Variable Rate Technology Market - A Global and Regional Analysis: Focus on, Application, Technology, Solution, and Region - Analysis and Forecast, 2022-2027
Global Variable Rate Technology Market Overview
The global variable rate technology market was valued at $2.02 billion in 2021, and it is expected to grow with a CAGR of 20.28% during the forecast period 2022-2027 to reach $6.09 billion by 2027. The growth in the global variable rate technology market is expected to be driven by increasing demand for agricultural output and decreasing labor force in the agriculture industry.
Market Lifecycle Stage
The global variable rate technology market is still in the introductory phase in developing countries and reached the growth phase in developed countries. Globally, research and development activities are underway to develop highly productive variable rate technology products. The demand for variable rate technology is expected to increase in the future as the government across the nations are planning for sustainable agricultural production.
Tapping the smallholder farmer segment with affordable variable rate technology solutions for agricultural input application is one of the major opportunities in the global variable rate technology market. Many start-ups have been emerging across the global variable rate technology market with affordable variable rate technology software solutions to attain a competitive advantage by tapping the smallholder farmer segment.
Impact
- The gap between the U.S. and other global countries in the pace of adoption of other precision agricultural technologies is relatively narrow. However, in the case of variable rate technology, the adoption rate is around 14.1%. Therefore, the global variable rate technology market players have room for growth across the U.S. and other global countries during the forecast period.
- As per the World Bank data, the employment percentage in agriculture decreased by around 13% during 2000-2019. The steep decrease in the agricultural labor population has to be replaced with an efficient technological solution to bridge the supply and demand gap in the agricultural industry. Reducing the agricultural workforce and increasing labor costs is expected to bring more space for automation in the agriculture industry and, thus, the demand for variable rate technology.
Impact of COVID-190The outbreak of COVID-19 made the farmers realize the benefits of investing in technologies rather than relying on the workforce, as they experienced the worst labor shortage during the pandemic, which negatively impacted overall production. Using variable rate technology in agriculture is a suitable solution to overcome these difficulties. Thus, COVID-19 has positively impacted the global variable rate technology market in the long run by making farmers realize the financial benefits of investing in variable rate technology.
Market Segmentation:
Segmentation 1: by Application- Variable Rate Fertilization (VRF)
- Variable Rate Seeding (VRS)
- Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI)
- Variable Rate Crop Protection Chemical (VRC)
- Others
The global variable rate technology market in the application segment is expected to be dominated by the variable rate fertilization segment during the forecast period. Rising awareness about the risk associated with the over-application of fertilizer to the soil and increasing fertilizer costs are the major driver which triggers the demand for variable rate fertilization in the global variable rate technology market.
Segmentation 2: by Technology- Map-Based Technology
- Sensor-Based Technology
The global variable rate technology market is expected to be slightly more dominated by the map-based technology segment during the forecast period. The dominance of map-based technology is mainly due to the unavailability of appropriate sensors to collect soil and plant data.
Segmentation 3: by Solution- Hardware
- Software
- Service
Based on solution, the hardware segment will dominate the global variable rate technology market during the forecast period. The requirements of high-cost components such as receivers, control systems, sensors, and others will make the hardware solution segment dominate the global variable rate technology market during the forecast period.
Segmentation 4: by Region- North America - U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Rest-of-North America
- Europe - Germany, France, Italy, and Rest-of-Europe
- Asia-Pacific and Japan - Japan, Australia, India, and Rest-of-Asia-Pacific and Japan
- South America - Brazil, Argentina, and Rest-of-South America
- China
- Middle East and Africa - Israel, South Africa, and Rest-of- Middle East and Africa
- U.K.
The U.S. generated the highest revenue of $569.7 million in 2021. The country has been experiencing a rapid growth rate in the past few years owing to rising high-value crop production as farmers enjoy short payback in variable rate technology investment for high-value crop production.
Recent Developments in the Global Variable Rate Technology Market- In August 2021, AGCO Corporation launched Massey Ferguson VE series planters that offer solutions for all growers from conventional to no-till operations requiring the most cutting-edge technology like variable-rate, high-speed planting, and individual row control.
- In August 2020, Lindsay Corporation launched FieldNET with a water trend that provides growers with important crop water usage insights. It can incorporate satellite imagery, customize irrigation parameters, and receives continuously updated variable-rate irrigation prescriptions.
- In November 2021, CNH Industrial N.V. acquired Raven Industries Inc. The acquisition was a significant step forward in CNH Industrial N.V.'s digital transformation and building on long-standing cooperation.
- In January 2020, Lindsay Corporation partnered with Farmers Edge Inc to connect the digital platforms to give a fully integrated crop management software suite to Lindsay Corporation's producers and dealer networks.
Demand – Drivers and Limitations
Following are the demand drivers for the global variable rate technology market:- Rapid Adoption of Precision Agricultural Technologies
- Need for Automation of Work Force in Agriculture
- Need for Input Optimization in Agriculture
The market is expected to face some limitations too due to the following challenges:- Lack of Standardization Hampering VRT Performance
- High Cost of Investment
- Lagging VRT Adoption among Smallholder Farmers
How Can This Report Add Value to an Organization?Product/Innovation Strategy: The product segment helps the reader understand the different technologies used for variable rate application and their potential globally. Moreover, the study gives the reader a detailed understanding of the different solutions provided by the variable rate technology providers, such as hardware, software, and services. Compared to conventional agricultural methods, variable rate technology enables more exact targeting of the right quantity of planting and seeding operation at the right time and location, allowing farmers to save money by maximizing the use of their inputs.
Growth/Marketing Strategy: The global variable rate technology market has seen major development by key players operating in the market, such as business expansion, partnership, collaboration, and joint venture. The favored strategy for the companies has been product launch activities to strengthen their position in the global variable rate technology market. For instance, in March 2021, Deere & Company launched WeedSeeker 2, the next-generation spot spray system. When a weed passes beneath the sensor, it sends a signal to the sensor's attached spray nozzle, which delivers herbicide accurately and kills the weed, lowering the amount of chemical used by up to 90%.
Competitive Strategy: Key players in the global variable rate technology market analyzed and profiled in the study involve variable rate technology-based product manufacturers, including hardware, software, and service providers. Moreover, a detailed competitive benchmarking of the players operating in the global variable rate technology market has been done to help the reader understand how players stack against each other, presenting a clear market landscape. Additionally, comprehensive competitive strategies such as partnerships, agreements, and collaborations will aid the reader in understanding the untapped revenue pockets in the market.
Key Market Players and Competition SynopsisThe companies that are profiled have been selected based on inputs gathered from primary experts and analyzing company coverage, product portfolio, and market penetration.
The top leading players include the public companies operating in the global variable rate technology market, which had a market share of around 62% in 2021. The rest of the market share, 38%, was taken by the private and start-up companies.
Some prominent names established in this market are:
Company Type 1: Public Companies- AGCO Corporation
- Climate LLC
- CNH Industrial N.V.
- Deere & Company
- Farmers Edge Inc
- Hexagon Agriculture
- Kubota Corporation
- Lindsay Corporation
- Topcon Corporation
- Trimble Inc.
- Valmont Industries
- Yara International
Company Type 2: Private Companies- Ag Leader Technology
- Crop Quest Inc
- DJI
Company Type 3: Start-Up Companies- CropX Inc.
- DataFarming Pty Ltd
- HUMMINGBIRD TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED
- OneSoil
- Sentera
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