The potential of Industry 4.0 technologies in transforming agricultural and livestock practices: a systematic review

Abstract

Purpose

This research centres on how digital technologies are revolutionizing agriculture, affording farmers improved access to information, crop forecasts, markets and innovations, in addition to facilitating training and other benefits. The purpose of this investigation is to examine how technologies used in the Agro 4.0 industry facilitate agricultural and livestock practices.

Design/methodology/approach

A thorough examination of the existing literature on this subject was conducted, encompassing articles published between 2013 and 2023 that have been catalogued in Scopus and the Web of Science.

Findings

The analysis of these studies reveals the growing significance of innovations such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, precision agriculture, the Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics in the transformation of agriculture and livestock farming. The implementation of these technologies is occurring across various sectors of agricultural production, including livestock production, shrimp farming, vertical farming, supply chains, irrigation, grain inspection, the dairy sector and smart farms. The impacts identified include improvements in productivity, intelligent analysis systems, operational efficiency, transparency and reliability, management per square metre, optimization, environmental sustainability, animal welfare, enhancement of food security and risk reduction.

Originality/value

Therefore, the contributions of technologies are associated with data-based decision-making, digital skills to maximize agribusiness performance, digital transformation in the field and competitiveness in the global market.

Citation

Pletsch, A.L.B., Stenger, E.A.F. and Sehnem, S. (2024), "The potential of Industry 4.0 technologies in transforming agricultural and livestock practices: a systematic review", International Journal of Pervasive Computing and Communications, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPCC-05-2024-0178