Agriculture Technology Trends for 2024 and Beyond

For consideration, the market value of the agriculture software development market is estimated to grow from $15 billion to $33 billion by 2027. According to ResearchAndMarkets, the global agriculture market has seen significant expansion, jumping from $12.245 billion in 2022 to $13.398 billion in 2023, with an impressive annual increase rate of 9.4%. The Internet of Things, robotics, and artificial intelligence are the influential agricultural technology trends impacting agribusiness efficiency. The IoT market in agriculture amounted to $13.61 billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach $33.57 billion by 2032, with a CAGR of 9.5%. Sensors are also actively implemented in this sector, worth an estimated $1.8 billion in 2023 and a projected $3.1 billion by 2028.

Agriculture businesses have two distinct scenarios, each with its benefits. They can either stick to traditional, time-tested farming techniques while managing all processes manually or embrace modern agricultural technology while making their farming operations smarter. The choice between these paths significantly impacts the timeline for achieving profits, the efficiency of their operations, and the range of benefits they can access. This choice is about the desire to adapt to the modern world, where more and more users rely on current technology trends. It makes the business providers focus on users and consider implementing new advantageous ways to revolutionize their customers’ engagement.

In a world where all competitors engage customers in unique ways, staying relevant and close to customers is a challenge. The decision to use Agtech trends is not just about convenience. It’s about taking risks, embracing new business challenges, and approaching customers with diverse techniques. In the long run, it leads to sustainability and competitiveness over other digital solutions in the market.

This article presents which agriculture tech trends will stay relevant today and tomorrow. Take a chance to read about the benefits they provide.

11 Cutting-Edge Agtech Trends

Examine the agriculture tech trends below to keep your business up-to-date with the market.

1. Aerial Drone Technology

As of 2022, drones occupied about 11% of the total agriculture market, valued at $4.1 billion. This drone market share will grow to approximately $18.22 billion by 2030. The use of drones in agriculture isn’t limited only by their capacity to monitor crop and yield conditions. As part of the agronomic system related to precision agriculture, the information used by drones is often transferred to agricultural providers, which makes them apply critical measures. Monitoring plant health, measuring field conditions, planting, seeding, spray application, security, drone pollination, AI in drones, and irrigation are all possible applications of drones in the agriculture sector. With special imaging equipment, drones can form the color information, allowing farmers to monitor crops as they grow. Also, drones can provide accurate field mapping, including elevation data, enabling farmers to detect irregularities in the field and determine drainage patterns and wet areas. Planting with automated drones presupposes using seeds in replanted areas that require resources without affecting the working ones. Another application of drone technology is the smart use of spraying. Drone sprayers can navigate hard-to-access fields while delivering proper spray applications to specific areas.

2. Digital Twins

Digital Twins provides an innovative approach to researchers and designers, allowing them to experiment with a digital representation of a physical product as with the real counterpart. Using digital twins allows for efficient testing of variables like soil types and weather conditions, getting valuable insights into field trials. The potential of digital twins continues to grow as they move from concept to reality. The technology helps to predict possible outcomes, thus affecting how agribusinesses manage their systems and processes. It helps decrease uncertainties in crop rotation, livestock tracking, and climate change effects. Thanks to the power of IoT technology, farmers can view information on the present, past, or future conditions through the interface of a digital twin. The technology enables seamless real-time data exchange between the physical farm system and the digital double. The changes in the physical asset can be mirrored in the digital twins and vice versa.

3. IoT and Smart Connected Sensors

IoT provides farmers with a range of sensors for smart farming processes. Let’s define their role and impact.

Crop management IoT devices collect data on agricultural parameters required for smart monitoring. Farmers use this data to monitor plant health, soil fertility, and irrigation schedules to ensure growth sustainability and prevent risks to crop yield.

Greenhouse monitoring tools ensure proper lighting, humidity, and air temperature control to optimize resources and increase yields.

Ranchers can use IoT sensors attached to the animals to supervise cattle to track their health and activities. The data provides the farmers with insights to prevent the spread of possible infections.

Smart irrigation system is used to determine areas with resource shortages by choosing locations and depths of the field. The farmers can figure out which parts of their fields need more resources and which don’t. Thus, by targeting irrigation efforts smartly, they can water only the areas that need it while saving water in places where it is sufficient.

Considering the benefits Agtech trends bring, the IoT agriculture market continues to expand. A study shows that an IoT data-driven approach allows farmers to use resources properly. Particularly, IoT-driven agriculture reduces water usage by 70-80%. The farmers control equipment, soil health, weather conditions, and crop health while improving agricultural productivity and sustainability.

4. Agricultural Robotic Systems

The robotic system in agricultural operations isn’t a new approach but a transformative one that long ago became necessary for streamlining tracking activities. As estimated by MarketsAndMarkets, in 2023, the market for agricultural robots was valued at approximately $13.5 billion.

The prime objective of robotized machines is to automate as many processes as possible to minimize labor shortage issues. Robotic systems are used for fruit harvesting, transplanting, sowing, planting, and other activities. Statistics show that while in 2023, the agricultural robots market was estimated at $13.5 billion, in 2028, it is expected to grow to $40.1 billion.

The integration of robots finds its application not only in planting but also in automated livestock management systems. They function efficiently in measuring, feeding, and milking cattle. A precise approach to intelligent machinery also makes many profits in optimizing harvesting and navigation processes, allowing farmers to make fewer human errors and elevating farming efficiency.

5. Precision Farming

In 2022, the precision farming market was $9.8 billion, projected to exceed $34.01 billion by 2032, which equals 13.30% of CAGR. Precision agriculture uses cutting-edge technologies to optimize management practices in crop farming. Farmers get data from sensors, GPS systems, drones, and data analytics to efficiently control soil conditions, crop health, moisture levels, and pest presence. This Agtech trend combines IoT, AI, ML, robotics, sensing, and big data for farming automation. With the capacity to smartly plant seeds and optimize spacing and resources, the farmers can make more informed decisions and modify their agrarian focuses. Resource-saving isn’t the final goal, but it’s the benefit that comes with precision agriculture. The smart watering report defines precision farming as saving over 20% of water annually. 20% can be a significant advantage for large-scale agricultural companies, allowing them to keep costs for other business requirements.

The study conducted by several environmental groups identifies that farmers who regularly use precision agriculture technologies achieve positive outcomes in their farming operations. Based on their practice, crop production increased by 4%, pesticide and herbicide use decreased to 9%, and fossil fuel and water reduced from 4% to 6%. Precision farming optimizes expenses through its vast arsenal of tools and practices. For instance, an exploratory study conducted by the University of Illinois analyzed the practice of 10 farmers using about 25 individual precision agriculture tools and methods. The tools varied: legacy control systems, mapping, fertility systems, advanced analytics, and management systems. The researchers estimated that those tools helped the farmers get an average of $90 per acre. If you wish to adopt one of those cloud-based technologies, Keenethics offers quality software development services.

6. Mobile Technology

Mobile apps ensure farmers that every yield square is used efficiently and has high optimization to be sustained to diverse factors. Using the mobile app functionality, the farmers can track the data they can use to measure crop viability and climate conditions. Remote control is the benefit. The farmers can remotely track the usage of resources in the most efficient manner. By calculating amounts provided by the apps, the farmers can reduce or increase the use of specific ingredients on their farms. Market connectivity is another benefit that allows agrarian providers to stay close to buyers and market tendencies. They can access all market fluctuations and set the optimal value for selling their products. The farmers can also efficiently supervise and delegate farm management decisions and track supply chains.

7. Agricultural Biotechnology Solutions

Biotechnology is another Agtech trend that uses scientific methods and techniques to improve plants, animals, and microorganisms for agrarian purposes. This technology can modify the plant’s DNA to make it more resistant to diverse factors like pests, diseases, or climate change. Farmers use biotechnology to grow more food with fewer resources and make sustainable agriculture. Farmers can create crops that can be sustainable with minimal water usage, low soil quality, and less likely to be damaged by insects while increasing the resilience of crop yields and making food nutritious for consumers. Biotechnology uses various scientific methods, from hybridization to genetic engineering, allowing farmers to improve crop and livestock quality.

8. Big Data & Analytics

Big Data is another technology that streamlines agricultural processes while playing a critical role in pesticide application. As a recent report states, the big data analytics market in the agriculture industry was assessed at $1.24 billion in 2022, and with a CAGR of 15.60%, it is expected to reach $3.95 billion by 2030. By analyzing the history of pesticide application for different farming areas, big data detects highly weeded zones and measures insect development phases and the risk of disease development. By using big data in farming practice, farmers can more efficiently use chemicals while minimizing negative impacts. Another scenario in which Big Data is a workable tool is forecasting weather conditions and efficiently managing changing environmental variables.

9. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

The use of artificial intelligence in agriculture is skyrocketing, with the market share increasing from $1.7 billion in 2023 to an expected $4.7 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 23.1%.

It continues to open new markets, enhance productivity, and eliminate farming inefficiencies, bringing more technological opportunities to modern farmers. The technology modifies the functioning of marketing and sales, research and development, and the entire customer operations. The capabilities of AI in agriculture bring many insights. The technology detects signs of plant diseases and pests by analyzing images from drones and satellites. By presenting the farmer’s predictive analytics and recommended measures, the farmers can plan their investments better and manage risks. When combined with IoT sensors, AI algorithms can optimize resource usage to optimize growth and set automated machinery. Notifications by the system’s localized forecasts help farmers protect crops from adverse watering. Thanks to AI, farmers can better understand the factors impacting crop varieties’ performance and production by adopting precise management techniques. Across the industry, the practice shows that market agricultural innovation leads to the creation of new simulations and advanced technology tools that streamline the processes of optimization and management.

10. Eco-Friendly Regenerative Agriculture

The regenerative agriculture (RA) market size will reach an estimated $16.8 billion by 2027. Regenerative agriculture focuses on producing high-quality organic protein products supporting the health of people and the planet. All plant proteins, from rice to seeds, are made with an emphasis on spreading environmental responsibility and nutritional value. Regenerative agriculture technology is ideal for providers producing organic, GMO-free products. Farmers can increase the food system’s sustainability thanks to the values of regenerative agriculture. Regenerative agriculture conserves and restores food and agricultural systems. The providers get ways to regenerate topsoil, improve biodiversity and water cycles, advance ecosystem services, and promote agrarian soils’ health and vitality. This tech adoption presents a holistic approach to climate change, benefiting consumers, farmers, and the environment as a whole. Plus, the technology can greatly increase farmers’ revenues through customized agricultural practices related to conservation tillage and cover crops.

11. Farm Management Software System

The larger the farm, the more responsibility there is to track all operations. However, in a world where digitalization is at the forefront of our daily routine, using solutions like this is a necessity.

Farm management software collects and organizes data related to crops, livestock, equipment, and budgets. By focusing on system analytics, farm management software helps farmers better plan irrigation schedules and track crop growth. By streamlining diverse operations, from crop scheduling to resource optimization, farm management software optimizes the time farmers spend on routine tasks. Using advanced software solutions, farmers can more efficiently manage farming conditions against adverse factors like changing weather.

Final Insights

Grand View Research projects that the global precision farming market will hit $16.35 billion by 2028, growing at a 13.1% CAGR. Modern-day farmers rely on advanced trends in agriculture to collect AI-supported insights from their farms and properly manage their crops. Digital agriculture is a comprehensive database offering sophisticated decision-support tools throughout diverse agricultural production and supplement stages. The farmers have real-time resources for evaluating risks against climate change, forming strategies for revenue generation, and planning management programs for what-if scenarios associated with changing weather patterns or decline in production demand.

The integration of these advanced agricultural technology trends can not only improve productivity but also transform the overall value chain of agribusiness. From data-driven decisions to robotized machines, these trends in agriculture help farmers optimize their resources. In a world where resources are becoming scarcer, these technologies are crucial for ensuring that the agricultural sectors requiring the most attention get the needed resources.

Transform Agriculture with Keenethics Agtech Development Services

Agtech trends have their transformative potential in agricultural businesses. How can Keenethics help, and what is our part? As a web development company, we can help you develop any idea and make it real in the market. By analyzing the requirements you want to see in your project, our development and design teams design the best technical eco-friendly solutions, differing by their competitive side from other solutions. By hiring development services from Keenethics, you can be sure of the quality and security of our solutions since our struggle for innovation in the tech world is huge. We adhere to the best certifications and ensure our specialists pass regular rests to ensure their professional growth and to be up-to-date with the latest market trends in agriculture. Contact our experts and see the first results of your MVP idea.

The integration of advanced agricultural technology trends can improve productivity and transform the overall value chain of agribusiness.

If you wish to adopt one of those cloud-based technologies, Keenethics offers quality software development services.