Smart agriculture is a farming method that uses information technology to manage, analyze, and identify variability on a farm to increase crop production while reducing human effort. Smart agriculture allows farmers to determine the exact quantity of nourishment crops require to improve production by accessing real-time data about weather, yields, and soil quality.
With smart agriculture systems, farmers may use advanced automation techniques to cut labor and materials costs. Smart farming approaches use sensors and monitoring equipment to help farmers make better decisions regarding water management, soil management, inventory control, and harvesting schedules.
Irrigation control, management of water resources, crop planting, and production monitoring are all examples of smart agriculture applications. The use of smart agriculture in yield monitoring will allow users to map and record agricultural output and humidity information in real-time, allowing them to assess how often the crop fared quickly.
Surging Adoption of Advanced Technologies and Internet of Things (IoT) in Agricultural Products to Drive the Smart Agriculture Market
Modern agricultural technologies, including data management software, GPS, yield mapping software (YMS), variable rate technology (VRT), and mapping software, help enhance profit growth and soil fertility while lowering farming costs and promoting sustainable agriculture. Growing business productivity through automated procedures and more great yield with lower farming costs are two important characteristics of smart agricultural technologies.
Smart agriculture techniques are intended to make agribusiness more profitable than ever before. As a result, business-minded farmers have begun to employ a variety of smart agricultural instruments to boost crop yields and profits. Thus, over the projected period, the global smart agriculture market will most likely be driven by business-oriented farmers' increasing adoption of new technology in farm products.
Farmers benefit from the expanding usage of IoT technology in agriculture by receiving real-time help through IoT applications. Traditional agriculture practices with IoT applications save time and money by reducing the time and money spent on farming resources such as land, energy, and water, allowing farmers to focus on providing high-quality food to their customers.
Farmers can respond to substantial changes in air efficiency, humidity, and weather thanks to the agricultural sector's extensive use of IoT technology. It uses various management tools and technologies, visualization, and data analytics to automate traditional farming procedures. By preserving energy and water resources through sophisticated, sustainable solutions, IoT technology in agriculture boosts farm output while cutting carbon emissions.
As a result, increased adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the agriculture sector is expected to fuel global market growth throughout the forecast period.
Agritech Startups to Create Growth Opportunities
Artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) in agriculture have increased significantly with the global pandemic. Agritech startups are bringing fresh perspectives to the table. They're using a combination of remote sensing, data analytics, IoT, and AI to provide farmers with quick solutions to their problems. These inventions aided in the establishment of technologies that allow growers to choose their marketplace and sell their commodities at higher rates within the COVID-19 limitations.
As per the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), India has around 450 Agritech companies, and the sector is growing at a rate of 25% per year. Farmers, particularly in countries like India, are held to high standards. Agricultural startups have created precision-based seeding systems. AI-based tools can help forecast weather trends and determine the optimal moment to plant the seed for more impressive results and less waste. The outbreak has provided a new chance for Agritech firms to grow and aid farmers with their problems.
The smart agricultural market was predicted to decline in 2020 due to the spread of COVID-19. The outbreak had a negative impact on the supply chain because some of the prominent participants in the smart agricultural business are located in the United States and China, and the outbreak the hardest hit these countries in the first half of 2020.
Major smart agricultural enterprises such as AKVA Group, The Climate Corporation, DeLaval, Ponsse, and John Deere discontinued their regular commercial activity in the first half of 2020. At the end of the second quarter of 2020 (June), companies were hit the worst when broad portions of North America and Europe were entirely shut down.
In the second half of 2020, the smart agricultural industry began to acquire traction due to new orders and contracts. The market was expected to recover in 2021 due to rising demand for equipment and automation products in various applications such as horticulture, smart greenhouses, precision forestry, precision livestock, and precision farming. As a result, demand for automation and the adoption of new technology in agriculture is expected to propel the smart agriculture market ahead.
For the global smart agriculture market, the post-pandemic period will be critical. Due to a shortage of trained farmers willing to apply sophisticated technology and the high initial cost of adoption, the market's growth is anticipated to be impeded. Factors such as the increased usage of new technologies such as AI and IoT, on the other hand, will likely continue to drive market expansion over the projection period.
North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, the Middle East, and Africa make up the market's five regions. North America and Europe are the two most important markets for smart agriculture. The most prominent smart agriculture market is expected to be North America. Over the projected period, increased government operations and regulations to boost the region's agriculture business will stimulate regional demand in North America.
Europe is expected to be the second-largest smart agriculture market, with an expected market value of USD 9,701 million by 2030. Regional demand is likely to be driven by expanding support from regional authorities in Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom and increased awareness among business-oriented farmers during the projection period.
The Asia-Pacific region is likely to occur as one of the fastest-growing regional markets. The growing need for aquaculture and livestock farm automation in this area is expected to fuel the expansion of the Asia-Pacific smart agriculture market. The South American market is likely to be driven by the rising investments and government support to adopt smart agriculture practices during the forecast period.