Smart agriculture market to reach $18.45 bn by 2022

The smart agriculture market segmented on the basis of application (hardware and network platform and services) is expected to reach USD 18.45 Billion by 2022 from USD 9.02 Billion in 2016, at a CAGR of 13.8% between 2016 and 2022,according a newly-published report.

The increasing adoption of technology in agriculture and global rise in the demand for food are the major drivers for the market. Connected technology is used in precision farming, livestock monitoring, fish farming, smart greenhouse, and others. Connected technologies such as cloud computing, ZigBee, wireless sensor networks, and others help in enhancing the production and yield. Cloud computing provides real-time data of the farm land to assist in planning, purchasing, inventory control, planting, harvesting, and others. Sensors, irrigation control, variable rate technology (VRT), and other technologies helps in reducing the wastage of input and enhance the productivity of land.

GPS/GNSS is expected to hold a large share of the market in the hardware and network platform segment of the Smart agriculture market in 2015. GPS is used in tractor guidance, variable rate technology (VRT), soil condition monitoring, livestock tracking, and others. GPS technology provides various benefits in smart agriculture such as minimizing overlapping and spraying gaps, reducing the use of fertilizer, reducing chemical costs, and ensuring minimal environmental impact.

The precision farming application is expected to account for the largest share of the application segment of the smart agriculture market. Smart agriculture optimizes the efficiency of fields and operational practices in use. Precision farming helps growers to break down fields into zones, creating a site-specific approach to maximize yields and minimize input costs. Yield monitor is one of the essential elements of precision farming, which record site-specific yield data on the basis of moisture content observed by sensors inside the harvester.

System integrators held the largest market size in the service segment owing to the role it plays in the integration of the software and hardware equipment. System integrators are also involved in troubleshooting and diagnosing farm management solutions, which also involves developing new concepts related to software and hardware equipment.

North America is expected to hold the largest market share in 2022, and APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. North America is one of the pioneers for precision farming operations. The use of connected technologies in North America is currently growing because of factors such as continuous advancements in the technology, reducing price of equipment, usage of social media and online publications for spreading awareness, and so on.

The major players in this market include Deere & Company (U.S.), Trimble Navigation Ltd. (U.S.), Ag Junction (U.S.), Raven Industries Inc. (U.S.), and AGCO Corporation (U.S.).These players adopted various strategies such as new product developments, partnerships, collaborations, and business expansion to cater to the needs of the Smart agriculture market.