Smart Farming Technologies in Arable Farming: Towards a Holistic Assessment of Opportunities and Risks

Abstract

Agricultural production finds itself in an area of tension. As a critical infrastructure, it has the task of reliably feeding a growing global population and supplying it with energy. However, the negative environmental impacts caused by agriculture, such as the global loss of biodiversity and the emission of greenhouse gases, are to be reduced. The increasing use of digital technologies is often described as a panacea that enables sustainable agriculture. The relevant literature is very dynamic, but the large number of concepts and terminologies used makes it difficult to obtain an overall view. In addition, many contributions focus on presumed or modeled efficiency gains, but this ignores technical and societal prerequisites and barriers. Therefore, the aim of this work was to identify the opportunities and risks of smart farming (SF) for more ecological arable farming. For this purpose, a holistic and environmental view was taken. The potential of SF to aid in the reduction in the environmental impacts of individual agricultural work steps was examined via an analysis of current literature. In addition, rebound effects, acceptance barriers and political omissions were considered as risks that prevent the benefits from being realized. It was shown that SF is able to contribute to a significant reduction in the negative environmental effects of agriculture. In particular, a reduction in fertilizer and pesticide application rates through mapping, sensing and precise application can lead to environmental benefits. However, achieving this requires the minimization of existing risks. For this reason, a proactive role of the state is required, implementing the necessary governance measures.