SOFT WHEEL: an information system for optimizing rice production

Abstract

We propose an information system called Soft Wheel aiming at helping rice farmers to make the right decisions regarding rice farming especially planting and harvesting. To recommend an action the system takes into account critical factors such as the rice variety used and the method of farming adopted. Although inspired by farming practices in central Thailand, Soft Wheel is designed as a generic tool that can be adapted to other regions in Thailand or elsewhere around the world with minimal change. Moreover, Soft Wheel is easy to integrate with other systems related to rice farming (such as pest management or soil management) in order to increase rice productivity with cost and risk reduction.