Page 566 - 5G Basics - Core Network Aspects

1 Applications

7 Reference model of Smart Farming based on networks

7.1 Reference architecture

To apply Smart Farming based on networks shown in Figure 1, a reference architecture showing the service
roles, consumers, distributors, agricultural producers and service providers, is presented in Figure 2.
Service roles shown in Figure 2 (consumers, agricultural producers, distributors, service providers and
network providers) play major roles in Smart Farming based on networks as follows:
– Consumer: the service role that ultimately purchases the final agricultural product from distributors,
agricultural producers or direct sellers and also provides a farm product traceability service to the
service provider.
– Agricultural producer: the service role that actually produces agricultural products to be supplied to
distributors or consumers that is provided with Smart Farming services, such as a farm product
protection service or remote farm management service.
– Distributor: the service role that distributes agricultural products supplied from agricultural
producers through the distribution network and provides a farm production regulation service,
which is required to identify and maintain the break-even point.

– Service provider: the service role that provides the requested Smart Farming services to requesting
users such as consumers, agricultural producers and distributors.
– Network provider: the service role that provides the infrastructure that conveys information related
to Smart Farming based on networks and interconnects the other service roles.

These service roles play their part according to the stage at which they are positioned, i.e., pre-production
stage, production stage or post-production stage. In the pre-production and production stages, the
agricultural producer can be advised on what to produce, when to produce, what to seed and other matters
by the service provider via plan/production consulting. Distributors and consumers can also be advised by
the service provider about market demands, food traceability and prices. The network provider can provide
the telecommunication network to support information transfer between the various service roles.

Figure 2 – Reference model of Smart Farming based on networks

556