Wissam El-Ratal
Technology & Industry Advisory Board Member
Current Status & Practices of Agriculture Industry
Today, Earth’s population is around 8.3+ billion people, and it is estimated that by 2050, the world’s population would reach 10 billion people. This increase in population means that, to maintain the global food security and stability, production must increase by ~50-60% above the current levels.
Using current agricultural practices, it is required to use more of the natural resources, such as freshwater, by an additional 19-35% above the current 73% level of global fresh water, used for agricultural irrigation. Ironically, freshwater sources are shrinking at an alarming rate due to over-extraction, pollution, and climate change.
With the goal to increase global food production, extensive use of chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides, etc.) is needed to squeeze additional yield from the land. The “more is better” use of chemicals has led to several critical ramifications. They are:
1 – Increase in GHG emission: Today, the agriculture industry contributes to ~20-25% of global GHG emission. The use of chemicals results in emitting very dangerous GHG into the atmosphere. Some of the most well-known gases include Nitrous Oxide (N2O) which is 273X more potent than CO2. Methane (CH4) is another emitted gas and is roughly 28X more potent than CO2.
2 – Groundwater Contamination and Leaching: Excess chemicals leach through the soil into aquifers, making well water unsafe for human consumption.
3 – Soil stress, degradation, and Yield “Drag”: Overuse of chemicals eventually makes it harder to grow crops. Soil acidity increases, and beneficial fungi and bacteria that naturally help plants take up nutrients and fight disease, are killed.
4 – Bottomline Profit Loss: As of 2025–2026, input costs, mainly chemicals, have surged by ~70% due to geopolitical instability and supply chain issues. This cost increase, now exceeds the market value of the crop (corn, soybean, cotton, etc.), leading to negative profit per acre.
Besides the issues of natural resource availability, and overuse of chemicals, the agriculture industry is facing a shrinking percentage in arable land due to urbanization, and a reduction in workforce, chasing after higher income and better quality of life.
All these factors dictate the required radical change in current agricultural practices to pursuit sustainably precision agriculture that IoT4Ag consortium is going after, and this is what attracted me to be part of this mission and vision of noble cause and purpose.
What is Precision Agriculture
IoT4Ag R&D effort is to fundamentally support precision agriculture by developing sensors, AgBots, wireless connectivity, and IoT data for controls / automation (including AI/ML) to proactively manage crops from current field level, down to individual plants. It is the technology that enables farmers to proactively apply fast, the right input, in the right place, at the right time to maximize yield/profit, optimize the use of natural resources, and minimize GHG. Precision agriculture is no longer an option, rather it is a necessity.
Technology Development
Developing technology in the labs by scientists doesn’t guarantee that such technology will be eventually implemented by farmers. Capturing input from the customers must be the 1st step in the technology development process. Using systems engineering approach is essential to translate these farmers’ inputs into technology design & development requirements.
Finally, continuous collaboration with growers and technology incubators is a MUST to conduct field verification and validation trials of technology.
This partnership approach allows:
- scientists to understand how farms think,
- farmers and industry incubators to have a stake in the technology,
- real field trials to understand how such new technology fits into the farming ecosystem, to quantify technology benefits, and to identify opportunities for improvement,
- and the input needed for technology marketing & pricing business models.