Digital Farming Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Infrastructure (Sensing & Monitoring, Communication Technology, Cloud & Data Processing, Telematics/Positioning, and End-use Components), By Product (Agricultural Equipment and Drones/Robots/Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), By Technology (AI/ML/NLP, IoT, Blockchain, and Big Data & Analytics), By Application (Yield Monitoring and Mapping, Smart Crop Monitoring, Soil & Fertilizer Management, Smart Irrigation Monitoring System, Weather Forecasting, and Others), and Regional Forecast, 2023-2030

The global digital farming market size was valued at USD 22.01 billion in 2022. The market is projected to grow from USD 24.16 billion in 2023 to USD 56.80 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 13% during the forecast period.

Digital farming can be defined as the use of advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Big Data Analytics, and IoT. It also uses devices including drones, smart crop sensors, and automatic systems to monitor the utilization of crops, fertilizers, pesticides, and water to maximize yield for farmers.

This market study considers digital farming technology solutions offered by market players, such as Deere & Company’s Connect Mobile, receivers, touch-screen displays, Trimble’s display system, guidance, automation & control systems, spray system, and automated steering systems, among others. Similarly, Agleader’s agriculture solutions and AgEagle Aerial Systems’ drones provide farming solutions and services to improve crop monitoring and overall farming activities.

The rapid growth of the market can be attributed to several factors, such as rising demand for food due to the rapidly growing world population. Besides, labor shortage is creating demand for autonomous farming equipment across various countries. Moreover, increasing water scarcity is fueling the adoption of innovative irrigation systems. All the above factors are likely to boost the digital farming market growth.

COVID-19 IMPACT

Increased Funding in Agricultural Technology to Fuel Demand for Digital Farming Solutions Post COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically impacted the agriculture sector due to nationwide lockdowns, travel restrictions, and suspension of import & export activities due to restricted movement of migrants and rural laborers during the pandemic. This scenario resulted in acute labor shortage that hampered crop production across the world. The outbreak also declined agriculture equipment sales due to limited shipment and unfavorable business environment. The disrupted supply chain affected the farm equipment industry's distribution channels and hampered the sales of smart farming equipment.

However, the pandemic pushed the sector toward digitalization. Adoption of technologies, such as farm management systems, smartphone applications, and wireless devices gained traction during the pandemic. For example,

• Agrostar, an AgTech start-up, generated three times its average revenue through its app in 3 months during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Finistere Ventures’ 2020 Agrifood Tech Investment Review report, crop protection and input management activities accelerated the agriculture biotech investments. Besides, prominent players including CNH Industrial, Deere & Co., Trimble, and Cropin invested in smart agricultural products in 2020. Thus, a surge in investment in precision agriculture, indoor agriculture, crop protection & input management, and sensors & farm equipment is expected to fuel the market growth.

LATEST TRENDS

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Rising Penetration of AI and IoT Technologies to Create Ample Opportunities for Market Growth

Technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, are being rapidly integrated in farming products or in-field techniques. Cognitive computing is also gaining traction across the sector as it helps users learn, understand, and respond to different situations and increase efficiency. Solutions as a Service, such as chatbots and other conversational platforms, help the farmers keep pace with the latest technologies.

Similarly, governments and private corporations are focusing on introducing new initiatives to bring a digital transformation in the agriculture sector. IoT solutions help in efficiently utilizing natural resources, such as electricity, water, and others. Different sensors, such as light, humidity, temperature, and others used in the IoT devices help users monitor the crop health and soil moisture. The automated farm management systems enable the management of farm conditions from anywhere. For instance,

• In January 2021, Raven Industries launched the first driverless Agtechnology OMNIDRIVE and OMNI POWER for harvesting operations. It assisted farmers in managing driverless vehicles, such as tractors, sprayers, and spreaders by adjusting their speeds, location activities, and setting field plans.

DRIVING FACTORS

Growing Adoption of Remote Sensing, Communication, and Telematics Technologies to Drive Market Growth

Remote sensing technology enables farmers to classify crop species, identify crop conditions, map soil properties, monitor weeds & crop diseases, and supervise the overall yield rate. Rapid advancements in sensing technologies including introduction of GIS, GPS, sensors, and cameras are expected to fuel the market growth.

Sensing technologies help farmers get meaningful information about the weather, crop health, and yield. Similarly, the adoption of cloud and data analytics allows growers to access information related to their farm from a remote location and assist in optimizing the production process at every step. The market players are investing in building cloud infrastructure to manage farm data. For instance,

• In June 2022 - Cropin, a Bangalore-based agriculture technology firm, planned to launch an agriculture cloud (Agcloud). Agcloud contains data about crops and farmers' locations. In addition, it includes applications that help solve agriculture-related problems. The information of farmers is digitized and used to run agriculture programs to select crops.

• In May 2022 - Trimble launched a dual frequency, GNSS receiver module, the Trimble BD9250. Trimble RTX correction services are supported by the Trimble BD9250. The new module was developed to provide high-accuracy positioning for automated agriculture applications.

Rapid technological innovations are expected to propel the demand for digital farming solutions in the coming years.

RESTRAINING FACTORS

High Initial Cost of Autonomous Farm Equipment May Restrict Market Growth

Automated farm equipment, such as automated tractors, weeding robots, robot-assisted irrigation systems, tillers, and automated harvesters cost much more than traditional farming equipment. Similarly, the maintenance cost associated with advanced vehicles restricts small farmers' adoption of smart digital farming solutions. The expenses of maintaining sensors, software, hardware, and cameras in these vehicles can hamper the market growth. To earn higher profits and crop productivity, it is important for farmers to invest in automated and technology-enabled vehicles. However, making a high initial investment is difficult for them. The high initial cost of digital farming solutions can deter farmers in countries, such as India, Brazil, and China from adopting them.

Further, operational cost is high due to the complexity of technologies integrated into smart farming solutions. Grid management, software technology, and remote sensing need frequent changes and updates with the changing weather conditions and nature of the crop. Drones integrated with software, hardware, imaging sensors, high-resolution cameras, and tools are expensive, which is anticipated to restrict the market growth.

SEGMENTATION

By Infrastructure Analysis

Sensing & Monitoring to Dominate Market Owing to Increasing Investment to Develop Cloud Infrastructure

Based on infrastructure, the market is segmented into sensing & monitoring, communication technology, cloud & data processing, telematics/positioning, and end-use components.

The sensing & monitoring segment held a major market share in 2022 and is expected to grow at a significant growth rate over the forecast period due to need of including soil temperature and moisture level monitoring & weather condition monitoring for productive farming.

The cloud & data processing segment is expected record the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Increased investment in building cloud infrastructure by significant market players and benefits offered by cloud services may surge the demand for precision farming solutions.

By Product Analysis

Usage of Drones and Robots to Witness Highest CAGR Due to Growing Need for Reducing Operating Expenses

Based on product, the market is divided into agricultural equipment and drones/robots/unmanned aerial vehicles.

Drone/robots/unmanned aerial vehicles segment is projected to grow with the highest CAGR due to growing usage of drones and robots can help enhance the digital imaging capabilities and assist farmers in monitoring their fields from a distance.The agricultural equipment held the major market share in 2022 and is projected to grow with significant CAGR over the forecast period as farm machinery helps in automating and allowing fine-tuning of inputs and lessens the demand for manual labour.

By Technology Analysis

Integration of Advanced Technologies into Agricultural Equipment to Boost the Market Share of AI/ML/NLP

Based on technology, the market is divided into artificial intelligence/machine learning/natural language processing, Internet of Things, blockchain, and big data & analytics.

Need of automated and advanced equipment for farming is increasing the demand for integration of technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning into agriculture machineries. Companies are building advanced AI-enabled solutions to detect weather conditions, soil analysis & health, crop health, weeds, and pests. The AI/ML/NLP technology dominates the market during the forecast period.

Further, sensors, drones, robots, and computer imaging integrated with various analytical tools for better insights and monitoring the farms is expected to enhance the growth of IoT technology during the forecast period.

By Application Analysis

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Yield Monitoring and Mapping to Lead Due to Its Ability to Understand the Weather Conditions

By application, the market is classified into yield monitoring and mapping, smart crop monitoring, soil & fertilizer management, smart irrigation monitoring system, weather forecasting, and others (farm labor management and inventory management). However, yield monitoring and mapping segment is expected to hold largest market share in order to help farmers to understand the weather conditions to select the right crops according to the climate.

Increasing soil degradation, water shortage, and rising risk of crop failure are creating demand for smart crop monitoring.

REGIONAL INSIGHTS

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Geographically, the market is divided into five key regions, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East & Africa, and South America. They are further categorized into countries.

North America is expected to hold a significant digital farming market share due to the presence of leading agricultural equipment manufacturers. Rising government initiatives and guidelines to improve the agriculture industry are anticipated to drive the market in North America during the forecast period.

• In June 2022, the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN) introduced a USD 5 million funding focused on boosting the growth of a national network of digital farms.

Asia Pacific is expected to witness maximum growth in the global market during the forecast period. Digital farming is in its early stages in this region, with increasing government support to develop digital agriculture and improve farm productivity across India and Japan. For example,

The government of India initiated multiple projects based on new technologies, such as blockchain, cloud, drones, remote sensing, Geographic Information System (GIS), and robots under a digital mission for 2021–2025.

Europe is anticipated to showcase significant growth in the coming years. European countries, including Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands, and Spain are expected to fuel the development of digital farming in the region. The European Union initiated many programs to assist farmers in leveraging advanced technologies in their agricultural ventures. The Life, GAIA Sense project is a funding program launched by the European Union to invest in smart farming across the region. The LIFE GAIA Sense program offers funding to farmers to install sensors on their farms. These sensors are used to manage various conditions including pest monitoring, soil moisture, and plant health. Such active programs are expected to fuel the market growth.

The European Union member states are struggling with the risk of climate change to their growing population. Climate change has decreased the farmland required to feed Europe’s increasing population.

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The Middle East & Africa and South America markets are projected to grow at a faster pace during the forecast period. The market growth is attributed to the rising penetration of smart technologies and internet across the region. The various initiatives by governments and high tech-savvy companies to build a cloud data center and implement emerging technologies, such as Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud, Big Data, and others in Brazil, Argentina, Israel, and GCC will create ample market opportunities.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Key Players to Emphasize On Building Advanced Farming Machinery to Strengthen their Positions

The prominent players in the market include Deere & Company, Trimble, AGCO Corporation, Topcon Positioning Systems, Kubota Corporation, CNH Industrial N.V. Agjunction Inc., and AgEagle Aerial Systems, among others. These key companies are focusing on business expansion through strategic partnerships and collaborations with other organizations. They are investing in developing automated farming equipment. They are also investing in research and development to maximize crop production and farm efficiency. For instance,

• In February 2022, Vodafone Business launched the MyFarmWeb service that helped speed up the digitization of agriculture across Europe. The new service will provide farmers with an easy-to-use farm management app connected to farming IoT sensors.

List of the Key Companies Profiled:

• Deere & Company (U.S.)


• Kubota Corporation (Japan)


• CNH Industrial N.V. (U.K.)


• Hexagon AB (Sweden)


• Topcon Corporation (Japan)


• CLAAS KGaA mbH (Germany)


• Trimble (U.S.)


• AGCO Corporation (U.S.)


• AgEagle Aerial Systems (U.S.)


• Bayer AG (Germany)


• IBM Corporation (U.S.)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

• March 2023 – Tavant partnered with Bayer, a global agriculture solution provider, to develop new AgriTech solutions to improve the production of crops and reduce environmental impact by integrating Internet of Things (IoT) analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML) technologies.


• May 2022 - Kubota Corporation collaborated with a start-up, Parcel THRIVE, Inc. The partnership aimed to speed up the growth of a platform to bring optimization and efficiency to the production value chain for vegetables, fruits, nuts, and other crops.


• March 2022 - CNH Industrial strengthened its presence in India with the launch of the India Technology Center (ITC) in Gurugram. The new center aimed to improve the company’s global research & development footprint that focused on digital solutions and product development.


• September 2021 – Hexagon AB partnered with the Government of Karnataka to develop seven centers for innovation and development in smart agriculture. The center aimed to improve the agriculture sector with the help of agriculture equipment manufacturing & design, automation in agriculture, advanced drone technology for farming, smart precision farming, and soil & weather analytics.


• July 2021 - Deere & Company updated its information management product, JDLink, with no additional cost. The change enabled customers to activate the connectivity service, JDLink, and manage connected farming machines on the mobile app or web.


• March 2021 - CNH Industrial invested in a U.S.-based AgTech company Monarch Tractor. The partnership aimed to enhance long-term sustainability and accomplish zero carbon emission. This collaboration with Monarch Tractor accelerated CNH's developments in automation, electrification, and other advanced technologies for off-road equipment.

REPORT COVERAGE

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The study on the market includes prominent areas across the world to help the user get a better knowledge of the industry. Furthermore, the research provides insights into the most recent market trends and an analysis of technologies that are being adopted quickly across the world. It also emphasizes on some of the growth-stimulating factors and restrictions, allowing the reader to obtain a thorough understanding of the market.

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