A new GNSS RTK station to improve the geopositioning of precision agriculture equipment used in the Colombian sugarcane agroindustry went into operation on March 5, 2025.
The new station is located on the campus of the Bioversity and CIAT Alliance in Palmira and is multipurpose, which will allow the sector not only to have the technology to correct real-time space-time signals from the planet to facilitate mechanical cultivation tasks, but also to connect to networks such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and the Automated Meteorological Network (RMA) that contribute to more efficient and sustainable processes for the production of sugar, bioethanol and energy. The new station was financed by the Mayagüez Sugar Mill and the Manuelita Sugar Mill, with support from Cenicaña.
With this new station, the GNSS RTK Network has 18 stations located in the Cauca River Valley, of which 10 are bases and 8 are repeaters. Initially, the station will operate as a repeater of the “La Rita” station. Once the ongoing sector studies are completed, it will be transformed into a GNSS base station.
GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) is a system of satellites in space that helps to know the position on the planet and its operation is similar to the GPS present in mobile devices (cell phones).
Network Real time kinematic (RTK) is a real-time GNSS signal correction service for precise positioning of tractors, agricultural machinery, vehicles, and/or any GNSS receiver, with an error level of less than 2.5 cm, which operates through a network of antennas.
The use of a single GNSS receiver allows operations to be carried out with the same reference regardless of the brand of the equipment or the type of work during the different stages of the crop.
Strengthening the RMA
In the last year, 7 new meteorological stations have come into operation. In addition, last February, the El Guayabo station began operating, located in the municipality of Bugalagrande, towards the western mountain range.
This station was funded by the Colombia Agroalimentaria Sostenible project and is distinguished by being the only one with a 40-meter-high tower, which will contribute to strengthening the IoT network in the area.
The El Guayabo station joins other important stations in the project, such as the Belén de Umbría and Ansermanuevo stations in the Risaralda foothills area, as well as Puente Rojo and Piedechinche, located in the foothills area of the central mountain range.
New RTK station, located on the Bioversity-CIAT Alliance campus.
Attending the inauguration of the new station on the Bioversity and CIAT Alliance campus.
