Overview of empowering sustainable agriculture through smart farming and regenerative practices
Keywords:
Climate change, Regenerative practices, Smart farming, Sustainable agricultureAbstract
With rapid urbanization and the growing impacts of climate change, agriculture is facing growing pressure as the global population approaches 10 billion. These challenges will need to be addressed by a practice shift from an agricultural standpoint towards sustainability; ensuring that food security and natural resources sustainability is achieved for future generations. This review presents some of the key technologies and strategies that could be embraced by the farmers to ensure sustainable agriculture. The interconnection between smart farming (precision agriculture) and regenerative agriculture is the most important aspect of this sustainable agriculture. Precision agriculture is an application of state-of-the-art technologies such as Internet of Things sensor technologies, drones, data analysis and robotics to get maximum use from inputs, maximize productivity and minimize the environmental footprint. Rather, regenerative practices tend to be more concerned with the healing of soil, biodiversity, and the creation of a resilient agroecosystem. This review highlights the possible integration of these options and the role they can play towards sustainable intensification. Although the results are good, the use of these products is still limited because of the initial high investment costs, the lack of technical knowledge and infrastructural problems. The review stresses the importance of synergy in research, policy development and education in order to deal with these challenges. The available evidence suggests that smart farming and regenerative agriculture address different but complementary dimensions of sustainability. While digital technologies improve resource-use efficiency and precision management, regenerative practices restore ecological functions and enhance system resilience. Their integration therefore represents a more comprehensive strategy for sustainable agricultural intensification than either approach alone, although economic and institutional barriers continue to limit widespread adoption. In conclusion, ecological restoration is an effective way to adopt data-driven innovation as a pathway to environmental sustainability and global food security.
References
Ahmed, A., Ali, M., Basir, A., Hussain, I., & Tiwari, T. P. (2024). Enhancing wheat productivity in Pakistan through nitrogen management and NDVI monitoring with Green Seeker. Journal of Applied Research in Plant Sciences, 5(2), 355-363.
Allmendinger, A., Spaeth, M., Saile, M., Peteinatos, G. G., & Gerhards, R. (2024). Agronomic and technical evaluation of herbicide spot spraying in maize based on high-resolution aerial weed maps: An on-farm trial. Plants, 13(15), 2164.
Altieri, M. A. (1999). The ecological role of biodiversity in agroecosystems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 74(1-3), 19-31.
Ball, B., Bingham, I., Rees, B., Watson, C., & Litterick, A. (2005). The role of crop rotations in determining soil structure and crop growth conditions. Canadian Journal of Soil Science, 85(5), 557-577.
Bechar, A., & Vigneault, C. (2017). Agricultural robots for field operations. Part 2: Operations and systems. Biosystems Engineering, 153, 110-128.
Beillouin, D., Ben-Ari, T., & Makowski, D. (2021). Evidence map of crop diversification strategies at the global scale. Environmental Research Letters, 16, 123001.
Bonfante, A., Monaco, E., Manna, P., De Mascellis, R., Basile, A., Buonanno, M., Cantilena, G., Esposito, A., Tedeschi, A., De Michele, C., Belfiore, O., Catapano, I., Ludeno, G., Salinas, K., & Brook, A. (2019). LCIS DSS: An irrigation supporting system for water use efficiency improvement in precision agriculture: A maize case study. Agricultural Systems, 176, 102646.
Castle, S. E., Miller, D. C., Merten, N., et al. (2022). Evidence for the impacts of agroforestry on ecosystem services and human well-being in high-income countries: A systematic map. Environmental Evidence, 11, 10.
Dhanaraju, M., Chenniappan, P., Ramalingam, K., Pazhanivelan, S., & Kaliaperumal, R. (2022). Smart farming: Internet of Things (IoT)-based sustainable agriculture. Agriculture, 12(10), 1745.
Eastwood, C., Klerkx, L., Ayre, M., & Dela Rue, B. (2017). Managing socio-ethical challenges in the development of smart farming: From a fragmented to a comprehensive approach for responsible research and innovation. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 30(1), 1-21.
El-Beltagi, H., Basit, A., Mohamed, H., Ali, I., Durrani, S., Kamel, E., Shalaby, T., Ramadan, K., Alkhateeb, A., & Ghazzawy, H. (2022). Mulching as a sustainable water and soil saving practice in agriculture: A review. Agronomy, 12(8), 1881.
El-Beltagi, H., Basit, A., Mohamed, H., et al. (2022). Mulching as a sustainable water and soil saving practice in agriculture: A review. Agronomy, 12(8), 1881.
Fahad, S., Shah, K. K., Modi, B., Pandey, H. P., Subedi, A., Aryal, G., Pandey, M., & Shrestha, J. (2021). Diversified crop rotation: An approach for sustainable agriculture production. Advances in Agriculture, 2021, 8924087.
Friha, O., Ferrag, M. A., Shu, L., Maglaras, L., & Wang, X. C. (2021). Internet of Things for the future of smart agriculture: A comprehensive survey of emerging technologies. IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica, 8(4), 718-752.
Ghazali, M., Shah, M. S. S., Misman, S. N., Masarudin, M., Abd Rani, M. N., Omar, M., Nordin, M., Abdul Rahman, M. S., Abu Bakar, B., Rahim, H., Mohamed Hamim, N., Ahmad, M., Khadzir, M., Fauzi, M., Ahmad, M. T., Bujang, A., Sharu, E., Samsuri, N., Vun, C., ... Chuang, T. (2020). Implementation of fertilizer variable rate technology (VRT) of rice precision farming in FELCRA Seberang Perak.
Ghosh, A., Rai, S., Ashoka, P., Kotyal, K., Sabarinathan, B., Saran, S., . . . Pandey, S. K. (2025). Data-driven decision making in agriculture with sensors, satellite imagery and AI analytics by digital farming. Archives of Current Research International, 25(5), 37–52.
Giller, K. E., Hijbeek, R., Andersson, J. A., & Sumberg, J. (2021). Regenerative agriculture: An agronomic perspective. Outlook on Agriculture, 50(1), 13-25.
He, D.-C., Ma, Y.-L., Li, Z.-Z., Zhong, C.-S., Cheng, Z.-B., & Zhan, J. (2021). Crop rotation enhances agricultural sustainability: From an empirical evaluation of eco-economic benefits in rice production. Agriculture, 11, 91.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2014). Mitigation of climate change. In Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (p. 1454). IPCC.
Kamilaris, A., Kartakoullis, A., & Prenafeta-Boldú, F. X. (2017). A review on the practice of big data analysis in agriculture. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 143, 23-37.
Karunathilake, E. M. B. M., Le, A. T., Heo, S., Chung, Y. S., & Mansoor, S. (2023). The path to smart farming: Innovations and opportunities in precision agriculture. Agriculture, 13(8), 1593.
Khan, M., Mahmood, H. Z., Abbas, G., & Damalas, C. A. (2017). Agroforestry systems as alternative land-use options in the arid zone of Thal, Pakistan. Agroforestry Systems.
Khangura, R., Ferris, D., Wagg, C., & Bowyer, J. (2023). Regenerative agriculture: A literature review on the practices and mechanisms used to improve soil health. Sustainability, 15(3), 2338.
Khose, S. B., Bhalekar, D., Pohshna, C., & Kamble, A. (2023). Mulching: A key to sustainable agriculture. Agriculture & Food: E-Newsletter, 5(11), 312–317.
Klerkx, L., Jakku, E., & Labarthe, P. (2019). A review of social science on digital agriculture, smart farming, and Agriculture 4.0: New contributions and a future research agenda. NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 90-91, 100315.
Kumar, P., & Usadadiya, V. P. (2023). Mulching: An efficient technology for sustainable agriculture production. International Journal of Plant & Soil Science, 35(20), 887-896.
LaCanne, C. E., & Lundgren, J. G. (2018). Regenerative agriculture: Merging farming and natural resource conservation profitably. PeerJ, 6, e4428.
Lal, R. (2020). Regenerative agriculture for food and climate. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 75(4), 123A–124A. doi:10.2489/jswc.2020.0620A
Lemaire, G., Franzluebbers, A., de Faccio Carvalho, P. C., & Dedieu, B. (2013). Integrated crop-livestock systems: Strategies to achieve synergy between agricultural production and environmental quality. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 177, 5-20.
Lemaire, G., Franzluebbers, A., de Faccio Carvalho, P. C., & Dedieu, B. (2014). Integrated crop-livestock systems: Strategies to achieve synergy between agricultural production and environmental quality. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 190, 4-8.
Liu, Y., Ma, X., Shu, L., et al. (2020). Agricultural IoT for precision farming. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 7(6), 5040-5054.
McGuire, A. (2018). Regenerative agriculture: Solid principles, extraordinary claims. Washington State University Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources Blog.
Mohamed Nikzaad, R., & Nusrathali, N. (2023). Integrating livestock and crop systems for enhanced productivity and grassland conservation in developing countries. In IntechOpen.
Nair, P. K. R., Kumar, B. M., & Nair, V. D. (2010). Carbon sequestration in agroforestry systems. Advances in Agronomy, 108, 237-307.
Giller, K. E., Hijbeek, R., Andersson, J. A., & Sumberg, J. (2021). Regenerative agriculture: An agronomic perspective. Outlook on Agriculture, 50(1), 13–25. doi:10.1177/0030727021998063
Newton, P., Civita, N., Frankel-Goldwater, L., Bartel, K., & Johns, C. (2020). What is regenerative agriculture? A review of scholar and practitioner definitions based on processes and outcomes. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 4, 577723. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2020.577723
Nichols, V., Verhulst, N., Cox, R., & Govaerts, B. (2015). Weed dynamics and conservation agriculture principles: A review. Field Crops Research, 183, 56-68.
Noroz, M. M., Shah, A. N., & Latif, A. (2021). Role of adaptation strategies for climate change and nutrients management tools in Gilgit Baltistan’s agriculture. Advances in Agriculture and Biology, 4(1), 14-21. https://doi.org/10.63072/aab.21003
Omokhafe, K., Dongo, L., & Imoren, E. (2024). Agricultural productivity in developing countries and influence of climate change on agriculture. Advances in Agriculture and Biology, 7(1), 21-28. https://doi.org/10.63072/aab.24003
Poeplau, C., & Don, A. (2015). Carbon sequestration in agricultural soils via cultivation of cover crops: A meta-analysis. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 200, 33-41.
Pretty, J., & Bharucha, Z. P. (2014). Sustainable intensification in agricultural systems. Annals of Botany, 114(8), 1571-1596.
Raj, M., Gupta, S., Chamola, V., Elhence, A., Garg, T., Atiquzzaman, M., & Niyato, D. (2021). A survey on the role of Internet of Things for adopting and promoting Agriculture 4.0. Journal of Network and Computer Applications, 187, 103107.
Ranjan, A., Pathak, S., & Singh, S. (2024). Precision farming: Uses drones, satellite imagery, and other technologies to increase efficiency and resource utilization. In B. Prasad, D. K. S. Chouhan, A. Tutlani, S. Kumari, & R. Kumar (Eds.), Fields of tomorrow: Advancements in modern agriculture. Astitva Prakashan.
Rehberger, E., West, P. C., Spillane, C., & McKeown, P. C. (2023). What climate and environmental benefits of regenerative agriculture practices? An evidence review. Environmental Research Communications, 5(5), 052001. https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/acd6dc
Sethia, G., Guragol, H. K. S., Sandhya, S., Shruthi, J., & Rashmi, N. (2020, July). Automated computer vision-based weed removal bot. In 2020 IEEE International Conference on Electronics, Computing and Communication Technologies (CONECCT) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
Singh, V., Johar, V., Kumar, R., & Chaudhary, M. (2022). Agroforestry systems: A review. International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Biotechnology, 14, 521-533.
Sishodia, R. P., Ray, R. L., & Singh, S. K. (2020). Applications of remote sensing in precision agriculture: A review. Remote Sensing, 12(19), 3136; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12193136
Teague, W. R., Apfelbaum, S., Lal, R., Kreuter, U., Rowntree, J., Davies, C., Conser, R., Rasmussen, M., Hatfield, J., Wang, T., Wang, F., & Byck, P. (2016). The role of ruminants in reducing agriculture's carbon footprint in North America. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, 71(2), 156-164.
Torres-Sánchez, J., López-Granados, F., De Castro, A. I., & Peña-Barragán, J. M. (2015). Configuration and specifications of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for early site-specific weed management. PLOS ONE, 10(6), e0128037.
United Nations. (2019). Convention to Combat Desertification. Land in numbers 2019: Risks and opportunities.
United Nations. (2022). World population prospects 2022: Summary of results. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Wolfert, S., Ge, L., Verdouw, C., & Bogaardt, M. J. (2017). Big data in smart farming: A review. Agricultural Systems, 153, 69-80.
Zhang, C., & Kovacs, J. M. (2012). The application of small unmanned aerial systems for precision agriculture: A review. Precision Agriculture, 13(6), 693-712.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
All articles published by JPAA are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License . This permits anyone to copy, redistribute, transmit and adapt the work provided the original work and source is appropriately cited as specified by the Creative Commons Attribution License.
