Since the Green Revolution of the 1960s, technological change has played a key role in increasing agricultural productivity and resilience. Faced by an increasingly complex climate landscape, innovations such as vertical farming and precision farming are attracting interest. The world is now in expectation of what is likened to a fourth agricultural revolution.

  • Floating gardens in Inle Lake, Myanmar. Intha people support themselves through the tending of vegetable farms on floating gardens. Floating gardens in Inle Lake, Myanmar. Intha people support themselves through the tending of vegetable farms on floating gardens.

    Floating gardens of Bangladesh

    Around a quarter of Bangladesh is flooded for several months of the year. This causes soil salinity and disruption to agriculture. Floating…
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    3. Agriculture and forestry / Farming technologies /

    Floating gardens of Bangladesh

    Floating gardens in Inle Lake, Myanmar. Intha people support themselves through the tending of vegetable farms on floating gardens.
    Getty Images /© ivanmateev

    Around a quarter of Bangladesh is flooded for several months of the year. This causes soil salinity and disruption to agriculture. Floating gardens (locally known as dhap or baira) have been around for hundreds of years in countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia, India and Myanmar. These floating gardens secure a variety of nutrient- and protein-rich foods such as okra, gourds, spinach and eggplant in areas that cannot otherwise be cultivated. They also ensure these foods survival during periods of increased and erratic rainfall when rivers fill with water. Unlike raised field agriculture on land, floating gardens are raft-like, soilless cultivations. They are made by layering native plants such as water hyacinths about three feet deep. Farmers then plant vegetables inside these floating gardens. As the hyacinths and other host plants decompose, nutrients are released. These feed the crops and vegetables planted within the raft, which in principle resembles a deep-water hydroponic system. Because floating gardens adapt to water movement, they are of particular interest for flood-prone areas with fluctuating river levels. Despite volatilities in yield due to climate impacts, floating gardens provide stability in terms of food production and income, sometimes earning families several times more than traditional rice cultivation. The FAO has declared them a globally important agricultural heritage system. Indigenous floating gardens are undergoing a revival as an effective climate adaptation technology. In 2013, the Government of Bangladesh allocated USD 1.6 million to promote floating farms for climate change adaptation in nearly 50 locations across the country.[1]

  • Digital farming is how it's done these days - stock photo Digital farming is how it's done these days - stock photo

    Digital farming technologies in Africa

    Farming technologies that rely on robotics, indoor farming systems and biotechnology are yet to reach mass scale in Africa. However, digital…
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    Digital farming technologies in Africa

    Digital farming is how it's done these days - stock photo
    Getty Images /© PeopleImages

    Farming technologies that rely on robotics, indoor farming systems and biotechnology are yet to reach mass scale in Africa. However, digital technologies are beginning to transform parts of the agriculture sector in many of the continent’s countries. One key advance is digital agricultural marketplaces connecting farmers with sellers. Examples include Uganda’s AgroMarketDay app which allows farmers to upload pictures of their produce and auction it to the highest bidder, or Kenya’s Twiga Foods open-bidding app (Twiga Agent) and its services which now serve 30,000 customers each month[1]. Among other examples are farming apps that improve access to crop advice and financial offerings to help increase farm productivity. Even blockchain technologies are being used to secure farmers’ titles to land or protect against poor quality food products. Only entering the market in early 2000, these types of digital technologies in East Africa attracted investments of over USD 425 million in 2015–2017[2].

Proven technologies  

  • Smart digital agriculture technology by futuristic sensor data collection management by artificial intelligence to control quality of crop growth and harvest. Computer aided plantation grow concept. Smart digital agriculture technology by futuristic sensor data collection management by artificial intelligence to control quality of crop growth and harvest. Computer aided plantation grow concept.

    Precision planting

    Increased access to agricultural data, such as visualizations of field conditions, can support farmers in optimizing planting and harvesting to…
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    3. Agriculture and forestry / Farming technologies / Proven technologies

    Precision planting

    Precision Planting
    Smart digital agriculture technology by futuristic sensor data collection management by artificial intelligence to control quality of crop growth and harvest. Computer aided plantation grow concept.
    Getty Images /© Blue Planet Studio

    Increased access to agricultural data, such as visualizations of field conditions, can support farmers in optimizing planting and harvesting to maximize yield performance. The company Precision Planting offers a set of digital tools that use historical and real-time data to enable decision-making related to sowing and managing crops. One product is the 20I20 agricultural imaging system. This is software that monitors, controls and diagnoses past and present field conditions (e.g., temperature and humidity of the furrows) to optimize farming equipment performance. These digital tools can be connected to air seeders and seed drills to provide data for optimal seed distribution and downforce.

    • Contracting type: For sale
    • Technology level: High
    • Country of origin: United States
    • Availability: North America, Argentina
  • smart farm ,agriculture concept, farmer use data augmented mixed virtual reality integrate artificial intelligence combine deep, machine learning, digital twin, 5G, industry 4.0 technology to improve smart farm ,agriculture concept, farmer use data augmented mixed virtual reality integrate artificial intelligence combine deep, machine learning, digital twin, 5G, industry 4.0 technology to improve

    Precision agriculture through IoT technology and sensors

    Libelium provides a wireless sensor network platform whose many uses includes precision agriculture. The technology uses internet of things (IoT)…
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    3. Agriculture and forestry / Farming technologies / Proven technologies

    Precision agriculture through IoT technology and sensors

    Libelium
    smart farm ,agriculture concept, farmer use data augmented mixed virtual reality integrate artificial intelligence combine deep, machine learning, digital twin, 5G, industry 4.0 technology to improve
    Getty Images /© Ekkasit919

    Libelium provides a wireless sensor network platform whose many uses includes precision agriculture. The technology uses internet of things (IoT) networks in a scalable way to reduce maintenance costs. Smart Agriculture models allow monitoring of multiple environmental parameters involving a wide range of applications. They have sensors for air and soil temperature and humidity, solar visible radiation, wind speed and direction, rainfall, atmospheric pressure and so on. Main applications for the Waspmote Plug & Sense! model are precision agriculture, irrigation systems, greenhouses, weather stations and more.

    • Contracting type: Service
    • Technology level: High
    • Country of origin: Spain
    • Availability: Worldwide
  • robotic farming technologies robotic farming technologies

    Robotic farming technologies for precision agriculture

    Autonomous robotic farming technologies developed by SwarmFarm Robotics enable precision application of nutrient and crop-protection inputs. The…
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    3. Agriculture and forestry / Farming technologies / Proven technologies

    Robotic farming technologies for precision agriculture

    SwarmFarm Robotics
    robotic farming technologies
    Getty Images /© Kinwun

    Autonomous robotic farming technologies developed by SwarmFarm Robotics enable precision application of nutrient and crop-protection inputs. The product is a robot for crop row farming. By optimizing herbicide and fertilizer application farmers can respond better to precise needs and forecasted environmental and weather conditions while reducing the amount of agrochemicals used. The company claims to have sprayed, weeded and mowed more than 200,000 acres of farmland within the past two years. This startup also offers the SwarmConnect ecosystem, a software that enables developers, farmers and partner organizations to program its robots to suit their needs.

    • Contracting type: For sale
    • Technology level: High
    • Country of origin: Australia
    • Availability: Australia
  • Growing vegetables and lettuce in the industry cargo container. Growing vegetables and lettuce in the industry cargo container.

    Container-based hydroponic farms

    Grow Pod Solutions provides a hydroponic system for growing high-quality specialty crops, specifically leaf crops and varieties of herbs.…
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    3. Agriculture and forestry / Farming technologies / Proven technologies

    Container-based hydroponic farms

    Grow Pod Solutions
    Growing vegetables and lettuce in the industry cargo container.
    Getty Images /© zorazhuang

    Grow Pod Solutions provides a hydroponic system for growing high-quality specialty crops, specifically leaf crops and varieties of herbs. Compared to field growing, yields can be better regulated and monitored to provide all-year-round outputs while using water more efficiently. Crops are grown in containers in which air and water is filtered. Due to the sealed environment, risk of contamination is reduced. LED lights are designed to emit only wavelengths needed for photosynthesis. The container system is modular and stackable to enable a vertical growing environment for space efficiency.

    • Contracting type: For sale
    • Technology level: Medium
    • Country of origin: United States
    • Availability: United States
  • Nigerian agritech and food-tech startup applying technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence to soilless farming systems Nigerian agritech and food-tech startup applying technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence to soilless farming systems

    Soilless agriculture with alternative medium

    Soilless agriculture is gaining popularity among indoor farmers, urban farmers and those facing harsh weather conditions and limited land space.…
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    3. Agriculture and forestry / Farming technologies / Proven technologies

    Soilless agriculture with alternative medium

    Soilless Farm Lab
    Nigerian agritech and food-tech startup applying technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence to soilless farming systems
    Photo: © Soilless Farm Lab

    Soilless agriculture is gaining popularity among indoor farmers, urban farmers and those facing harsh weather conditions and limited land space. Instead of using soil, a plant’s roots are fed by either a nutrient solution or a substrate such as perlite, peat, moss, coconut fiber or rockwool. Fresh water is provided at a balanced pH level, while oxygen is supplied through air mists, pumps or by creating a space between the plant base and a water reservoir. Soilless Farm Labs is a Nigerian agritech and food-tech startup applying technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence to soilless farming systems. Systems implemented could either be substrate or non-substrate based depending on crop and investment capacity. The company has supported the establishment of 400 hectares of farming. It offers training and capacity building covering a variety of hydroponic techniques including nutrient film techniques, ebb and flow methods and deep-water culture.

    • Contracting type: For sale
    • Technology level: Medium
    • Country of origin: Nigeria
    • Availability: Nigeria
  • turn-key aquaponic system in a tower design turn-key aquaponic system in a tower design

    Vertical aquaponic farms

    Dachnik Aquaponics provide a turn-key aquaponic system in a tower design. This makes efficient use of space, energy and water for growing plants.…
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    3. Agriculture and forestry / Farming technologies / Proven technologies

    Vertical aquaponic farms

    Dachnik Aquaponics
    turn-key aquaponic system in a tower design
    Photo: © Dachnik Aquaponics

    Dachnik Aquaponics provide a turn-key aquaponic system in a tower design. This makes efficient use of space, energy and water for growing plants. The system includes a tank configured to hold fish and nutrient-rich water. The smallest units can grow over 190 plants in 1 square meter of space. The largest (3-trough) commercial unit can grow over 313 plants per square meter of space and can scale to any size. The modular design allows individual units to be put on pause for cleaning and maintenance.

    • Contracting type: For sale
    • Technology level: Medium
    • Country of origin: United States
    • Availability: United States

Frontier technologies  

  • Agrivoltaic - stock photo Agrivoltaic - stock photo

    Agrivoltaics for crop resilience

    Agrivoltaics combines agriculture and solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Growing crops under a PV array has been found to significantly impact three…
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    3. Agriculture and forestry / Farming technologies / Frontier technologies

    Agrivoltaics for crop resilience

    Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University
    Agrivoltaic - stock photo
    Getty Images /© Miropa

    Agrivoltaics combines agriculture and solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Growing crops under a PV array has been found to significantly impact three factors affecting plant growth and reproduction – air temperature, direct sunlight and atmospheric demand for water. Shade provided by the PV panels results in a cooler daytime and warmer nighttime temperature than a traditional open-sky planting system.[1] Researchers at Arizona State University have developed various PV unit versions that include an optical element that redirects light toward the PV cell. This solution diffuses light of certain wavelengths and allows it to pass through the PV unit to facilitate the crops underneath the PV unit to grow. The positioning of solar PVs above crops makes more efficient use of land.

    • Contracting type: N/A
    • Technology level: High
    • Country of origin: United States
    • Availability: N/A
  • The concept of automatic control of a tractor in agriculture and its detection on the GPS map, technologies of the future to facilitate human work - stock photo The concept of automatic control of a tractor in agriculture and its detection on the GPS map, technologies of the future to facilitate human work - stock photo

    Self-driving tractors

    This technology makes more efficient use of farm inputs and labor to improve crop productivity. Northstar Robotics offers autonomous technologies…
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    3. Agriculture and forestry / Farming technologies / Frontier technologies

    Self-driving tractors

    Northstar Robotics Inc
    The concept of automatic control of a tractor in agriculture and its detection on the GPS map, technologies of the future to facilitate human work - stock photo
    Getty Images /© Igor Borisenko

    This technology makes more efficient use of farm inputs and labor to improve crop productivity. Northstar Robotics offers autonomous technologies for a wide range of applications. Through its open hardware and software platform, Northstar Robotics turns existing farm equipment into customized, autonomous field solutions through retrofit kits. These kits can be retrofitted to most equipment since many tractor models use the same steering, acceleration and control systems. An intelligent control system is connected to a cloud robotics platform. This allows farmers to dictate assignments such as feeding, harvesting, seeding and weeding from a mobile phone app. GPS technology is used to ensure accuracy.

    • Contracting type: For sale
    • Technology level: High
    • Country of origin: Canada
    • Availability: Canada

Horizon technologies  

  • Drone spraying a field - stock photo Drone spraying a field - stock photo

    Agricultural drone for automated fertilizer and pesticide application

    Kray Technologies provides an unmanned drone crop sprayer. This flies over fields to deliver on-demand fertilizer and pesticides. Droplets are…
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    3. Agriculture and forestry / Farming technologies / Horizon technologies

    Agricultural drone for automated fertilizer and pesticide application

    Kray Technologies
    Drone spraying a field - stock photo
    Getty Images /© baranozdemir

    Kray Technologies provides an unmanned drone crop sprayer. This flies over fields to deliver on-demand fertilizer and pesticides. Droplets are charged electrostatically to attach better to crop surfaces, spreading products more evenly as they are released from a low-altitude 1 meter above the crop. The drone can spray approximately 5 km² of crop a day. It is programed to visualize the field in 3D. This allows it to estimate the required amount of product. The drone uses cameras and LiDAR technology to reconstruct terrain 100 meters ahead with 10 cm precision so as to detect potential obstacles.

    • Contracting type: For sale/Service
    • Technology level: High
    • Country of origin: United States
    • Availability: United States
  • Robots harvesting vegetables in automated modern greenhouse. Robots harvesting vegetables in automated modern greenhouse.

    Automated harvesting

    Fresh and delicate produce is often handpicked to avoid bruising. Climate change is likely to impact the yields and profitability of farms.…
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    3. Agriculture and forestry / Farming technologies / Horizon technologies

    Automated harvesting

    AppHarvest
    Robots harvesting vegetables in automated modern greenhouse.
    Getty Images /©Amina Shakeela

    Fresh and delicate produce is often handpicked to avoid bruising. Climate change is likely to impact the yields and profitability of farms. Therefore increased automation and labor productivity is becoming an area of interest for high-segment farming markets. Root AI, recently acquired by company AppHarvest, has developed an automated robot named Virgo for picking tomatoes and potentially other types of foods. In addition, the robot is able to evaluate crop health and predict yields. Robots are currently being developed for the network of indoor farms managed by AppHarvest. Future developments in robotic harvesting may increase the accessibility of such technologies.

    • Contracting type: N/A
    • Technology level: High
    • Country of origin: United States
    • Availability: N/A

Impact of smart farming not yet known

Artificial intelligence, big data analytics, internet of things (IoT), machines and sensors. These are all technologies that could enable a new, more efficient use of resources.[48] Major innovative…
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Impact of smart farming not yet known

Artificial intelligence, big data analytics, internet of things (IoT), machines and sensors. These are all technologies that could enable a new, more efficient use of resources.[48] Major innovative advances are seen in areas such as automation and robotic farming technologies. They are increasing efficiency and yields, for example through targeted application of nutrients and crop-protection inputs. Such “smart farming” can support crop or livestock production cycles through automatic watering, autonomous tractors, drones, robotic harvesters and seeding robots. Smart sensors and automation technology can also provide better awareness of growing conditions. This is important for the optimization of crops to enhance resilience. The availability of advanced technologies is increasing rapidly. But it is yet to be seen which will survive harsh reality tests for ruggedness and reliability and yield tangible results for farmers.
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Indoor farming and precision agriculture

Farmers are faced by an increasingly water-scarce agricultural landscape. Soilless farming technologies such as hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaponics [49] can help address the food security…
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Indoor farming and precision agriculture

Farmers are faced by an increasingly water-scarce agricultural landscape. Soilless farming technologies such as hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaponics [49] can help address the food security challenge. But start-up and energy costs are often high. Europe is at the forefront, and the global hydroponics market is growing by over 10 percent a year.[50] By moving food indoors and avoiding the use of soil, food can be produced irrespective of weather and growing season. At the same time the need for agrochemicals can be reduced. Because this approach to growing food is particular suited to urban farming, it can be considered a strategy to help build resilient food systems at local and regional levels.[51] Here, technologies such as indoor and vertical farming in urban areas – and increasingly in rural areas – allow plants to thrive despite limited space, water and soil. Meanwhile, precision agriculture may steer the sector toward a greater reliance on large amounts of data for decision-making. This means applying various sensors, satellites, drones and other technologies to monitor key crop-related variables and direct resources to precisely where they are needed and at the right time. It has been estimated that were 15–25 percent of farms to adopt precision agriculture, global crop yield could be increased by up to 15 percent by 2030[52]. The market for precision agriculture is now expected to be over USD 8 billion by 2027.[53]
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Access to technologies still challenging

Technological advances that increase food system resiliency are needed and welcome. But there is a challenge in accessing the technologies. Many farming technology innovations require enabling infrastructure such as fast mobile broadband to…
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Access to technologies still challenging

Technological advances that increase food system resiliency are needed and welcome. But there is a challenge in accessing the technologies. Many farming technology innovations require enabling infrastructure such as fast mobile broadband to access them. Major support is required if these innovations are to reach those regions most in need of climate resilience and adaptation. This needs to be in the form of funding, knowledge on how to use the technologies, supportive policies and local systems of innovation. For innovation and technology to have a real breakthrough in climate-resilient farming, they must be accessible for smallholder farmers and large high-output farms alike, while simultaneously addressing the root causes of climate vulnerability.
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