Ensuring Agricultural Sustainability through Remote Sensing in the Era of Agriculture 5.0

Abstract

Timely and reliable information about crop management, production, and yield is considered of great utility by stakeholders (e.g., national and international authorities, farmers, commercial units, etc.) to ensure food safety and security. By 2050, according to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates, around 70% more production of agricultural products will be needed to fulfil the demands of the world population. Likewise, to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially the second goal of “zero hunger”, potential technologies like remote sensing (RS) need to be efficiently integrated into agriculture. The application of RS is indispensable today for a highly productive and sustainable agriculture. Therefore, the present study draws a general overview of RS technology with a special focus on the principal platforms of this technology, i.e., satellites and remotely piloted aircrafts (RPAs), and the sensors used, in relation to the 5th industrial revolution. Nevertheless, since 1957, RS technology has found applications, through the use of satellite imagery, in agriculture, which was later enriched by the incorporation of remotely piloted aircrafts (RPAs), which is further pushing the boundaries of proficiency through the upgrading of sensors capable of higher spectral, spatial, and temporal resolutions. More prominently, wireless sensor technologies (WST) have streamlined real time information acquisition and programming for respective measures. Improved algorithms and sensors can, not only add significant value to crop data acquisition, but can also devise simulations on yield, harvesting and irrigation periods, metrological data, etc., by making use of cloud computing. The RS technology generates huge sets of data that necessitate the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to extract useful products, thereby augmenting the adeptness and efficiency of agriculture to ensure its sustainability. These technologies have made the orientation of current research towards the estimation of plant physiological traits rather than the structural parameters possible. Futuristic approaches for benefiting from these cutting-edge technologies are discussed in this study. This study can be helpful for researchers, academics, and young students aspiring to play a role in the achievement of sustainable agriculture.

Using Satellite Images to Measure Crop Productivity: Long-Term Impact Assessment of a Randomized Technology Adoption Program in the Dominican Republic

“…One of the most important refers to remote sensing (RS) technologies. According to Martos et al, (2021), the application of RS is indispensable for a highly productive and sustainable agriculture. In fact, the authors state that artificial intelligence and cloud computing, applied to agricultural remote sensing, is the fifth agricultural revolution.…”

“…Specifically, remote sensing with external sensors, such as drones or satellites, can be useful to monitor land and crops over time. These instruments allow us to scan crops (Brizuela et al, 2007) and capture different vegetation variables such as health, production, phenological stage or nutritional deficit (Melchiori OPet al, 2008), occupying a central position in precision agriculture and soil studies (Martos et al, 2021). Likewise, remote sensing can be used to measure the spatial variation of productivity, to estimate biomass and agricultural yields, and to obtain samples of physical and chemical properties of vegetation in complex biophysical environments (Aguilar Rivera, 2015).…”

“…As mentioned in Martos et al, (2021), first studies on RS were focused on the reflection mechanism, absorption, and diffusion of light rays from plant leaves. However, in the last decades, the RS technology has been completely revolutionized.…”

“…Current studies are related to designing novel algorithms, improving sensor technology and the incorporation of artificial intelligence. The application of these novel technologies has been accompanied by a significant boom in academic articles that discuss and compare different aspects of their implementation, highlight their various applications, underline some of their limitations and identify some of the opportunities in this field (Martos et al, 2021). This paper focused on the latter.…”

Early Detection of Wild Rocket Tracheofusariosis Using Hyperspectral Image-Based Machine Learning

“…Remote sensing (RS) plays a crucial role in precision agriculture, also called "precision farming", "digital farming", or "agriculture 5.0", being a very useful technology that allows large-scale crop monitoring in a synoptic, remote, and non-destructive way [12]. Typically, it involves a sensor capable of collecting electromagnetic radiation reflected or emitted by plants, which is then further processed to produce information about traits in the agricultural system and their space and temporal variations.…”