Desk
Precision & digital
Farm software, sensors, satellites, drones and AI, and the digital public infrastructure being built for agriculture.
From the archive
Reporting from earlier editions of The Agrotech Daily. Figures, prices and policies may have changed since.
- Precision & digital, GlobalThe impact of technology on crop yields and food securityPrecision agriculture, drones, GM crops, machine learning, smart irrigation, vertical farming and robotics can raise crop yields and support food security.
- Precision & digital, GlobalThe role of technology in mitigating the effects of natural disasters on agricultureWeather forecasting, efficient irrigation, drones, satellite imagery, hardier crop varieties and mobile tools can help farmers prepare for and recover from floods, droughts and wildfires.
- Precision & digital, GlobalAgricultural supply chain management and traceabilityExplains how supply chain management and traceability systems can improve efficiency, food safety and sustainability in agriculture, and the cost, data and skills barriers to adoption.
- Precision & digital, GlobalPrecision forestry and sustainable forest managementPrecision forestry uses remote sensing, GIS and data to guide planting, thinning and harvesting, while sustainable forest management balances economic, social and environmental benefits.
- Precision & digital, GlobalBig data unleashed: the digital agriculture revolutionFarmers are using data on weather, soil, crop health and machinery to guide planting, irrigation and supply chain decisions, though collection costs, data quality and privacy remain concerns.
- Precision & digital, India‘Agristack!’ A way forward?AgriStack, a set of digital farm databases, is being built through MoUs with Microsoft, Star Agribazaar, Amazon and Patanjali, raising concerns over data protection and exclusion.
- Precision & digital, GlobalHow precision agriculture is improving farmingExplains how precision agriculture uses satellite imagery, soil tests, field sensors, GPS-guided equipment and drones to apply water and fertiliser when and where crops need them.
- Precision & digital, United StatesGreenhouse farming in the USA: cultivating a sustainable agricultural futureExplains greenhouse farming in the US, its advantages such as year-round growing and water efficiency, techniques such as hydroponics and aquaponics, and suitable crops.
- Precision & digital, Global3 best ways artificial intelligence is transforming agricultureAI is being used to target herbicide spraying, predict sowing dates and prices, diagnose crop diseases from phone photos and guide harvesting robots.
- Precision & digital, GlobalVertical farming: advantages, challenges and urban crop cultivationExplains how vertical farms grow crops in stacked layers under controlled conditions, which crops suit them, and the trade-off between land and water savings and high energy and set-up costs.
- Precision & digital, GlobalRole of telecommunication in agricultural productionBetter telecoms access raises rural incomes and market reach, and underpins precision farming tools such as GPS, GIS and systems that send site-specific data to machinery in real time.
- Precision & digital, India10 technological innovations that are transforming Indian agricultureTen Indian agritech firms and groups, from Eruvaka's aquaculture buoys and CropIn's farm monitoring platform to AgroStar's input ordering and Skymet's weather services.
- Precision & digital, GlobalIoT technology changing the future of agricultureIoT sensors, gateways and modules give farmers real-time data on soil, crops, livestock and water, supporting precision agriculture and lower operating costs.
- Precision & digital, GlobalThe future of marijuana might be growing in a labExplains lab-grown cannabis, which grows cannabis cells under controlled conditions, along with its claimed benefits and the cost, regulatory and public perception hurdles it faces.
- Precision & digital, GlobalThe latest breakthroughs in agricultural research, and how they could impact the future of farmingPrecision agriculture, gene editing, vertical farming, regenerative soil management, drones, robotics, big data and blockchain are among research advances expected to change farming.
- Precision & digital, United KingdomFarm management software showdown 2025: comparing Xero Ag, Farmable, FarmPlan and Muddy Boots for UK operationsA comparison of four UK farm software platforms, Xero, Farmable, FarmPlan and Muddy Boots, covering accounts, field and livestock records, mobile apps, pricing and data integration.
- Precision & digital, PunjabPrestigious project gained by Punjab Remote Sensing CentrePunjab Remote Sensing Centre has won an ISPRS research project to use satellite data to model links between crop residue burning, air quality, soil moisture and crop yield.
- Precision & digital, IndiaAgri ministry has been permitted to use drones under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)The civil aviation ministry and DGCA have given the agriculture ministry a conditional exemption to fly drones for gram panchayat-level yield estimation in about 100 districts under PMFBY.
- Precision & digital, IndiaWhat is the future of agrotech in India?AI, robotics and data-driven decisions are set to spread in Indian farming, but cost, farmer scepticism and weak implementation of government policy stand in the way.