Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has released its analysis of all agricultural patents registered worldwide between 2010-2014. In addition, the group conducted interviews with farmers and industry experts in order to examine how smart farming systems (GPS-guided drones and other equipment, smart algorithms, genetic engineering, etc.) will reshape agriculture over the next 15-20 years.

The chart below shows what farmers see as the most influential trends affecting farming practices, according to BCG’s research. Precision farming leads the list, followed by automation. The results indicate that not only will farmers themselves need to adapt their practices, these changes have implications for equipment and input companies, as well as nontraditional players like providers of digital services, which all must develop strategies and capabilities to capture competitive advantage in the evolving industry.

Key trends identified in the report include: increased demand for high-quality outputs, new sociopolitical priorities, changes in farming structures and practices, and developments in biotechnology.

Authors include: Torsten Kurth, Andreas Gocke, Kim Wagner and Lorenzo Corsini.

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