Editing Precision agriculture (section)

==Usage around the world ==
[[File:Pteryx UAV - wiki.jpg|thumb|[[Pteryx UAV]], a civilian UAV for aerial photography and photo mapping with roll-stabilised camera head]]

The concept of precision agriculture first emerged in the United States in the early 1980s. In 1985, researchers at the University of Minnesota varied lime inputs in crop fields. It was also at this time that the practice of grid sampling appeared (applying a fixed grid of one sample per hectare). Towards the end of the 1980s, this technique was used to derive the first input recommendation maps for fertilizers and pH corrections. The use of yield sensors developed from new technologies, combined with the advent of GPS receivers, has been gaining ground ever since. Today, such systems cover several million hectares.

In the American Midwest (US), it is associated not with sustainable agriculture but with mainstream farmers who are trying to maximize profits by spending money only in areas that require fertilizer. This practice allows the farmer to vary the rate of fertilizer across the field according to the need identified by GPS guided Grid or Zone Sampling. Fertilizer that would have been spread in areas that do not need it can be placed in areas in need, thereby optimizing its use.

Around the world, precision agriculture developed at a varying pace. Precursor nations were the United States, Canada and Australia. In Europe, the United Kingdom was the first to go down this path, followed closely by France, where it first appeared in 1997–1998. In [[Latin America]] the leading country is [[Argentina]], where it was introduced in the middle 1990s with the support of the [[National Agricultural Technology Institute]]. [[Brazil]] established a state-owned enterprise, [[Embrapa]], to research and develop sustainable agriculture. The development of GPS and variable-rate spreading techniques helped to anchor precision farming<ref>{{cite web|title=Simon Blackmore: Farming with robots|url=http://spie.org/newsroom/blackmore-video|publisher=SPIE Newsroom |date=2 June 2016 |access-date=2 June 2016}}</ref> management practices. Today, less than 10% of France's farmers are equipped with variable-rate systems. Uptake of GPS is more widespread, but this hasn't stopped them using precision agriculture services, which supplies field-level recommendation maps.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spotimage.com/web/en/3294-pixagri-precision-agriculture-with-aerial-and-satellite-imagery-satellite-imagery-and-geoinformation-spot-image.php|title=precision agriculture with satellite imagery|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110407161935/http://www.spotimage.com/web/en/3294-pixagri-precision-agriculture-with-aerial-and-satellite-imagery-satellite-imagery-and-geoinformation-spot-image.php|archive-date=7 April 2011}}</ref>

While digital technologies can transform the landscape of agricultural machinery, making mechanization both more precise and more accessible, non-mechanized production is still dominant in many low- and middle-income countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />&nbsp;Research on precision agriculture for non-mechanized production is increasing and so is its adoption.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nyaga |first1=Justine M. |last2=Onyango |first2=Cecilia M. |last3=Wetterlind |first3=Johanna |last4=Söderström |first4=Mats |date=2021-08-01 |title=Precision agriculture research in sub-Saharan Africa countries: a systematic map |journal=Precision Agriculture |language=en |volume=22 |issue=4 |pages=1217–1236 |doi=10.1007/s11119-020-09780-w |s2cid=254944417 |issn=1573-1618|doi-access=free |bibcode=2021PrAgr..22.1217N }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Onyango |first1=Cecilia M. |last2=Nyaga |first2=Justine M. |last3=Wetterlind |first3=Johanna |last4=Söderström |first4=Mats |last5=Piikki |first5=Kristin |date=2021-01-22 |title=Precision Agriculture for Resource Use Efficiency in Smallholder Farming Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review |journal=Sustainability |language=en |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=1158 |doi=10.3390/su13031158 |issn=2071-1050|doi-access=free |bibcode=2021Sust...13.1158O }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Proceedings of 1st African Conference of Precision Agriculture – African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI) |url=https://www.apni.net/product/proceedings-of-1st-african-conference-of-precision-agriculture/ |access-date=2022-12-23 |language=en-US}}</ref> Examples include the AgroCares hand-held soil scanner, uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) services (also known as drones), and GNSS to map field boundaries and establish land tenure.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Lowenberg-DeBoer |first1=James |last2=Erickson |first2=Bruce |date=2019 |title=Setting the Record Straight on Precision Agriculture Adoption |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2134/agronj2018.12.0779 |journal=Agronomy Journal |language=en |volume=111 |issue=4 |pages=1552–1569 |doi=10.2134/agronj2018.12.0779 |bibcode=2019AgrJ..111.1552L |s2cid=182858544 |issn=0002-1962}}</ref> However, it is not clear how many agricultural producers actually use digital technologies.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Van Beek, C |url=https://www.agrocares.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/whitepaper-christy-van-beek-1.pdf |title=Adoption level is the most underestimated factor in fertiliser recommendations |publisher=AgroCares |year=2020 |access-date=23 December 2022 |archive-date=13 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221213232157/https://www.agrocares.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/whitepaper-christy-van-beek-1.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Precision livestock farming supports farmers in real-time by continuously monitoring and controlling animal productivity, environmental impacts, and health and welfare parameters.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schillings |first1=Juliette |last2=Bennett |first2=Richard |last3=Rose |first3=David Christian |date=2021 |title=Exploring the Potential of Precision Livestock Farming Technologies to Help Address Farm Animal Welfare |journal=Frontiers in Animal Science |volume=2 |doi=10.3389/fanim.2021.639678 |issn=2673-6225|doi-access=free }}</ref>&nbsp;Sensors attached to animals or to barn equipment operate climate control and monitor animals’ health status, movement and needs. For example, cows can be tagged with the electronic identification (EID) that allows a milking robot to access a database of udder coordinates for specific cows.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Knight |first=C.H. |date=2020 |title=Review: Sensor techniques in ruminants: more than fitness trackers |journal=Animal |language=en |volume=14 |issue=S1 |pages=s187–s195 |doi=10.1017/S1751731119003276|pmid=32024562 |s2cid=211050256 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2020Anim...14.s187K }}</ref> Global automatic milking system sales have increased over recent years,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=Global milking robots market size by type, by herd size, by geographic scope and forecast |url=https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/product/milking-robots-market |access-date=24 July 2022 |website=Verified Market Research}}</ref> but adoption is likely mostly in Northern Europe,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rodenburg |first=Jack |date=2017 |title=Robotic milking: Technology, farm design, and effects on work flow |journal=Journal of Dairy Science |volume=100 |issue=9 |pages=7729–7738 |doi=10.3168/jds.2016-11715 |pmid=28711263 |issn=0022-0302|doi-access=free }}</ref> and likely almost absent in low- and middle-income countries.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lowenberg-DeBoer, J. |url=https://doi.org/10.4060/cc2624en |title=Economics of adoption for digital automated technologies in agriculture. Background paper for The State of Food and Agriculture 2022 |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) |year=2022 |isbn=978-92-5-137080-3 |series=FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Paper 22-10 |location=Rome|doi=10.4060/cc2624en }}</ref> Automated feeding machines for both cows and poultry also exist, but data and evidence regarding their adoption trends and drivers is likewise scarce.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

The economic and environmental benefits of precision agriculture have also been confirmed in China, but China is lagging behind countries such as Europe and the United States because the Chinese agricultural system is characterized by small-scale family-run farms, which makes the adoption rate of precision agriculture lower than other countries. Therefore, China is trying to better introduce precision agriculture technology into its own country and reduce some risks, paving the way for China's technology to develop precision agriculture in the future.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1017/S2040470017001066|title=Precision Agriculture in China: Exploring Awareness, Understanding, Attitudes and Perceptions of Agricultural Experts and End-Users in China|journal=Advances in Animal Biosciences|volume=8|issue=2|pages=703–707|year=2017|last1=Kendall|first1=H.|last2=Naughton|first2=P.|last3=Clark|first3=B.|last4=Taylor|first4=J.|last5=Li|first5=Z.|last6=Zhao|first6=C.|last7=Yang|first7=G.|last8=Chen|first8=J.|last9=Frewer|first9=L. J. |display-authors=3|url=https://eprint.ncl.ac.uk/fulltext.aspx?url=239759/1E563DE4-1F12-4A59-8EB4-D0D0A5B3FC72.pdf&pub_id=239759}}</ref>

In December 2014, the Russian President made an address to the Russian Parliament where he called for a National Technology Initiative (NTI). It is divided into subcomponents such as the FoodNet initiative. The FoodNet initiative contains a set of declared priorities, such as precision agriculture. This field is of special interest to Russia as an important tool in developing elements of the bioeconomy in Russia.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Osmakova | first1=Alina | last2=Kirpichnikov | first2=Michael | last3=Popov | first3=Vladimir | title=Recent biotechnology developments and trends in the Russian Federation | journal=New Biotechnology | volume=40 | date=2018 | issue=Pt A | doi=10.1016/j.nbt.2017.06.001 | pages=76–81| pmid=28634066 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://nti2035.ru/markets/ | title=Рынки Нти }}</ref>