The Challenge of Agriculture: Increase the Productivity in a Sustainable Way

Abstract

The world population is growing, and it is estimated that 9.2 billion people will populate the planet by 2050 consuming twice the planet resources yearly. According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), current agricultural production needs to increase by 70% to be able to feed the whole population. On the other hand, four out of nine planetary boundaries are affected by the agriculture. So, the main dilemma is how to produce more food in a sustainable way. In this paper the main agricultural challenges and how the technology, especially IoT, could help to improve the productivity while keeping the planetary boundaries in reasonable values will be presented. Also, an overview of the parameters influencing the growth of crops will be included indicating the suitable values and how they can be monitored and controlled using electronics systems. Additionally, an IoT system being designed is sketched.