Editing Precision agriculture (section)

==Economic and environmental impacts==
Precision agriculture, as the name implies, means the application of precise and correct amounts of inputs like water, fertilizer, pesticides, etc. at the correct time to the crop to increase its productivity and maximize its yields. Precision agriculture management practices can significantly reduce the amount of nutrient and other crop inputs used while boosting yields.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/08/03/technology/climate-corporation-digital-agriculture/index.html|title=Hacking the farm: How farmers use 'digital agriculture' to grow more crops|first=Julianne|last=Pepitone|date=3 August 2016|website=CNNMoney}}</ref> Farmers thus obtain a return on their investment by saving on water, pesticide, and fertilizer costs.

The second, larger-scale benefit of targeting inputs concerns environmental impacts.  Applying the right amount of chemicals in the right place and at the right time benefits crops, soils and groundwater, and thus the entire crop cycle.<ref name="economist.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/technology-quarterly/2016-06-09/factory-fresh|title=The future of agriculture|newspaper=The Economist |date=9 June 2016}}</ref>  Consequently, precision agriculture has become a cornerstone of [[sustainable agriculture]], since it respects crops, soils and farmers.  Sustainable agriculture seeks to assure a continued supply of food within the ecological, economic and social limits required to sustain production in the long term.

A 2013 article tried to show that precision agriculture can help farmers in developing countries like India.<ref>{{cite news |author-link=Anil K. Rajvanshi |first=Anil K. |last=Rajvanshi |url=http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Is-precision-agriculture-the-solution-to-Indias-farming-crisis/2013/10/15/article1836607.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016205744/http://newindianexpress.com/nation/Is-precision-agriculture-the-solution-to-Indias-farming-crisis/2013/10/15/article1836607.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 October 2013 |title=Is precision agriculture the solution to India's farming crisis}}</ref>

Precision agriculture reduces the pressure of agriculture on the environment by increasing the efficiency of machinery and putting it into use. For example, the use of remote management devices such as GPS reduces fuel consumption for agriculture, while variable rate application of nutrients or pesticides can potentially reduce the use of these inputs, thereby saving costs and reducing harmful runoff into the waterways.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schieffer |first1=J. |last2=Dillon |first2=C. |year=2015 |title=The economic and environmental impacts of precision agriculture and interactions with agro-environmental policy |journal=Precision Agriculture |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=46–61 |doi=10.1007/s11119-014-9382-5 |bibcode=2015PrAgr..16...46S |s2cid=9071060}}</ref>

GPS also reduces the amount of compaction to the ground by following previously made guidance lines. This will also allow for less time in the field and reduce the environmental impact of the equipment and chemicals.

Precision agriculture produces large quantities of varied sensing data which creates an opportunity to adapt and reuse such data for archaeology and heritage work, enhancing understanding of [[archaeology]] in contemporary agricultural landscapes.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Opitz|first1=Rachel|title=Remote Sensing Data to Support Integrated Decision Making in Cultural and Natural Heritage Management - Impasses and opportunities for collaboration in agricultural areas|journal=Internet Archaeology|date=2023|issue=62|doi=10.11141/ia.62.10|doi-access=free|url=https://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue62/10/index.html|hdl=1854/LU-01HM8S728JA2VW72B5MGQWYJJV|hdl-access=free}}</ref>