Propelled by the rapid development of innovative technologies and agribusiness-tech partnerships, modern farming is on the verge of the kind of digital transformation process seen across many other industries. In fact, research predicts that by 2026, the AI in agriculture market will grow at over 25% per year to reach a value of $4 billion. According to the same study, this impressive acceleration in the adoption of AI is due to the "increasing implementation of data generation through sensors and aerial images for crops, increasing crop productivity through deep learning technology, and government support for the adoption of modern agricultural techniques." But where is this tech-led innovation being focused? Smart farming, for example, is an autonomous end-to-end system that can gather and process key datasets to give actionable insights.

Smart farming, an increasingly common part of food production, refers broadly to the innovative use of sensors, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline agriculture. Field crop examples of smart farming include monitoring soil health using small sensors, spotting signs of disease in plants via drones, and facilitating connections between smaller-scale farmers through consumer electronic devices. These smart innovations offer potential time savings and crop optimization benefits for farmers and may contribute to the wiser use of resources in food production. Smart farming is also used in animal agriculture in forms such as Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) and Digital Livestock Farming (DLF). PLF uses sensors and small electronics to measure key indicators related to animals' physiology and behavior.

However, because food inflation was both sharp and sustained, these businesses found their customers willing to accept price increases–and, because inflation was widespread across the industry, those who acted swiftly experienced better performance. In fact, businesses that raised prices sooner rather than later found themselves in a more advantageous position than those who held back. Now that commodity prices have fallen and runaway inflation has started to subside, food, beverage, and agribusiness companies–even those that didn't raise prices–may have some breathing room on the horizon. The food industry is starting to see light at the end of the tunnel despite continued high labor costs and lingering pandemic-related operational disruptions. Food industry margins have been reinforced by a number of post-pandemic shifts that are adding flexibility to the value chain.

A major mass of India's population is still dependent on and practicing agriculture as their primary source of income. And this sector contributes around 15 per cent to the national GDP of the country. With the advancement of time and technology, there has been a trend of introducing new methodologies by tech entrepreneurs in the sector. Farmers are provided with modern technologies for better results for their income. Farming in India for a prolonged period of time has been based manually.

The pandemic has both reinforced and highlighted the underlying trends that preceded it. Not only did 45% of consumers claim that they want to purchase more sustainable products during this period, Accenture reports, they also intend to continue in this dynamic in the future (Keeble, 2020). Faced with the rise of these new expectations, companies have higher demands from their suppliers and are improving the sustainability of their value chains. However, the required transformation does not stop there, it is now necessary to ensure the quality of the information that circulates in the supply chains and empower each actor with suitable technological tools to manage it. To take full advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) and its capabilities, large amounts of data are necessary. As value chain data is too often scattered, a system integrating supply chain data collection and consolidation is needed.

"All you need is (love) AI in agriculture." Modern-day farming gets smarter by the day: a symbiosis of cows and drones has never felt so natural and necessary. And surely it means that AgriTech creates more and more data while automating greenhouses through IoT, monitoring field variability in precision agriculture solutions, and so on. But have you ever felt like there must be something else this vast data collection can do? Well, ITRex has, and our AI consulting team believes that this data is dying to jump into an artificial intelligence solution and get agricultural companies more business insights.

Grab your seat at this session by Miku Jha, Founder & CEO of AgShift. She'll demonstrate how AI-enabled automation can make food quality assessment better...

Agritech in India has seen a skyrocketing growth with numerous startups emerging with new technologies and advanced methods such as data analytics, machine learning and satellite imaging, among others to cater to the needs of Indian farmers and maximise their output. India with 118.7 million farmer households, accounting for more than half of the population is heavily dependent on agriculture as a primary source of income. But Indian agriculture is plagued by several problems both man made and natural such as; unavailability of seeds, small and fragmented land-holdings, problems with irrigation due to uncertain monsoon, shortage of finance among other necessities, leaving farmers helpless and with no option but to let their produce go at dirt cheap prices. Therefore, Agritech is clearly one of the most needed industries in India and here is a list of top 9 agritech startups helping Indian farmers by providing agronomic intelligence. Started in 2016 by Nishant Vats and Tauseef Khan, Gramophone is a one-stop e-commerce platform for farmers delivering agricultural inputs in more than 10,000 villages.

CHICAGO – Agribusiness is increasingly turning to natural and sustainable alternatives to chemicals as consumers rebuff genetically modified foods and concerns grow over Big Ag's role in climate change. At the heart of the trend are innovations that harness beneficial microorganizms in the soil, including seed-coatings of naturally occurring bacteria and fungi that can do the same work as traditional chemicals, from warding off pests to helping plants flourish, according to a global patent study by research firm GreyB Services. Much of the research in crop biotech is centered in the United States, China, Germany, Japan and South Korea, according to the U.N. agency WIPO. "Both entrepreneurs and investors are saying, 'Hey, the writing is on the wall, we're entering a post-chemical world,'" said Rob LeClerc, chief executive officer of AgFunder, an online venture-capital platform. "The seed companies who have billions in market cap are like'We need to do something,' and everyone recognizes the opportunity."

With 88% of primary farm operators men, agriculture tech has a long way to go to diversity. If you've never been to an agriculture-related conference, you're probably wondering what a pink ticket is. It's pretty common for guests to bring their spouse to agriculture shows and conferences have started selling programs specifically designed for those attendees. The spouse gets a pink ticket, and while conference attendees have the option to go golfing, spouses have a pedicure and Tiffany & Co. tour (this was a real option at a conference Allison attended.) Agriculture, and agriculture technology (agtech), in particular, is operating in a unique space.