OSIKANI Farm Solution: Optimized Solar-Integrated Knowledgeable Agricultural Node for Innovation A Low-Cost, Remote-Controlled Smart Farming System for Sustainable Small-scale Farming

This work presents the OSIKANI Farm Solution, developed to address persistent challenges in small-scale farming such as labor shortages, unreliable power supply, and inefficient use of resources. The system was built from locally sourced materials and incorporated a 60 W solar panel, rechargeable lithium battery, high torque DC motors, sensors, relays, and a GSM module for mobile alerts. A dedicated mobile application enabled both remote and manual control. Automated functions included irrigation, weeding, and chemical application, triggered by real-time sensor data. Results obtained from the performance testing conducted for six hours, three hours on solar power and three hours on battery. The system achieved 90% efficiency under solar power and 75% on battery. Functional success rates included 92% for remote weeding, 88% for automated irrigation, 94% for data transmission, and 95% for the security alarm. The results indicates that, the OSIKANI Farm Solution reduces manual labor, optimizes water and energy usage, and enhances productivity. Its reliance on renewable energy and low-cost components makes it a sustainable and scalable precision farming tool for smallholder farmers in both rural and urban settings. Keywords: Solar-powered farming, automated irrigation, GSM farm alerts, precision agriculture, small-scale farming technology, renewable energy agriculture.