best way to do it. In this sense, we sought to present in this article a diagnosis on the perspectives of Precision Agriculture technologies applicability in the production of coffee (or Precision Coffee Growing) in some municipalities in Bahia, for greater efficiency, economic and environmental sustainability. To achieve this objective, a virtual document was sent to coffee growers in the state of Bahia. The questionnaire was sent by email in 2021 and the WhatsApp application, reaching 457 producers, 34 of whom, from all productive regions of Bahia, responded. The rate of return was 7.4%, within the expected by the use of the application. Considering the return of 34 answered questionnaires, a margin of error of 14% was obtained at a reliability level of 90%. It was found that 59.3% of the respondents have a high prospect of using PA in coffee growing, 26.6% have a medium perspective and 11.1%, a low perspective. The research shows that 67.6% do not use PA in the fields and that 51.7% consider the lack of training as a major obstacle to the use of PA and other digital technologies. Thus, the conclusion is reached that there is a promising scenario in Bahia state for the application of PA in coffee growing, if there is training for the development of techniques in farming.