Over the past ten years, the agriculture industry has undergone enormous transformation due to ever increasing demand for sustainable practices in farming. Multiple companies are involved in developing sustainable solutions and systems for farming. Due to the benefits of smart agriculture solutions, farmers are also gaining the capability to improve yield via optimising inputs and well-organised management of their farms.
These factors have collectively resulted in rapid deployment of the smart farming solutions in various applications. Consequently, significant growth is anticipated in this market owing to the attractiveness of well suited and smart agriculture solutions over the risks associated with traditional farming methods.
Growth in population, and increasing preference towards automation of farm operations is expected to further support the market growth.
The need for automation in faming operations is driven by the capability of improvement in produced crop quality, maximization of crop production, and enhanced productivity. Increased necessity to monitor livestock, along with the need to minimise the use of pesticides and fertilisers further boosts the adoption of smart agriculture.
Other factors driving the growth of smart farming market include growth in the global agricultural industry, reducing availability of labour, and high labour costs.
However, the report warns that high initial investment costs associated with adoption of smart agriculture systems might restrain the growth in this market. Demand from emerging economies coupled with technological advancements are factors expected to present numerous opportunities for the growth in smart farming market during the forecast period.
North America accounted for the highest revenue share among all regions in the smart farming market during 2018. This is primarily due to high market penetration in US and is further supported by extensive R&D activities by companies and presence of proper regulatory environment in this region. The different components used in precision farming include hardware, software, and services.
During 2018, the hardware component segment accounted for the largest share in this market due to popularity and demand of hardware components such as Automation & control systems, sensing devices, LED grow lights, and HVAC systems which are widely used in farms to increase crop yield and improve productivity.
Key players in this market include: AG Leader Technology, AGCO, Trimble, Precision Planting, AgJunction, Agribotix, Deere & Company, The Climate Corporation, Autonomous Solutions, Drone Deploy, Raven Industries, CLAAS KGaA and CNH Industrial.
However, due to the presence of a large number of small and medium sized companies along with the large enterprises operating in this space, the market is observed to be highly fragmented.
