Enabling Technologies in Smart Agriculture: A Way Forward Towards Future Fields

Smart agriculture, now widely known as precision agriculture or smart farming, is the use of advanced technologies for the optimization of crop yields and reducing inputs. Despite people’s perceptions in regard to the agricultural process, the reality is, today’s agriculture industry is precise, data-centered, and smarter than ever. It includes the use of GIS and GPS technologies for mapping and monitoring crops, soil, and weather conditions; IoT for collecting and transmitting data on crop and soil conditions, weather, and equipment performance; Drones for crop mapping and monitoring crop health; Robotics for tasks such as planting, harvesting, and weeding; Artificial Intelligence (AI) for analyzing data and making predictions about crop management; Blockchain for tracking and traceability of food supply chain; automation for monitoring and controlling irrigation, lighting, and temperature in greenhouses; and Machine Learning (ML) for crop forecasting, yield prediction, and early disease/pest detection. These technologies offer many potential benefits, such as increasing efficiency, reducing costs, and improving crop yields. However, the implementation of these technologies also raises important ethical, social, and environmental concerns. This article highlights various enabling technologies used including the use of sensors and IoT in agriculture. It also discusses various hurdles faced while integrating these technologies with traditional farming techniques.