{"id":14696,"date":"2016-11-15T18:59:14","date_gmt":"2016-11-15T23:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/from-traditional-farming-to-industrialized-farming-to-digital-farming-can-agco-harvest-the-digital-revolution-to-transform-the-indu"},"modified":"2016-11-15T18:59:33","modified_gmt":"2016-11-15T23:59:33","slug":"from-traditional-farming-to-industrialized-farming-to-digital-farming-can-agco-harvest-the-digital-revolution-to-transform-the-industry","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/from-traditional-farming-to-industrialized-farming-to-digital-farming-can-agco-harvest-the-digital-revolution-to-transform-the-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"From traditional farming to industrialized farming to digital farming \u2013 Can AGCO harvest the digital revolution to transform the industry?"},"content":{"rendered":"

How can agriculture benefit from the digital revolution?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

Worth $3.2 trillion, the agricultural sector is one of the world\u2019s biggest industries in terms of GDP [1]. Yet, beyond its economic size, the agriculture industry has widespread social and environmental impacts as it defines millions of people\u2019s lives and has an important role in mitigating environmental damage [2].<\/p>\n

With current demographic developments, the role of agriculture will grow even further. For instance, a recent study by McKinsey & Company has estimated crop demand to increase by more than 100% until 2050 [3]. In order to meet increasing demand, the industry has been rushing towards fertilizers, biotechnology, and genetically modified crops, thereby often neglecting environmental implications. However, a recent disruption of the agriculture industry is being trigged by digital farming technologies that will influence agriculture worldwide by growing the supply through ecological intensification (maximizing farming yields with no negative environmental impact) [4].<\/p>\n

 
\nWhat is digital farming and how does it affect the current agriculture industry?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBy combining the power of a farmer\u2019s instinct with cutting-edge technologies such as satellite imagery, variable application algorithms, high-tech sensors, mobile applications or GPS, a farmer can make better informed choices that lead to higher yields and a lower environmental impact\u201d<\/i><\/em> [5].<\/p>\n

The digital revolution is influencing the entire value chain of agriculture. For instance, suppliers of seeds and fertilizers, e.g. Bayer, started to invest in computerized farming services that can measure plant progress and the effect of pesticides or genetically modified seeds in real-time through remote sensing [6]. But also on the other end of the value chain, can farmers now obtain a numerous climatic parameters from satellite imagery and almost real-time data on rainfall, temperature, evaporation, vegetation, etc. [7].<\/p>\n

The biggest leap-change trigged by digital transformation, however, can be seen at the manufacturers of agricultural machinery. Intelligent machines are becoming the heart of the digital revolution in farming by combining and integrating the above mentioned innovations. This practice of applying telemetry, sensors, data, satellite positioning and other technologies is referred to as \u2018precision farming\u2019 <\/i><\/b><\/em><\/strong>for a square-foot precise treatment of farmland [8].<\/p>\n

One of the leaders in precision farming is AGCO \u2013 the world\u2019s largest pure-play agricultural machinery manufacturer (home to the brands Fendt, Massey Ferguson, Valtra, and Challenger). The video below briefly illustrates AGCO\u2019s approach to precision farming.<\/p>\n

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