Smart Farming – Precision Agriculture CASE STUDY

This fact sheet by GreenCape, produced in collaboration with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, defines Smart Farming/Precision Agriculture (SF/PA) as the application of agtech and analytics to increase agricultural efficiency and yields compared to conventional methods. It outlines the benefits of the technology, the specific challenges facing adoption in South Africa, and the requirements for market growth.

• Smart Farming/Precision Agriculture (SF/PA) utilizes agtech and analytics to make farming more effective and efficient regarding resource inputs, resulting in higher agricultural output yields than traditional agriculture.
• The adoption of smart farming in South Africa is hindered by several barriers, including a lack of affordable and accessible technology for smallholder and commercial farmers, farmer hesitancy, a lack of digital competencies, high data costs, and poor rural internet connectivity. Additionally, unreliable grid energy supply encourages the use of manual, fuel-dependent tools over mechanical technology.
• Key benefits of smart farming include the ability to use real-time environmental monitoring to optimize planting, irrigation, and harvesting; the reduction of human error to maximize yields and revenue; the identification of arable land; and the use of digital synergies to optimize supply chain distribution.
• To advance the smart farming sector, the document identifies the need for digital upskilling, improved inclusive digital infrastructure—noting that only 9% of subsistence farmers in South Africa have internet access—and increased investment. The global smart agriculture market was valued at USD 13.7bn in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 22bn by 2025.

APA

GreenCape (n.d.). Smart Farming – Precision Agriculture CASE STUDY. https://greencape.co.za/assets/FNF-Case-Study-5-smart-farming.pdf

Chicago

GreenCape. Smart Farming – Precision Agriculture CASE STUDY. n.d. https://greencape.co.za/assets/FNF-Case-Study-5-smart-farming.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Smart Farming – Precision Agriculture CASE STUDY |url=https://greencape.co.za/assets/FNF-Case-Study-5-smart-farming.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencapendsmart, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Smart Farming – Precision Agriculture CASE STUDY}}, institution = {GreenCape}, url = {https://greencape.co.za/assets/FNF-Case-Study-5-smart-farming.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }