Agricultural development and food security still face various challenges, one of which is climate change. Over the past seven years, including this year, global temperatures have reached record highs due to the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Extremely high environmental temperatures in certain regions can affect plant growth, ultimately leading to decreased agricultural productivity. Therefore, an automated system is needed to enable timely irrigation control to support optimal plant growth. To realize this automation, a central control unit is required to manage the entire process operated by the system. This study aims to design a smart farming monitoring system based on an IoT camera (Cam IoT) capable of monitoring plant conditions in real-time and remotely. The system was designed using an Arduino Mega microcontroller, an ESP32-CAM as an image-capturing device, and a soil moisture sensor to detect the condition of the planting medium. The collected data is automatically transmitted through Telegram as a communication medium between the system and the user. The results show that the automatic watering pump activates only when the soil moisture sensor value indicates dry conditions (value > 750). Observations over five days revealed that the system accurately turned on and off according to the plant’s moisture needs, thus improving water use efficiency. The system successfully maintained the soil pH within the ideal range (6.0–7.0) for spinach growth. The integration of a motion sensor and servo demonstrated 100% success in detecting and responding to animal movements in the farming area. Out of 25 observations, 13 motion detections were recorded, all successfully responded to with servo movement at a 90° angle, indicating the system’s reliability in protecting crops. In conclusion, this Cam IoT-based monitoring system successfully performed its core functions, including soil moisture and pH monitoring, plant area visualization, and automatic animal deterrence. This demonstrates that IoT technology has strong potential to be applied in smart farming practices, particularly in improving efficiency, productivity, and crop security in the field.

Keywords: Smart Farming, IoT, ESP32 Camera, Moisture Sensor, Plant Monitoring