Modern agriculture seeks to achieve economic, social and environmental sustainability. This requires agricultural practices focused on maximize productivity with minimal cost, manual labor and environmental impact. To meet this objective, one of the sector's challenges is to deal with the heterogeneity of croplands, which show differences in topography, soil characteristics, water availability, and plant health, even within small plots. These differences require specific management for each cropland in order to use the productive resources in a rational way.

Technological advancements in agriculture are allowing us to explain scientifically cropland variability and propose alternatives for localized management of agricultural crops with greater precision. However, sometimes the environmental aspects are not addressed properly by the agricultural sector and, therefore, part of society blames modern agriculture and associated technologies for environmental degradation. The resources needed to improve and increase productivity in agricultural systems, such as mineral fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, nematicides and insecticides, have been constantly pointed out as environmental contaminants. The rational use of these inputs, in order to apply them in the right amount, in the right place and at the time they are needed, still requires research to achieve optimal levels. Moreover, water resources management is of paramount importance for sustainable agriculture, requiring researches for developing methods and technologies that enable the rational use of water in agriculture through the application of precision irrigation systems and, consequently, reducing leachate in water bodies.

Precision agriculture considers exactly this scenario: the presence, distribution, and intensity of a specific factor that reduces crop yield must be identified and specifically managed. In this context, remote crop monitoring is particularly important in precision agriculture, since costs associated with exhaustive sampling or indiscriminate management of the whole cropland can be minimized by prior mapping of the variables decreasing productivity. Thus, the use of integrated geospatial data as tools of planning, control and analysis of agricultural data, enables the monitoring of spatial and temporal variations of factors that limit production.

The results of the interaction between Agriculture and Geospatial Information are instigating and promising. The exchange of knowledge and methods between areas will certainly contribute to advance the frontiers of science and technology, producing new knowledge and new professionals with a unique profile. Hence, the PPGAIG hosts strategic research and is a fruitful program for the emergence of new researchers and teachers for this strategic sector to the national economy.

History: 

The Postgraduate Program in Agriculture and Geospatial Information (PPGAIG) was recommended and accredited by the Brazilian Federal Foundation for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) in 2018. The PPGAIG connects researchers from Computer Science, Geosciences and Agrarian Sciences. The academic group emerged as a natural consequence of outstanding research through of the Scientific Initiation Program involving undergraduate student of Agronomy, Forest Engineering, Information Systems, Geology, and Surveying and Cartographic Engineering. Integrate research groups involved an interdisciplinary collaboration with potential for innovation in several areas of knowledge.

In general, the program proposes:

i. To develop researches with innovative technologies applied to agricultural systems;

ii. To exchange knowledge and methods between different areas, generating innovative subjects that allow the formation of professionals with a more integrated training;

iii. To provide the convergence of the different PPGAIG areas, especially to those not belonging to the same subjects, aiming to contribute to the advancement of the frontiers of the science and technology;

iv. To form high-level and unique human resources, with ability to act in teaching, research and extension.

Infrastructure: 

The PPGAIG has a wide network of facilities, with library and laboratories allocated in Monte Carmelo Campus:

Laboratory of Soil Science,

Laboratory of Microbiology and Phytopathology,

Laboratory of Water and Soil Engineering,

Laboratory of Entomology,

Laboratory of Plant Science,

Laboratory of Soil and Water Management and Conservation,

Laboratory of Seed Analysis and Genetic Resources,

Laboratory of Genetics and Biochemistry / Biotechnology,

Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry,

Laboratory of Topography and Geodesy,

Laboratory of Cartography and Geographic Information System,

Laboratory of Programming and Data Structure,

Laboratory of Digital Systems and Computer Architecture, and

Laboratory of Interface Human Computer and Mobile Computing