How Agritech Is Reinventing Global Food Security In 2025

By Dr. Priyom Bose, Ph.D.Reviewed by Lauren Hardaker

As the global demand for food increases, the agricultural sector is pushing towards implementing new technologies and developing more sustainable practices. This transformation is driven by agritech, which refers to agricultural technology innovations and digital solutions that help optimize different aspects of the food system. 

Image credit: Artit Wongpradu/Shutterstock.com

This article explores various strategies developed to support global food security, including vertical farming, remote sensing, insect farming, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven analytics, which aim to enhance crop yields and promote sustainability.

Vertical Farming

Vertical farming is emerging as one of the leading strategies for sustainable agriculture, focusing on growing crops in stacked vertical layers within a controlled environment.¹ In contrast to traditional agricultural methods, in vertical farming, crops are grown without the use of soil. For example, crops are grown indoors through hydroponic farming, where the plant's roots are submerged in water instead of soil.

In hydroponic vertical farming, the water contains optimal quantities of nutrients for plant growth. In aeroponics vertical farming, plant roots are not submerged in water; water and nutrients are sprayed or misted onto the plants.² It has been observed that crops produced via aeroponics are healthier as the roots can absorb more oxygen and grow faster.

Crop yields are significantly higher since vertical farms are specially designed with controlled environments. The increasingly unpredictable weather conditions cannot affect vertical farms, as farmers can maintain the environment for optimal conditions and eliminate pests and diseases as soon as possible. Other advantages of vertical farming include growing crops year-round, requiring less water and chemical treatment, and avoiding pollution of nearby water bodies and soil.

GyroPlant is a research and development-driven company specializing in designing reusable substrate alternatives.³ Scientists at GyroPlant are actively designing clean, indoor growing systems for sustainable, substrate-free cultivation at an industrial scale. They are currently assessing the efficacy of such systems for propagating and producing strawberries and blueberries.

Video credit: RE:TV/Youtube.com

Insect Farming

Insect farming is becoming more popular as a complementary solution to plant-based innovations, particularly for producing high-quality protein and animal feed with a lower environmental footprint. For example, black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) are increasingly used for waste valorization and feed applications, offering a sustainable alternative to soybean meal and fishmeal.⁴ The UK Agritech Centre supports projects such as entomics, which focus on converting food waste into insect-derived protein and organic fertilizer. These initiatives demonstrate the potential for circular economy approaches in agriculture while contributing to food and feed security.

AI in Agriculture

AI and machine learning (ML) algorithms can process an enormous amount of information to predict outcomes and anticipate risks. AI-based tools facilitate precision agriculture by monitoring and managing crops at a near-granular level.⁵ For example, these tools utilize satellite data to forecast weather conditions, predict pest and disease threats, and soil conditions, which help farmers to plant their crops at optimal conditions that lower the risks of failed harvest. This technology empowers farmers with information that enhances crop production and protects the environment from damage.

By obtaining real-time information on the plant’s nutrient deficiencies, disease outbreaks, and pest infestations, farmers can apply chemical treatment precisely and only when required. This reduces the use of chemical pesticides and supports sustainable farming practices. AI helps optimize supply chain management by predicting demand, logistics, and transportation, effectively reducing crop quality degradation risk.

Scientists are conducting multiple research projects worldwide to enhance plant growth and sustainability using AI. For instance, TomatoGuard is a research and development project introducing an advanced AI monitoring system for early pest detection and management of crop stress.⁶ This project focuses explicitly on tomato volatiles indicative of stress.

Remote Sensing

The combination of imaging and spectroscopy through the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Landsat-1 or Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) and its Multispectral Scanner (MSS) helped establish satellite-based remote sensing technologies.⁷ Remote sensing platforms, such as satellites, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV), and sensors (e.g., wavelength domain, active or passive sensing, and spatial sampling) are used in different aspects of farming.⁸ Remote sensing enables farmers to identify patches of cropland, precision farming, irrigation, and weed detection.

Land cover mapping is one of the most popular applications of remote sensing in agriculture. It focuses on identifying land cover types on the Earth's surface, such as cropland, grassland, forest, water, urban areas, and others. For example, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery uniquely maps cropland extent at resolutions ranging from 250 to 1000 meters.

Remotely sensed images are processed by integrating them with multi-source ancillary datasets (e.g., precipitation and temperature) using robust classifiers, such as decision trees or support vector machines. This process enables the generation of land cover products at various spectral, temporal, and spatial scales. Land cover mapping helps researchers and policymakers plan an agro-based economy, manage water resources, and oversee food supply, among other applications.

Precision agriculture utilizes remote sensing technologies, including geographic information systems (GIS) and global positioning systems (GPS), to monitor crop conditions during the growing season, enhancing crop production and profitability. The launch of the Sentinel-2 A and B twin platforms by the European Space Agency (ESA) has significantly improved precision agriculture possibilities.⁹

Remote sensing also enables crop health assessment by analyzing spectral data obtained from airborne sensors or ground-based instruments. This information helps farmers identify whether their crop fields require additional fertilizer, water, or pest management.

Smart Farm Machinery

Modern farmers use various farm equipment and machinery for various agricultural tasks. Tractors are considered an integral and irreplaceable part of farm power units. In developed countries, farmers have tractors with in-built sensors and navigation systems to monitor all macroscopic and microscopic elements in the field. Recent agricultural autonomous systems rely on multiple infrared cameras, sensors, and deep learning algorithms^.10

Autonomous tractors, rice transplanters, and harvesters have been developed using deep learning-based computer vision methods. Agricultural drones are a class of UAVs used for pesticide spraying and land monitoring. The complete irrigation management system can be intelligently automated utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT) by acquiring data on soil moisture, temperature, and humidity from sensors and using AI and cloud computing for informed decision-making.

Projects supported by the UK Agritech Centre, such as the Hands Free Farm initiative, have demonstrated the viability of fully autonomous farming systems in the UK by integrating robotics, drones, and smart machinery to manage arable crops without human operators.¹¹ These developments underline the potential of automation to address labor shortages while enhancing precision and sustainability.

Video credit: Agri-EPI Centre/Youtube.com

Agricultural Biotechnology

Rapid climate change, which has intensified droughts, soil degradation, and flooding, has significantly affected agriculture and threatened global food security. With advances in synthetic biology and RNA-based crop protection strategies, agricultural biotechnology enables farmers to cultivate highly resilient crops that can survive and thrive in rapidly changing climatic conditions.¹²

The AI-driven plant breeding programs have accelerated the development of disease-tolerant crops, drought-resistant seeds, and biological fertilizers. Many agricultural biotech companies develop biostimulants that enhance the soil microbiome, ultimately enhancing plant resilience and productivity.

Recent studies also emphasize the role of regenerative agriculture practices, such as integrating cover crops and biochar, which complement biotechnology by restoring soil health and reducing dependency on synthetic fertilizers.¹³ These approaches contribute to environmental sustainability and improved yield stability under climate stress.

Conclusions

Agritech is focused on shaping the future of global food security amidst the threats of rapid climate change. Convergence in technological advances, particularly in AI, plant breeding, synthetic biology, and remote sensing, has led to the development of smart agriculture systems, which hold significant promise in empowering farmers, protecting ecosystems, and securing the future of food production.

Adding insect protein systems, regenerative practices, and robotics-driven automation highlights the multidimensional nature of agritech in 2025. By combining biological, digital, and mechanical innovations, initiatives such as GyroPlant, TomatoGuard, Entomics, and Hands Free Farm illustrate how collaborative projects translate research into tangible solutions. As governments and industry strengthen partnerships, the agritech sector is set to play a defining role in global food system resilience.

References

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13. Schmidt HP, et al. Biochar in regenerative agriculture – pathways to climate-smart soils. GCB Bioenergy. 2024; 16(3):253–268. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcbb.13090

Last Updated: Sep 29, 2025