Towards sustainable agriculture: The opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence in agricultural advisory services.

Abstract

Economic growth, employment creation and resilience of businesses and industry in the 4th Industrial Revolution which is intertwined with climate change realities depends much on the implementation of digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The agricultural sector is no exception to these developmental realities. That is to say, the sector is equally compelled to implement AI in almost all the stages of agricultural production. From the cultivation of crops to transportation of the products to the target markets or the public. These will include having farmers and Extension Services implementing AI for crop yield detection, soil nutrients and moisture contents, climatic conditions predictions, milking and harvesting as well as weeds, pests and diseases identification and management. This paper explored the opportunities and challenges of AI in the implementation of Agricultural Advisory Services (AASs) for Sustainable Agriculture. These were achieved through extensive literature review which comprised of a conceptual framework for the implementation of AI in the AASs. The findings show the leveraging benefit of AI in the production costs among farmers, increase in farm productivity, and ease of access of AASs which was always almost a mission to achieve, especially, in the developing countries. Therefore, it is recommended that the relationship between youth participation in the agricultural sector and the implementation of AI and Digital Technology in the sector be explored, with the impact of the implementation of AI in the sector and the contribution of the sector towards developing countries’ Gross Domestic Products (GDPs). The ethical implications of AI in AASs and the Agricultural Sector as a whole must be explored to unveil issues that may hamper the future acceptance of these digital skills and innovations.