- Technology used to improve crop production
- Internet of Things a solution to growing population
- John Deere making the transition to precision farming
In 2014, the precision farming market was worth $2.81 billion globally, according to Stratistics MRC, and is forecasted to reach $6.43 billion by 2022. This represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.5%.
In 2015, the market was valued at $3.20 billion. According to MarketsandMarkets, the market will be valued at $7.87 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 13.5%.
Precision farming is the tech-driven information analysis of data to increase crop productivity.
Growth in the market will come from telematics technologies, improved cost efficiency and government interventions. The market will be challenged, however, by a lack of technical awareness among farmers and a high initial investment.
The growing demand for food also is leading to the adoption of precision farming techniques.
Adoption of the technology in Asia-Pacific is forecasted to grow by double digits. The region experiences high population growth and has large farmlands. The nations with the largest market share are Australia, China, India, and Japan.
A Practical Solution
The Internet of Things may provide a practical solution to the growing global population, one that’s expected to reach at least 11 billion by 2100, according to the United Nations.
Drones can be used to analyze soil and water conditions, sending the information back to farmers’ mobile devices. Sensors can be used to monitor livestock and machinery.
John Deere
Farm equipment manufacturer John Deere has entered the Internet of Things market. It’s technology the company’s customers are seeking.
The company’s SeedStar Mobile app allows farmers to conduct a row by row assessment and see which seedlings are growing correctly and which are not. The app can be used on a tablet attached to a John Deere machine.
“The idea that agriculture is now a tech industry is firmly established,” Roger Royse, a Silicon Valley attorney who works with ag tech startups, told Forbes. “The farming community knows they have to embrace this.”
Global Precision Farming Market
- In 2016, precision farming technologies totaled $3.3 billion and are expected to reach $5.9 billion in 2021, growing at CAGR of 12.4%.
- In 2016, the hardware segment totaled $2.1 billion and is expected to reach $3.6 billion by 2021, growing at a CAGR of 10.8%.
- In 2016, the software segment totaled $1.1 billion and is expected to reach $2.3 billion by 2021, growing at a CAGR of 15.2%.
- The most widely used application in precision farming is yield monitoring. A major application of yield monitoring is soil monitoring used to detect soil parameters needed for an efficient yield production.
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