Agrotech: Technology in agribusiness
The participation of agribusiness in the Brazilian economy is quite significant. The segment already accounts for just over 23.8% of Brazil’s economic activity, which is still expected to grow 2.1% in 2025, according to the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea), of Esalq/USP.
These figures demonstrate the strength of the sector, which even with the economic crisis that has settled in Brazil since the end of 2014, remains showing signs of growth. And have you ever stopped to think how much technology contributes to this development? Well, we can say that digital transformation is a solution to the great challenges faced by agribusiness.
The use of technology is already a reality in at least 67% of the country’s agricultural properties. According to the Brazilian Precision Agriculture Commission (CBAP), this percentage has already adopted technological resources inside or outside the field. The numbers show that farmers understood the importance of specializing and planning better through technologies, becoming more competitive and strong in the market.
To understand a little more of the Agrotech reality in Brazil and in the world and what the impacts of artificial intelligence on agriculture, follow the content we have prepared.
The economic scenario and the Agrotech reality in Brazil
Brazil is experiencing a moment of possibility of economic uncertainty, but there is a horizon of recovery. After a strong period of recession that began in 2014, the confidence of agribusiness entrepreneurs is higher, and therefore, it is necessary to invest in technologies that add value to production so that it grows.
The technology in the field facilitates the performance of tasks as well as greater planning and control of production. This is because technological resources tend to contribute not only to the optimization of results, but also to the measurement of crop data and information.
There are already advanced management technological solutions developed specifically for agribusiness, focused on strategic demands of the sector, such as cost reduction, increased productivity and better crop results.
The Agrotech ecosystem has been evolving every year with the emergence of agribusiness startups, which meet the most varied demands of the sector. Investors and entrepreneurs are focused on solving problems in the field and proof of this is that agribusiness startups register an average growth of 70% per year, moving more than R$ 15 billion, according to data from the Brazilian Startup Association (ABS).
Also according to ABS, data released at the end of 2017 show that in less than two years more than 75 new agrotechs businesses have emerged in Brazil, with 15% earning annually more than R$ 300 thousand.
Data from 2023 showed that Brazil has more than 2,000 exclusive agribusiness startups. The survey was made by Embrapa, SP Ventures and Homo Ludens. Agrotechs offer precision agriculture tools, use of satellites, drones and robotics applied to the field, as well as solutions such as big data, internet of things (iot), artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing management systems.
It is worth remembering that these businesses turned to the field with all this emphasis because the internet has reached a certain degree of maturity in Brazil and in parallel, farmers also had a cultural and even mindset change, that made them more open to the news of digital systems that help in solving simple and also the most complex problems.
Technology can make agribusiness more efficient and profitable
The technology applied to agribusiness operates on three main fronts: to help in the efficiency of rural productivity, to help rural producers to work in accordance with legislation and to profit more, that is, to achieve the best results in the field.
The application of drones, for example, helps in monitoring and mapping farms, crops and plantations, in order to identify problems and from this create action plans to minimize them or Sanáná them. The producers analyze the tracked images, through computational intelligence, which also offers reports that will indicate where the actions should start.
There are also technologies that help in tracking the food from the crops to the final consumer, in order to control the amount of pesticides applied to the products.
The use of satellites also allows the mapping of rural properties in the country helping to identify, for example, regions of deforestation, slave labor, excessive use of pesticides and even the presence of pests or diseases in plantations.
Other agrotechs have created intelligent software and applications that help, for example, in genetic, sanitary and animal management tracking, making production more efficient and final product quality safer, and even in controlling applications for pest control and monitoring moisture and fertility of crops.
In addition to crop management software, there are also those that help in the online purchase and sale of grains, seeds and agricultural inputs, which facilitates negotiations and commercial transactions.
Agro 4.0 revolution in the countryside
And the 4.0 revolution has not only arrived in the industry, but also marks a strong presence in the field, mainly through technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and the internet of things.
In the past, the producer made decisions only based on his own knowledge of the region of his property and the product he grows, today, with each crop, it needs to act about 50 times to solve problems and mitigate negative impacts and this is easier with the use of these technologies. With the use of these technologies, the rural producer starts to make more assertive decisions.
We are talking about the possibility of installing sensors in agricultural machines, which through the internet of things, the producer begins to collect data in real time making the crop more productive and bring more positive results. This connectivity takes place even between more than one farm, if it is necessary to connect data between multiple farms, whether they are the same owner or not.
Artificial intelligence also helps make productivity and reality in the field more predictive. This is because the application of sensors to machines helps in the generation of real-time data, creating smarter routines from the metrification of errors and the identification of opportunities in the crop.
With the use of AI, the producer will be better oriented in relation to which agricultural input to use, at what time, in what quantity so that he can achieve maximum productivity on his farm. All this will be possible due to the crossing of data carried out at all times by the sensors installed together the machines that will be able to predict various events in the crop indicating to the farmers the best decisions to be taken.
Thus, the adoption of technologies in the field can be mainly characterized by precision agriculture. With the technological solutions available, the farmer now has accurate and accurate data and information on every detail of the farm.
With the help of these tools, the farmer will make more assertive decisions related to climatic variations, soil management, inputs, among other factors that will directly influence productivity and agribusiness results.
The technology also increases the knowledge of the farmer in relation to his production, which facilitates the distribution of inputs, the uniformity of production and the correction of errors and unforeseen throughout the harvest. In addition to having greater control of production, the farmer also tends to reduce risks, costs and better preserve the environment.
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