Edge computing: A tractable model for smart agriculture?

Abstract Establishing food security remains a global challenge; it is thus a specific objective of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Successfully delivering productive and sustainable agricultural systems worldwide will form the foundations for overcoming this challenge. Smart agriculture is often perceived as one key enabler when considering the twin objectives of eliminating world hunger and undernourishment. The practical realization, deployment, and adoption of smart agricultural systems remain distant due to a confluence of technological, social, and economic factors. Edge computing offers a potentially tractable model for mainstreaming smart agriculture. A synergistic relationship exists, which, if harnessed productively, would increase the penetration of smart agricultural technologies across Majority-Minority world boundaries. The paper considers the prevailing context of global food security, smart agriculture and the pervasive issue of internet access. A survey of the state-of-the-art in research utilizing the Edge model of computing in agriculture is reported. Results of the survey confirm that the Edge model is actively explored in a number of agricultural domains. However, research is rooted in the prototype stage, and detailed studies are currently lacking. While potential is demonstrated, several systemic challenges must be addressed to manifest meaningful impact at the farm level.