The agricultural industry faces multiple challenges simultaneously. Digital technologies are contributing to addressing current issues and adding value to the business.
In a rapidly changing business landscape, agriculture faces a historic opportunity: through research, development, and innovation, the sector can advance towards a more efficient and sustainable future, leveraging the new possibilities offered by the digital ecosystem for an ancient human activity.
The sector faces multiple challenges: on one hand, it is anticipated that the increase in the population—estimated at 9.7 billion by 2050—will increase food demand; on the other hand, the industry faces the consequences of climate change, rising labor and raw material costs, and water scarcity.
In this context, Spain approved its fourth PERTE (Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation of the Spanish economy) earlier this year with a focus on the agri-food industry. The second of the three action pillars of the PERTE will allocate 454.35 million euros for the digital adaptation of value chain actors and will feature 10 action pillars. For promoting R&D in this industry, 148.56 million euros and five action pillars are planned.
The fact is that digital technologies are helping the agricultural sector successfully navigate current major issues.
On one hand, if the goal is to increase the sector’s resilience, Big Data can be used to extract data on climate changes, consumer demand, inventory levels to balance supply and demand in the agricultural supply chain. Processing and visualizing these data represents valuable assistance, allowing for more efficient crop management and reducing the application of agricultural products.
On the other hand, processing historical harvest data stored in the cloud can be analyzed to enable optimal future decision-making. Furthermore, cloud solutions can provide substantial processing power to businesses for using agricultural management systems and sharing data throughout the value chain.
The use of satellite imagery (#computervision) is also highly useful, as it provides information about physical phenomena occurring on the Earth’s surface that directly affect production. Transforming satellite images into specific indices and data again facilitates specialists’ work for decision-making.
Secondly, increasing agricultural efficiency is also an urgent industry need considering that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed sector weaknesses such as supply shortages, mainly due to the lack of supply chain resilience.
In this regard, IoT technologies are very useful, for instance, in irrigation: systems like SDI (subsurface drip irrigation) can detect moisture and supply the required water directly to crop roots. These systems significantly increase process efficiency and reduce water consumption.
IoT is also useful for livestock management: sensors can be used to monitor temperature and humidity levels on the farm to provide information that helps maintain the health of these animals. Additionally, there are devices that can scan food and send nutritional reports directly to farmers’ mobile devices.
As for autonomous vehicles and smart agricultural robots, they are used for efficient harvesting. Automation in agriculture can lead to a significant reduction in waste, labor costs, and can increase operational speed.
Drones are another technology with great advantages for field monitoring: drones are a more economical alternative to aerial farm analysis with helicopters. They provide efficient analysis to farmers regarding field damage and soil conditions, leading to optimal decision-making at a reduced cost.
It is worth highlighting the contribution of digital technologies to the sustainability of agriculture, given that the sector remains one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions.
Again, IoT-enabled sensors can accurately monitor harmful gases produced on the farm and provide advanced analyses to generate reports and information on carbon emissions.
Additionally, telemetry uses GPS to provide precise information on asset management and use, including fuel use, upcoming maintenance, and downtime.
Blockchain also offers alternatives: it provides unaltered information about ethical practices and carbon emissions throughout the supply chain, allowing for transparency and trust.
Agribusiness is undergoing a transformation, and producers who adopt technologies will have market advantages. In this sense, technology has proven to be a great ally for the sector, though transforming such an ancient and artisanal industry involves a profound cultural shift: from agricultural business owners to field owners, workers, and producers.
By Julio Cesar Blanco – March 9, 2023
