Technology impact on agricultural productivity: a review of precision agriculture using unmanned aerial vehicles

Abstract

Technology application to agricultural productivity is thought to be the solution to meet food demand of the growing population. In a rapidly changing world, with the prospect of decreasing arable land due to urbanization and industrialization, agricultural output requires a 70 % increase in production levels and efficient growth in the harvesting, distribution and consumption of the resources, to meet demand. There are innovations in Information and Communications Technology that can be applied to the agricultural sector in areas of precision farming, use of farm management software, wireless sensors, and use of agricultural machinery. Remote sensing technology is playing a key role through precision agriculture. This paper highlights ways in which precision agriculture is impacting on agriculture with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for image capturing, processing and analysis.