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Farmers want a reliable solution that will reduce their expenses and give them peace of mind. But they don’t trust technology, and they doubt that your drip irrigation company can solve their challenges. How can they be sure that irrigation sensors, apps, and Wi-Fi won’t fail them?

When will they need to visit their orchard to ensure every plant has had enough water? How much money will they need to spend on gas to get there so often? Do they need to hire people to do it for them?

It’s not an easy task, but it’s not impossible either. We’ll give you five ideas on how you can help a farmer understand the way your system works, why they can rely on it, and how much it can change their life.

Farmers hesitate to adopt new technologies–their main concerns include ROI, misconceptions about technology, and lack of support.

Farmers Don’t Need Convincing. They need trust.

When we want to buy a new device, we don’t go to a store and buy the first item we see. It takes research, comparisons, and trials before we decide to trust a brand and spend our hard-earned money on a gadget. 

We also need support on the way–someone we can call to remove any doubts or help us set up and get going with our new “toy.”

See where we’re going with this?

You can expect farmers to be hesitant when adopting new technology, such as precision farming and AI in agriculture. 

All technological devices can break down. 

What if that device can’t adapt to the needs of the plant they grow? 

What if it simply doesn’t turn on when necessary?

Fear affects many of a farmer’s decisions. Helping them overcome this fear is the first step toward convincing them to adopt new technology.

Help the Farmer Overcome Their Fears

Farmers make a living out of their land. They pour their blood, sweat, and tears into their land. They can’t afford additional expenses, and that’s why they want to trust the product they’ll invest in.

Read more: How To Grow Your Drip Irrigation Company and Gain Farmers’ Trust

But agriculture depends not only on human effort. There are many external factors we can’t control: heavy rainfall, unexpected frost, cold weather, etc. And what about labor shortage and inadequate pricing that doesn’t bring the farmers enough ROI? 

With this in mind, you can understand why farmers are afraid mistakes will happen if they’re not in their orchards to oversee everything on their own.

To address the lack of trust, it’s crucial to create a space for the farmer to express their concerns. They may have faced other companies trying to sell them a similar product in the past, but they weren’t convinced because they felt they were being sold to.

On the other hand, you can:

• Talk to them face to face and encourage them to ask as many questions as necessary
• Go through the worst-case scenarios with them and present possible solutions
• Walk them through how your precision irrigation system works and help them understand every step

People are naturally distrustful of things they don’t know about. The more a farmer learns about your product, the likelier they’ll be to give it a chance.

Emphasize the Benefits of Technology for Farming

Whatever you sell, the main question from your customer is: “What’s in it for me?”

It’s essential to emphasize the benefits of precision farming a farmer may experience to help them understand what good your irrigation and fertilization system can bring.

• They’ll save money because they won’t need to hire workers to visit their orchards and make sure everything’s in place.
• They’ll save on fuel, as well, because they’ll skip driving to the property too often.
• They’ll save time because they won’t need to drive back and forth every weekend (or every two or three days) to oversee the land in person, and they can invest that time into developing their product and growing their business.

• They will save water as the system works to ensure enough water for each plant and every stage of its growth without wasting resources.
• They will track smart irrigation in real-time, as if they were at the orchard at all times, thanks to app alerts and notifications.
• They’ll be sure irrigation and fertilization are working optimally and react promptly if something is wrong before there are consequences that can’t be repaired.

Show, Don’t Tell – Farmers Need To See Tech In Action

You can show genuine care by visiting the farmer in their orchard. By looking at the property, you can answer more specific questions the farmer may have and show precisely how your product would function if installed on their land.

Installing a smart irrigation system is a significant investment. You’re not selling headphones or laundry detergent, but a system that someone’s livelihood may depend on. The farmer needs to see that you’re not just another salesman, but someone genuinely interested in seeing them succeed.

Share a few success stories with them to bring your product closer and place it in a real-life setting. Tell them about Milos, who automated drip irrigation for his hazelnuts. 

That allowed him to stop driving 100 kilometers in one direction to push a button and check if all the plants received enough water.

As cost is typically the biggest obstacle for new customers, make sure you present the value of your system through these success stories. Mention actual data to corroborate your claims and illustrate how much your customers have saved by installing the automated irrigation system.

Sharing testimonials and case studies will also boost your credibility and give you a perfect introduction to a demo, where you’ll show them how the app works:

• Everything is a click away
• Sensors are measuring the situation 24/7
• They can see app history if they want to check soil humidity, pH, or temperature from a few hours ago

Patience and Genuine Care Open All Doors

Walk a mile through someone else’s orchard before you start “convincing” them to adopt new technology.

Understand their point of view, help them overcome their fears, and allow them to see how your system works in practice. Talking to farmers openly can go a long way, and once they see you as a partner rather than a salesman, they’ll be more likely to trust you and your product.

If you’re interested in making your offer even more valuable by partnering with Smart Watering, visit our website and reach out! We’ll schedule a meeting and see if we’re the right fit.