Global Smart Harvest Market is segmented By Component (Hardware (Sensors, Harvesting Robots, Control Systems, Others), Software), By Site of Harvesting (Greenhouse, Outdoor), By Crop Type (Fruits, Vegetables, Grains), and By Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa) – Share, Size, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2024 - 2031
Smart Harvest Market Overview
Report on Global Smart Harvest by DataM Intelligence estimates the market to grow at a CAGR of 11.5% during the forecast period (2024-2031).
Harvesting is considered a vital part of any agricultural practice in that it affects the overall profitability of the process. Timely harvesting and the adoption of effective harvesting methods are gaining importance, particularly among fruit and vegetable production. Smart Harvesting techniques optimize harvesting using existent and real-time data and in-field hardware equipment.
Smart Harvest Market Summary
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Metrics |
Details |
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Market CAGR |
11.5% |
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Segments Covered |
By Component, By Site of Harvesting, By Crop Type and By Region |
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Report Insights Covered |
Competitive Landscape Analysis, Company Profile Analysis, Market Size, Share, Growth, Demand, Recent Developments, Mergers and acquisitions, New Product Launches, Growth Strategies, Revenue Analysis, and Other key insights. |
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Fastest Growing Region |
Asia Pacific |
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Largest Market Share |
North America |
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Smart Harvest Market Trends
The shortage of labor for agricultural practices is the primary factor motivating the farming communities towards the utilization of efficient harvesting methods. While there are more than 2 million farms across the US, farmers and ranchers make up just 1.3% of the labor force. High-value crops such as apples, strawberries, and sweet peppers are turning economically less viable owing to the increasing cost of skilled labor due to the decreasing number. The farmers of such fruits are tending towards crop sensing solutions that help effective plucking without causing physical damage to the fruit.
Technological advancements in sensing devices and artificial intelligence and rising adoption from fruit growers across the globe are expected to boost the smart harvest market across the globe. In 2018, Japanese company Panasonic introduced tomato harvesting robots driven by AI and robotic technology to farms. There are products like autonomous strawberry-picking machines and a vacuum apparatus that can harvest mature apples from trees without any need for labor. These machines use sensor fusion, machine vision, and artificial intelligence models to identify the location of the harvestable produce and help pick the right fruits. Agriculture is the second largest industry after Defense where service robots have been deployed for professional use. The International Federation of Robotics estimates that as many as 25,000 agricultural robots have been sold —matching the number used for military purposes.
The high cost of this equipment and complexes in maintenance are hindering the market penetration in the Asia Pacific and Africa region. Moreover, this technology is not economical for use in small to medium-size vegetable growers. However, smart harvest technology is becoming cost-efficient with the advent of low-cost sensing technologies. This is likely to provide growth opportunities over the forecast period.
Covid-19 Impact Analysis on Smart Harvest Market
While global trade came to halt during the lockdowns imposed to control the spread of novel coronavirus, the food and agriculture industry has been impacted by severe freight challenges. Most of the food categories witnessed a decline in sales volume due to lack of demand and supply chain disruptions. Although the agriculture industry's decline due to the pandemic has shown a negative impact on the market, awareness over the budding smart harvest market has grown among the farming communities. New technologies have been developed for harvesting that uses machines, as human interaction had to be limited during the lockdowns. For instance, Local Researchers at Australia's Monash University Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering have developed a fruit-picking robot that can harvest apples from orchards at high speed. Growing awareness along with reducing farmer workforce due to urbanization and growing food demand across the globe will inevitably drive the market once the pandemic comes to an end.
Smart Harvest Market Segmentation Analysis
Fruits are the largest category of the global smart harvest market by crop type with a share of 70% in the total dollar sales in 2020 owing to its large-scale adoption in apple farms of the U.S. The market is also gaining prominence among strawberries and citrus fruits.
After hydraulics, sensors and robotics are the latest categories of farm tools that shape the data-age agricultural practices. Sensors are likely to become an integral part of farming from sowing through irrigation to harvesting. Sensor-based robotic arms are growing as the most suitable solution in fruit harvesting owing to their fast plucking and high throughput. A robotic harvester is an integration of crop sensing devices and mechanical plucking arms. Crop sensing technology is gaining prominence among the large farm owners in the U.S. and developed nations of Europe. Also, these solutions help the growers with data collection and analysis about yield per tree and per area.
Global Smart Harvest Market Geographical Share
By geography, the North American region is dominating the market with a share of nearly 50% in 2020. The large-scale adoption of robotic harvesting machines in the large size of the U.S. is increasing the smart harvest market size in this region. The average farm size in the U.S. is nearly 444 acres which makes smart harvesting economical. Adding to this, physical labor is very expensive due to the decreasing number of farmers and strict human rights and minimum wage regulations in this region. Breakthroughs in the field of AI are also expected to boost the smart harvest market in this region. The U.S. alone published 74,368 papers in 2019 in the field with citations 40% higher than the world average.
Although India and China are dominant in the agriculture industry, the high initial investments of smart harvesting mean the return on investment is quite low in the smaller farmlands of India and China, 2.66 and 1.6 acres respectively. Also, the physical labor in these countries is cheaper due to the high percentage of the agriculture workforce and modest minimum wage policies. Hence machines don’t make as much economic sense as they do in North America and Europe. However, the projected decrease in the agriculture workforce due to urbanization and rising food demand will likely result in growth in these regions. For instance, it is estimated that the percentage of farmworkers of the total workforce would reduce to 49.9% in 2033 and 25.7% in 2050 from 54.6% in 2011 in India.
Smart Harvest Market Companies and Competitive Landscape
The global smart harvest market is still in its infancy both in terms of product development and consumer utilization and has a huge potential for growth in the forecast period. Several global engineering companies such as Robert Bosch, Deere & Company, and Panasonic Corporation are involved in the development of advanced harvesting solutions. Other key players that are likely to gain a strong foothold in the market include AVL Motion, Harvest Croo, LLC, FFRobotics, and Metomotion. The new product development activities laid by these companies are likely to boost the competition in the market in the future. Most of these companies are focusing on fruit and vegetable plucking robots to cater to the increasing demand from this segment. For instance, Pepperl+Fuchs industrial, a German manufacturer of industrial sensors developed advanced sensor technology for use in a fully automated strawberry harvester. The market is also witnessing the entry of new startups such as Iron Ox, Inc with robotic picking solutions.
Robert Bosch GmbH:
The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 395,000 associates worldwide and generated sales of 71.5 billion euros in 2020. As a leading IoT provider, Bosch offers innovative solutions for smart homes, Industry 4.0, and connected mobility. It uses its expertise in sensor technology, software, and services, as well as its IoT cloud, to offer its customers connected, cross-domain solutions from a single source.
Product Portfolio of Bosch:
- Mobility Solutions
- Industrial Technology
- Consumer Goods
- Energy and Building Technology
Key developments:
- In May 2020, The Bosch Group has increased its investment in The Yield Technology Solutions, an Australian Internet of Things AgTech business. As the major shareholder, the new $11 million takes the Bosch Group investment to a total of $13.3 million.
- In November 2020, Bosch and BASF Digital Farming have signed a 50:50 joint venture (JV) agreement to globally market and sell smart farming solutions from a single source in the future. Bosch will contribute its capabilities in hardware, software, and digital services, while BASF, through its Xarvio Digital Farming Solutions, will supply “an automated, real-time, field-specific agronomic decision-making engine for weed management”
Why Purchase the Report?
- Understand the current market scenario and viability of the smart harvest market over the forecast period.
- Visualize the composition of the global smart harvest market in terms of component, site of harvesting, and crop type to identify major players, growth potential, and market strategies
- Identify the key regulations prevailing in the market and understand their impact on the market over the forecast period
- Understand the key business factors such as market competition, product pricing, new product developments, and patent filings pertaining to the market
What we offer?
- PDF report with the most relevant analysis cogently put together after exhaustive qualitative interviews and in-depth market study.
- Excel data sheet with valuable data points of the global smart harvest market – Regional and Country level segmentation
- Product mapping in excel for the key products of all major market players
- Market Share Analysis covering business revenues ($) and revenue share (%) of key market players
Target Audience:
- Farming and Growing Communities
- Farm Equipment Manufacturers
- Industrial Robotics Manufacturers
- Industry Investors/Investment Bankers
- Education & Research Institutes
- Research Professionals
