There has been an increasing adoption of agricultural drones across the world owing to growing agricultural industry, and high-demand for high quality food crops. The growing use of drones for crop health monitoring, weed detection, variable rate application, crop scouting, and livestock management supports the agriculture drones market growth. The growing population and increasing automation of farm operations further supports agriculture drones market growth.
The global agricultural drones market has been driven by the increasing need to improve the quality of crops produced, maximise crop production, and enhance productivity. Other factors driving the growth of this market include growth in the global agricultural industry, reducing availability of labours, and increasing labour costs. However, safety, security, and privacy concerns restrict the growth of the agricultural drones market. Growing demand from emerging economies, and technological advancements are factors expected to provide numerous growth opportunities in the coming years.
Companies profiled in the report include Trimble Navigation, DJI Technology, Parrot SA, Drone Deploy, Agribotix, Honeycomb, Aerovironment, Eagle UAV Services, 3D Robotics, AgEagle Aerial, Autocopter, and Ursula Agriculture. These companies launch new products and collaborate with other market leaders to innovate and launch new products to meet the increasing needs and requirements of consumers.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) utilises drones with camera and sensor payloads to develop digital orthophotographs. These images are available to the government agencies and general public for estimation of land usage, crop plantings and yields, and others. In March 2016, Agribotix partnered with Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to introduce agriculture drone and data analytics for crop health management and improvement of agriculture production.
North America generated the highest revenue in the market in 2017. The increasing population, and growing demand for high quality crops drives the growth of this market. Growing cost of labor and increasing automation in agricultural practices further support global agriculture drones market growth. Increasing investments and subsidies in the agriculture sector by governments are expected to boost the adoption of drones for increased productivity in farms.
The different components used in agriculture drones include hardware, software, and services. In 2017, the hardware segment accounted for the largest share in the global market. The hardware used in agricultural drones include technologically advanced cameras, navigation systems, frames, controllers, propulsion systems, and others. The hardware components are required for capturing information and monitoring of fields and crops.
