Technology Enablers

By Brian Lutz, Vice President,
Agricultural Solutions,
Corteva Agriscience

At the beginning of 2023, the global ag tech market was worth USD $21.89B¹ and projected to grow to USD $34.1B by 2026². Yet many of the investments in ag tech have not resulted in transformational advancements that measurably benefit either the farmer or the industry. This is because many of the investments to date have been focused on the technology itself.

Technology is often seen as a magic bullet that can solve any problem, from climate change to crop yields. But in the complex and dynamic world of agriculture, technology alone is not enough.

It is an enabler, not the solution.

“Tech enablers” are the components of the ag tech puzzle that provide the necessary capabilities and infrastructure for digital solutions. Over the past decade, there have been extensive advancements in several key tech enablers supporting the future of ag tech, including:

• IoT and sensors: devices that collect a wide variety of field- and machinery-based information, spanning everything from soil temperature at planting to harvest results.
• Satellites and UAVs for remote sensing: growing proliferation of these devices is producing more frequent, higher resolution quality images with a diverse spectrum monitoring a host of field variables.
• Edge and hybrid cloud computing: storing and processing data either near the user or in remote data centers so that it is available anywhere it is needed.
• Weather data: a wider variety of devices are now able to monitor and reconstruct field-level weather information for crops growing anywhere around the world.
• Big data infrastructure: the ability to manage and manipulate large volumes of disparate data from a variety of sources in real time.
• Advanced analytics and artificial intelligence: the computation tools and techniques that turn raw data into useful insights.

While these are just a few of the tech enablers currently in play, the puzzle pieces are now coming into view. Although many have thought that each of these alone could unlock significant value, it is becoming clear they need to be integrated into holistic solutions that are tailored to solve specific challenges that will create new value for farmers and the industry.

Given the significant maturity in many of these different tech enablers over recent years, we are finally at a point where we can start to put the puzzle pieces together and generate meaningful solutions. Further, we can look to other technology-forward industries to leverage learnings and accelerate progress.

While our industry will not be transformed by a single technology or solution, it can be transformed by leveraging the complete suite of tech enablers available today. 

By focusing on the complete puzzle rather than individual pieces, we will deliver greater solutions that increase productivity for the farmer while making agriculture more sustainable for people and the planet.  •