Agriculture Drones Market by Type (Fixed Wing, Rotary Wing, and Others), Application (Crop Monitoring, Soil & Field Analysis, Planting & Seeding, Crop Spray, and Others), Technology (Manual and Autonomous), and Regional Analysis (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021–2028

Global Agriculture Drones Market Analysis

The global agriculture drones market is predicted to garner $6,244.5 million in the 2021–2028 timeframe, growing from $1,480.5 million in 2020, at a high CAGR of 19.2%.

Market Synopsis

Increasing pressure on global food supply, growing adoption of precision farming practices, and rising venture funding in development of drones are the key factors anticipated to drive the agriculture drone market.

However, lack of standardization of communication interfaces and protocols and rules & regulations over flying commercial drones in civilian spaces may restrain the growth of the global industry during the forecast period.

According to the regional analysis of the market, the North America agriculture drone market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 17.9%, by generating a revenue of $2,112.3 million during the review period.

Agriculture Drones Overview

An agricultural drone or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) helps in the optimization of agriculture operations, crop production, and crop growth monitoring. Also, drones are used in precision agriculture for a variety of tasks, including soil and crop field analysis, planting, and pesticide application. With the use of variety of imaging technologies, including multispectral, hyperspectral, and thermal imaging, farmers are able to get a better picture of their farms and fields. Resulting application of agricultural drone data and its analysis could help improve crop yields and farm efficiency. Furthermore, drones are increasingly being used in agriculture as part of an effective approach to sustainable agricultural management that allows agricultural engineers, agronomists, and farmers to assist streamline their operations and acquire useful insights into their crops utilizing strong data analytics.

Covid-19 Impact on Agriculture Drones Market

COVID-19 has negatively impacted various industries, including agriculture. As a result, demand for agriculture equipment and tools plummeted in last couple of years. Farmers' morale has been damaged by the pandemic all around the world. Farmers' expectations for employing agricultural drones have been lowered due to a prolong dip in food crop prices. Presently, there has been ever increasing need for digitalization and automation in every industry including agriculture. However, since the economies have returned to normalcy following the slowdown of pandemic, the drone business is likely to gain traction. Many agritech companies have come up with developed innovative farming technology by focusing more on wireless platforms such as drone technology to enable real-time decision making in areas such as yield monitoring, field mapping, irrigation scheduling, crop health monitoring, and harvesting management, among other things, in order to improve agriculture productivity.

In terms of the adoption of innovative agricultural technology, North America and Europe are the largest and most advanced markets, while Asia-Pacific has the most potential for growth in this sector. The apparent dearth of agriculture labor and low wages will further reduce the employment of labors in the agricultural sector which is expected drive the agricultural drones market. Agricultural drones, on the other hand, offer a greater ROI and savings for large agricultural firms in the short to medium term, despite their relatively higher cost, and are thus seeing widespread adoption.

Increasing Adoption of Precision Farming is Likely to Drive the Market Growth

Drone data is frequently utilised on farms to help farmers make better agronomic decisions, and it is part of a system known as "precision agriculture." Different technologies are being developed, including global positioning systems and guided vehicles, to usher in a new era of precision farming. The agricultural sector's rapid growth, which is already incorporating technology advancements into its agricultural methods, will continue to fuel the market for agriculture drones vis-à-vis precision agriculture. Furthermore, a lack of agricultural employment, which fell from 27.8% in 2017 to 26.4% in 2020 as a percentage of the entire population, has led to a greater reliance on precision farming instruments such as agricultural drones.

As per the United Nations (UN) estimates, it projects that the world's population will reach a 9.7 billion by 2050, causing agricultural consumption to rise around 70% between 2010 and 2050. With the view of increasing population and the surplus food required to meet the growing needs, the application of precision farming and use of technologies such as drones are increasing across the world. Considering the large agriculture lands owned by most of the farmers and agriculture companies that are using drones, the potential for drone growth in agriculture is likely to be high in the coming years.

To know more about global agriculture drone market drivers, get in touch with our analysts here.

Lack of Standardization vis-à-vis Agriculture Drones Devices to Restrain the Growth of the Global Industry

The lack of standardization of communication interfaces and protocols is one of the biggest challenges faced by the worldwide agricultural drones market. Agriculture drones and other smart agricultural devices interact via variety of interfaces, technologies, and protocols. Data may be misrepresented due to the absence of standardisation of various communication interfaces and protocols. Drones have been in disarray for years, with no standards in place to guide the sector or its rapid growth. However, with enhancement in drone innovation and its increasing utility across agriculture and other sector, standardization issue is likely to be addressed over the forecast period. 

Growing Adoption of Sustainable Agriculture Practices to Foster the Growth of Agriculture Drones

Agriculture is increasingly relying on information and communication technology (ICTs) to solve environmental issues. Agriculture faces huge problems as a result of climate change, and the ability of farming communities to adapt and become resilient is becoming critical to feed the world's rising population. Harnessing the growth and transformative potential of ICTs provides a fantastic platform for not just addressing some of these issues, but also for speeding progress toward the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Traditional agricultural practices will see a shift in efficiency and productivity when advanced technologies are adopted. Farmers may use improved data analytics to streamline their production processes using sustainable farming techniques. Increased investment in agricultural drones and other ancillary equipment will also help to drive the agriculture drones market growth.

To know more about the global agriculture drone market opportunities, get in touch with our analysts here.

Source: Research Dive Analysis

The rotary sub-segment is predicted to have a dominating market share in the global market with a revenue of $800.6 million in 2020 and register a revenue of $3,448.6 million during the forecast period, growing at a CAGR of 19.5%.
Moreover, the rotary wing sub-segment is anticipated to be the fastest growing segment over the forecast period. The ease of regulating the direction and elevation of rotary drones makes them the most popular among other types. These drones offer the optimum combination of control, lift, manoeuvrability, and affordability. For instance, the DJI Matrice 200 series are offered by DJI Technology Co., Ltd, a popular example of a multi-propeller drone, with the DJI Matrice 210 RTK offering a payload of up to 2KG and a range of up to 7KM, which is more than sufficient for most surveying applications in agriculture sector.

The fixed wing drone sub-segment is predicted to have a substantial market share in the global market with a revenue of $387.5 million in 2020 and register a revenue of $1,613.7 million during the forecast period, growing at a CAGR of 19.0%. Fixed-wing aircraft has the advantage of being able to travel long distances on a single battery. Most commercial models can fly for an hour or longer and cover roughly 400 hectares due to their improved engine efficiency which are ideal for assessing oil pipelines or electricity pylons.

Source: Research Dive Analysis

The crop spray sub-segment of the global agriculture drone market is projected to have the fastest growth and surpass $748.1 million by 2028, with an increase from $163.8 million in 2020. In drone farming, crop spray drones used for pesticide, irrigation, and fertilizer applications allows for more efficient use in tiny fields, rice paddies, and other water-logged agricultural systems, as well as steeply sloped or difficult-to-access places. As drones can be equipped with GPS, ultrasonic echoes, and lasers to maintain their height above the crop, such systems can be integrated into precision agriculture. These enhancements in the crop spraying drones are expected to propel the growth of the sub-segment in the coming years.

The crop monitoring sub-segment of the global agriculture drone market is projected to register a substantial revenue of $2,078.1 million by 2028, with an increase from $518.0 million in 2020. When compared to standard satellite techniques, the use of crop monitoring drones enables for greater resolution data of agricultural conditions (up to 16x), quick identification of stressed areas, pest and disease infestations, and actual plant counts. According to estimates, drones can apply fertilizers and pesticides up to 5 times faster than conventional equipment in fields up to 50 ha, and by focusing solely on regions that need treatment as shown by crop monitoring, up to 60% of materials can be saved. 

Source: Research Dive Analysis

The autonomous drones sub-segment of the global agriculture drone market is projected to have the fastest growth and surpass $ 2,244.0 million by 2028, with an increase from $ 513.3 million in 2020. Autonomous agriculture drones are the drones which comprise advanced ground control systems that decrease the number of operators required to control the fleet with the aid of automatic supervision processes. Currently, several applications in agriculture such as data-collection missions and drone mapping are now conducted autonomously. Moreover, with enhancement in autonomous technologies such as automated seeders, and autonomous pollinating drones that can work and evaluate crop health without the need for operators, the sub-segment is anticipated to witness commendable growth in the coming years.

The manual sub-segment of the global agriculture drone market is projected to register a substantial revenue of $4,000.4 million by 2028, with an increase from $967.2 million in 2020. The manually operated drones include the airborne portion of the drone, the pilot controlling the aircraft via -ground control station, wireless linkages (control and command links), as well as the sensor(s) mounted on the UAV, and the software that can be used to analyze the data collected by the sensor(s). Manually operated drones equipped with several sensors allowing a more accurate and diverse crop management system are increasing in demand among farmers. Ease of government restrictions for flying drones and support for drone startups across the world are expected to boost the sub-segment’s growth during the forecast period.

Source: Research Dive Analysis

The Market for Agriculture Drones in Asia-Pacific to be the Most Dominant

The Asia-Pacific agriculture drone systems market value was estimated at $477.5 million in 2020 and is projected to register a revenue of $2,172.4 million during the forecast period. Increasing adoption of enhanced technologies in agribusiness and growing co-operation between public and private sectors to augment food are the key factors driving the market growth in the region. Moreover, in countries such as Japan and South Korea, the regulatory aspects of agriculture drone use are well established under civil aviation and pesticide use legislation and licenses. Also, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, India, and the Philippines have aviation regulations and draught guidelines in place. These developments in the region are anticipated to foster the agriculture drone market growth in the region.

Competitive Scenario in the Global Agriculture Drones Market

Product launches and mergers & acquisitions are common strategies followed by major market players.

Source: Research Dive Analysis

Agriculture drone market share has been accounted by key players including AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc., DJI, AeroVironment, Inc., Delair, Microdrones, Parrot SA, Precisionhawk, SenseFly, Sentera LLC, and Yamaha Motor Corporation, among others. Also, agriculture drone market is highly fragmented and accounted by large number of players. Product innovation, joint ventures & partnerships, and acquisitions of smaller players are the key strategies deployed by the major players. In spite of negative Covid-19 impact on agriculture drone market, the companies are instrumental in executing several growth strategies considering the potential prospects of agriculture drones in the future.

In May 2018, DJI, a commercial drone maker, partnered with Microsoft, to develop tablet apps that can pilot DJI's drones instead of using standard controllers. This partnership was planned to combine Microsoft's machine learning skills with DJI's drone technology, improving the UAVs' autonomous capabilities.

Porter’s Five Forces Analysis for the Global Agriculture Drones Market:

• Bargaining Power of Suppliers: In the case of agriculture drones, currently there is a limited amount of localization in terms of manufacturing sensors and specific equipment such as propellors for drone manufacturing. Most of the developed countries rely on the import of the necessary components, including sensors, propellors, and power electronics. Given the constrain on domestic supply of high-value components, global suppliers currently have higher bargaining power. 
  Thus, the bargaining power of the suppliers is high.
• Bargaining Power of Buyers: There are a few global manufacturers and increasing number of domestic players. Agriculture customers will have moderate bargaining power as long as there are obstacles to drone adoption, such as standard protocols and rules & regulations placed by the government over flying drones. Also, competitive pricing among drone manufacturers weakens the bargaining power of buyers.
  Thus, the bargaining power of the buyers is moderate.
• Threat of New Entrants: Entry barriers due to government regulations over usage of drones and lack of international standards are refraining the entry of new entrants. However, low capital investment and demand for several allied drone services such as surveys, inspection, and security are encouraging the growth of startups.
  Thus, the threat of the new entrants is moderate.
• Threat of Substitutes: Agriculture drones are unique in their capabilities and value they offer as compared to substitutes such as use of satellite data or helicopters. Also, they offer economic value as they are cheaper and easy to learn compared to their substitutes (helicopters). Such benefits give an added advantage to agriculture drones over its substitutes 
  Thus, the threat of substitutes is low.
• Competitive Rivalry in the Market: The agriculture drone market is fragmented and comprised of large number of market players and startups. Few major players are aggressively investing in the drone technology, leveraging their financial strength and market reach across the world wherein they can have competitive edge over other players or new entrants entering the market.
  Therefore, the competitive rivalry in the market is moderate.