Economics of swarm robotics in UK agriculture
Abstract
Swarm robotics has the potential to radically change the economies of size in agriculture and this will impact farm size and structure in the UK. This project uses a systematic review of the economics of agricultural robotics literature, data from the Hands Free Hectare (HFH) demonstration project which showed the technical feasibility of robotic grain production, and farm-level linear programming (LP) to estimate changes in the average cost curve for wheat and oilseed rape from swarm robotics.
Description
Robotic agriculture is widely predicted by researchers, academics and business (see for example, Robotic Business Review, 2016; Shamshiri et al., 2018; Duckett et al., 2018), but rigorous economic analyses of the economic feasibility of robotic farms are rare. One common element of most visions of robotic agriculture is that removing human equipment operators will lead to a radical redesign of agricultural mechanization. With no human operator, the economic motivation for the ever-increasing size of farm equipment almost disappears and farming with swarms of smaller robots become an attractive alternative. Economic analysis of crop robotics is rare primarily because it is early days for this technology.
A timely ex-ante economic analysis is needed to: 1) help engineers and entrepreneurs identify the most profitable crop automation alternatives, 2) guide farmers in their decisions about using crop robotics, and 3) inform policy makers about the costs and benefits of crop robotics. The methodology of this study uses information gathered in a systematic review of the economics of agricultural robotics literature, data from the HFH demonstration project which showed the technical feasibility of robotic grain production, and farm-level linear programming (LP) to estimate changes in the average cost curve for wheat and oilseed rape from swarm robotics.
Funding Body
Harper Adams University
Lead Organisation
Harper Adams University
Publications
Lowenberg-DeBoer, J. 2022. Economics of adoption for digital automated technologies in agriculture. Background paper for The State of Food and Agriculture 2022. FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Paper 22-10. Rome, FAO.
Maritan, E.; Lowenberg-DeBoer, J.; Behrendt, K.; Franklin, K.; (2023). Economically optimal farmer supervision of crop robots. Smart Agricultural Technology, 3, 100110.
Abdullah Al-Amin, A. K. M.; Lowenberg-DeBoer, J.; Franklin, K.; Behrendt, K. (2022). Economic Implications of Field Size for Autonomous Crop Machines. In Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Precision Agriculture, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. 26-29 June, 15 pages.
Abdullah Al-Amin, A. K. M.; Lowenberg-DeBoer, J.; Franklin, K.; Behrendt, K. (2021). Economic Implications of Field Size for Autonomous Arable Crop Equipment. In Proceedings of the 3rd INFER Symposium on Agri-Tech Economics for Sustainable Futures, In K. Behrendt and D. Paparas (eds), Global Institute for Agri-Tech Economics, Harper Adams University, Newport, United Kingdom. 20-21 September, pp25-44.
Lowenberg-DeBoer, J.; Behrendt, K.; Ehlers, M-H.; Dillon, C.; Gabriel, A.; Huang, I.; Kumwenda, I.; Mark, T.; Meyer-Aurich, A.; Milics, G.; Olgunju, K.O.; Pedersen, S.M.; Shockley, J.; Rose, D. (2021). Lessons to be learned in adoption of autonomous equipment for field crops. Applied Economic Perspectives & Policy. 44, 848-864.
Lowenberg-DeBoer, J.; Franklin, K.; Behrendt, K.; Godwin, R. (2021). Economics of Autonomous Equipment for Arable Farms. Precision Agriculture. 22(9), 1992-2006.
Lowenberg-DeBoer, J.; Behrendt, K.; Canavari, M.; Ehlers, M.-H.; Gabriel, A.; Huang, I.; Kopfinger, S.; Lenain, R.; Meyer-Aurich, A.; Milics, G.; Oluseyi Olagunju, K.; Pedersen, S.M.; Rose, D.; Spykman, O.; Tisseyre, B.; Zdráhal, I. (2021) The Impact of Regulation on Autonomous Crop Equipment in Europe In Proceedings of the 13th European Conference on Precision Agriculture, Precision Agriculture ‘21 (In J.V. Stafford (ed). 19-22 July, Budapest, Hungary. pp. 851-857. Wageningen Academic Publishers)
Abdullah Al-Amin, K. M.; Lowenberg-DeBoer, J.; Franklin, K.; Behrendt, K. (2021). Economic Implications of Field Size for Autonomous Arable Crop Equipment. In Proceedings of the 3rd INFER Symposium on Agri-Tech Economics for Sustainable Futures, In K. Behrendt and D. Paparas (eds), Global Institute for Agri-Tech Economics, Harper Adams University, Newport, United Kingdom. 20-21 September, pp 25-44.
Lowenberg-DeBoer, J.; Pope, T.W.; Roberts, J.M. (2020) The Economic Feasibility of Autonomous Equipment for Biopesticide Application. INFER Symposium on Agri-Tech Economics for Sustainable Futures, Behrendt, K. & Paparas, D. (eds), Harper Adams University, Newport, Shropshire, UK
Lowenberg-DeBoer, J., Huang, I.Y., Grigoriadis, V.; Blackmore, S. (2019) Economics of robots and automation in field crop production. Precision Agriculture, pp 1-22.
Lowenberg-DeBoer, J.; Behrendt, K.; Godwin, R.; Franklin, K. (2019) The Impact of Swarm Robotics on Arable Farm Size and Structure in the UK. Contributed Paper prepared for presentation at the 93rd Annual Conference of the Agricultural Economics Society, University of Warwick, England, 15-17 April, 18 pages.
Videos & Presentations
Being a Farmer in the age of robotics and AI - James Lowenberg-DeBoer
Economic Implications of field size for autonomous arable crop equipment – Abdullah Al-Amin, A. K. M.
Economically optimal farmer supervision of crop robots – Elias Maritan
Economics of strip cropping with autonomous machines - Abdullah Al-Amin A.K.M.
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