Demand prognosis of industry 4.0 to agriculture sector in India

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Arora, Dhruv

Affiliations: Delhi Public School, Rohini, New Delhi, India | E-mail: aroradhruv@gmail.com

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Delhi Public School

Abstract: The objective of this study is to evaluate areas of applicability of Industry 4.0 or the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) to the Agriculture sector in India and how significant benefits can be delivered to the farmers by focusing on selected use cases. Agriculture has been the backbone of Indian economy for centuries, however, its contribution to the India’s economy, measured as a per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), has declined over the last decade. Farm productivity has only marginally improved during this timeframe. At the same time, a surge in expected demand for food grains is expected, posing a significant challenge to the demand-supply parity. To solve this conundrum, 4IR Technologies as the umbrella framework comprising of cognitive internet of things (IoT), big data analytics, drones/spatial technologies and digital user experience, were evaluated in this research study. A baseline assessment of the digital use cases of 4IR Technologies that have already been leveraged in India was conducted. The list of these digital use cases was then enhanced and prioritized using Delphi technique, considering economic value of the use cases to the Indian farmers as well as ease of their implementation.

Keywords: The fourth industrial revolution, 4IR, IoT, big data, precision farming, drones, digital user experience, agriculture

DOI: 10.3233/KES-210058

Journal: International Journal of Knowledge-based and Intelligent Engineering Systems, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 129-138, 2021