Digital Transformation in Agriculture: Making Farming Efficient, Precise & Productive

The global population is estimated to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, implying that agrifood demand will continue to rise worldwide in the coming decades. Specifically, a surge in the middle-class population among our neighbours in Asia bolsters the prospects for considerable growth in Australian food export. Meanwhile, our farmers continue confronting formidable challenges, such as increasing cost of labour, unavailability of skilled workforce, reduction in water availability, more frequent weather events due to changing climate conditions, and fragmented value chains with asymmetric patterns of information sharing between trading partners. The COVID-19 pandemic has witnessed the weakness of traditional farming systems where empty shelves were seen in some supermarkets while, at the same time, surplus produce had to be dumped on farms. The country’s state governments’ measures exacerbated the issues of labour shortage and excessive delays in farm operations. This article discusses various digital technologies and how each technology help improve the precision and productivity of the farm. The discussion has been supported with original research findings and several real-world case studies.