The Connectivity Revolution Transforming Agriculture
The agriculture industry has radically transformed over the past 50 years, driven by advancements in machinery, seed, irrigation, and fertilizers that have expanded the scale, speed, and productivity of farm operations. However, the industry now stands at the cusp of yet another revolution, one centered around data and connectivity.
Artificial intelligence, analytics, connected sensors, and other emerging technologies hold the potential to further increase crop yields, improve the efficiency of water and other inputs, and build sustainability and resilience across cultivation and animal husbandry. As the world experiences a quantum leap in the speed and scope of digital connections, industries like agriculture are gaining powerful new tools to boost productivity and spur innovation.
Over the next decade, the expansion of fiber, low-power wide-area networks (LPWAN), Wi-Fi 6, low- to mid-band 5G, and other connectivity technologies will unlock transformative capabilities for the agriculture sector. Near-global coverage will allow the expansion of use cases even to remote areas, enabling constant connectivity. Massive deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) applications will be enabled as new technologies allow for very high device densities. And mission-critical services will take advantage of ultralow-latency, high-reliability, and high-security connections.
Without a solid connectivity infrastructure, however, these advancements will remain out of reach. If connectivity is implemented successfully in agriculture, our research indicates the industry could add over $500 billion in additional value to the global gross domestic product by 2030 – a 7-9% improvement from its expected total. This would alleviate much of the present pressure on farmers as they confront growing demand for food amid constraints on land, water, and other critical inputs.
Overcoming Obstacles to Unlock Agricultural Potential
Demand for food is growing at the same time the supply side faces significant constraints. The world’s population is on track to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, requiring a 70% increase in calories available for consumption. Yet the cost of the inputs needed to generate those calories is rising, with the water supply projected to fall 40% short of meeting global needs by 2030. About one-quarter of arable land is also degraded and needs restoration, and environmental pressures like climate change are only intensifying.
To address these challenges, agriculture must embrace a digital transformation enabled by connectivity. Yet the industry remains less digitized compared to many other sectors globally. Past advances were mostly mechanical and genetic, but now much more sophisticated digital tools are needed to deliver the next productivity leap.
The industry confronts two significant obstacles. First, some regions lack the necessary connectivity infrastructure, making development of it a paramount concern. In regions that already have a connectivity backbone, farms have been slow to deploy digital tools because their full impact has not been sufficiently proven.
The COVID-19 crisis has further intensified other challenges agriculture faces in areas like efficiency, resilience, digitization, agility, and sustainability. Lower sales volumes have pressured margins, while gridlocked global supply chains have highlighted the importance of more local providers and resilient operations. Significant environmental benefits from decreased travel and consumption during the crisis are also driving a desire for more local, sustainable sourcing, requiring producers to adjust long-standing practices.
In short, the crisis has accentuated the necessity of more widespread digitization and automation, while suddenly shifting demand and sales channels have underscored the value of agile adaptation. Overcoming these obstacles and unlocking the full potential of connectivity is essential for the future of agriculture.
Realizing the Promise of Connected Agriculture
In recent years, many farmers have begun utilizing data about essential variables like soil, crops, livestock, and weather. Yet few have access to advanced digital tools that can transform these data into valuable, actionable insights. In less-developed regions, almost all farmwork is still manual, involving little or no advanced connectivity or equipment.
Even in technology-forward markets like the United States, only about one-quarter of farms currently use any connected equipment or devices to access data. And the existing connectivity solutions are often outdated, running on 2G or 3G networks that are being dismantled, or on very low-band IoT networks that are complicated and expensive to set up. These networks can support only a limited number of devices and lack the performance for real-time data transfer, which is essential for more advanced use cases.
However, the cost of IoT hardware is dropping rapidly, and several providers now offer solutions at a price point that can deliver a return in the first year of investment. These simpler tools, while not enough to unlock all the potential value, are an important first step.
To attain the full transformative impact, the agriculture industry must make greater use of digital applications and analytics, which will require the low latency, high bandwidth, high resiliency, and device density offered by advanced and frontier connectivity technologies like LPWAN, 5G, and low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites.
The good news is that connectivity coverage is increasing almost everywhere. By 2030, we expect advanced connectivity infrastructure of some type to cover roughly 80% of the world’s rural areas, with the notable exception of Africa, where only about a quarter of the land will be covered. The key, then, is to develop more effective digital tools and foster widespread adoption across the industry.
Five High-Impact Use Cases Unlocked by Connectivity
As connectivity increasingly takes hold, five core use cases stand out as the most promising avenues to unlock new value and capabilities in agriculture:
Crop Monitoring
Integrating weather data, irrigation, nutrients, and other systems could improve resource use and boost yields by more accurately identifying and predicting deficiencies. Sensors deployed to monitor soil conditions could communicate via LPWAN, directing sprinklers to adjust water and nutrient application. Imagery from remote sensors could also help farmers make more informed, timely decisions and get early warnings of issues like disease or pests. This could generate $130-175 billion in value by 2030.
Livestock Monitoring
Chips and body sensors that measure temperature, pulse, and other indicators could detect animal illnesses early, preventing herd infection and improving food quality. Environmental sensors could also trigger automatic adjustments in barn ventilation or heating to lessen distress and improve living conditions. Better monitoring of animal health and growth could produce $70-90 billion in value.
Building and Equipment Management
Sensors to monitor levels of silos and warehouses could trigger automated reordering, reducing inventory costs. Computer vision and predictive maintenance systems could also decrease repair costs and extend the life of machinery and equipment, generating $40-60 billion in savings.
Drone Farming
The next generation of drones can quickly and efficiently survey crops and herds over vast areas. They could also use computer vision to analyze field conditions and deliver precise interventions like fertilizers and pesticides where most needed. By reducing costs and improving yields, drone usage could generate $85-115 billion in value.
Autonomous Farming Machinery
Precise GPS controls paired with computer vision and sensors could advance the deployment of smart and autonomous farm equipment. Farmers could operate a variety of machines simultaneously without human intervention, freeing up time and resources. Increasing the autonomy of machinery through better connectivity could create $50-60 billion in additional value.
Together, these five use cases have the potential to add over $500 billion to global GDP by 2030 – a critical 7-9% productivity improvement for the agriculture industry. However, the extent to which this value is captured will rely largely on the expansion of advanced connectivity coverage, especially in underserved regions.
Building the Connectivity Ecosystem for Agriculture’s Future
As the agriculture industry digitizes, new pockets of value will likely be unlocked, creating opportunities for both traditional and emerging players. Input providers, equipment manufacturers, and agritech companies are already leveraging their close ties with farmers and domain expertise to develop innovative data-driven solutions.
At the same time, telcos and LPWAN providers have an essential role to play in installing the connectivity infrastructure that enables these digital applications on farms. They could partner with public authorities and other agriculture players to develop public or private rural networks, capturing some of the new value in the process.
Agritech companies, in particular, are poised to offer farmers subscription-based products and pricing models that reduce the perceived risk of adopting new technologies. These innovative solutions and business approaches could accelerate the pace of adoption, especially among smaller farms.
However, much of this cannot happen until many rural areas gain access to high-speed broadband networks. Achieving the necessary investment will likely require a collaborative effort across the public and private sectors:
- Telcos and network providers must build the connectivity backbone, potentially leveraging government subsidies or incentives to improve the economics.
- Agriculture players should forge strategic partnerships to co-develop solutions and share data, rather than trying to go it alone.
- Public sector entities can improve the business case for network deployment, particularly in underserved rural areas.
Eventual deployment of LEO satellite constellations could also have a transformative impact, providing affordable, high-speed connectivity to even the most remote farming communities.
Regardless of which group drives the necessary investment, one thing is clear: the success and sustainability of the agriculture industry in the decades ahead will depend on this technology transformation. Those who embrace the connectivity revolution at the outset will be best positioned to thrive in agriculture’s data-driven future.
To learn more about how IT Fix can help your organization harness the power of connectivity and innovation, visit our website today.
