Has Precision Agriculture Reached its Full Potential?

My short answer is no.  CSA News for February leads off with an article on Precision Agriculture in a Developing World.  The article says that precision agriculture is a relatively new idea, but I would contend that the idea is as old as farming.  How the idea has been implemented over the years is what has changed.  In the days when a farmer had 40 acres and a mule, he could give problem areas individual attention.  With modern farms we rely on sophisticated technology to take the right inputs to the right place at the right time.  It seems we started with the idea of putting fertilizer only where it is needed.  More sophisticated technology has made steering guidance seem essential.  Yield monitors give us the opportunity to look at the places in the field where we need to make some management adjustments.  Sprayer boom and row shutoffs help us save money on inputs like seed and crop protectants.

All of the sophisticated high tech tools will continue to grow, but they are kind of expensive even in our country for a small acreage grower to use.  Does this mean small growers do not need high tech?  Not at all.  No matter what the scale, precision for the most part is how to identify problem areas, how to quantify the extent of the problem, and how to get back to that area and treat it.  So what kind of equipment might be available use in developing countries or on small farms?  The above article holds hope for using cell phone technology.  Certainly another possibility is inexpensive GIS equipment such as is produced for hunting, fishing, and hiking.  Can every small or farmer or subsistence farmer afford his or her own equipment even then?  Probably not, but hopefully resources could be pooled or in the case of developing countries, some of the equipment could be share through some sort of governmental or charitable program?  It seems to me that in addition to having the equipment, training in use and interpretation is just as important.  I am planning to test my Droid2 this summer to see if I can use it as a soil sampling tool.  So far it looks like I will need to add a bluetooth receiver for it to have a chance to work. I think the potential is not limited to brands.  Apple products should have the same potential.