Advancements of agriculture 4.0 in mechanized sugarcane harvesting: a review

Abstract

This study reviewed the advancements of Agriculture 4.0 in mechanized sugarcane harvesting, analyzing the efficiency of the mechanized harvesting system and evaluating the impact of the harvesting, loading, and transportation process costs. The mechanized sugarcane harvesting system in the 2020/21 harvest reached 91.6% or approximately 588 Mg in Brazil. As this activity demands a high amount of capital - assets, labor, inputs - the cost of the harvesting, loading, and transporting process represents 40% of the sugarcane production cost. The continuous delivery of raw material to the industrial processing unit is essential to ensure stability and maximum yield for obtaining sugar and ethanol, especially in an environment with geographical dispersion of harvesting fronts and agronomic factors linked to crop management. Therefore, tools that enable real-time equipment tracking benefit process management. Digital agriculture, defined as the application of technologies that seek to add intelligence and process automation, allows for improved agricultural management of farms, making it possible to reach new productivity levels in the field. The data generated through digital agriculture allows for the creation of models to construct scenarios that improve decision-making, both in terms of operational strategies - distribution of resources by harvesting front - and long-term strategies - the adoption of new technologies in the process.