Smart Farms Market Trends

Growth Drivers

•  Rising Demand for Food– The demand for food is increasing, owing to the rapidly growing population. As the world’s population continues to rise, the area of land available for agriculture is on the decline. For instance, according to the United Nations, the population around the world is estimated to reach 9.8 billion by 2050. Thus, the demand for food is estimated to grow at a rate of 2% every year. In previous years, smart farming methods have helped to increase food production without compromising quality standards.
• Increasing Adoption of Smartphones– The use of smartphones in agriculture helps to provide real-time information about crops and machinery to the user, regardless of the farmer's physical presence. Today, the smartphone has a wide range of sensors that plays an essential role in real-time information gathering on weather, crop conditions, and soil health information. This contributes to additional revenue growth in the smart agriculture market. USDA statistics indicate that in 2021, 50% of internet-connected farms used broadband connections, and 70% used cellular data plans to access the internet.
• Growing Automation of Commercial Greenhouses – The key factor driving demand during the forecast period is increasing automation of commercial greenhouses to obtain a higher yield and maintain optimum growing conditions. In 2022, for all the company's US-based greenhouses, Revol Greens, an American greenhouse lettuce farmer, selected Blue Radix, an independent Dutch expert in autonomous growth, 2022. To support Revol Green's everyday greenhouse operations, such as climate control, irrigation, and energy management, Blue Radix will provide artificial intelligence technologies and services.

Challenges

• Technical Risks– Compared to traditional farming, smart farming is a technology-intensive farming. Hence, high reliance on technology comes with a potentially serious downside for the agrarian, if there is a breakdown in the unit/sensor failure. For instance, if the smart irrigation sensors are not working, it is possible that the plants will either be under or overwatered. As a result, food safety is endangered in such cases, which can lead to high losses to the farmers.
• Low Adoption in Rural Farms
• High Cost of Components such as Imaging Sensors