Agriculture Drone Services Market

Agriculture Drone Services Market Outlook (2023-2033)

The global agriculture drone services market is expected to reach a valuation of US$ 893.0 million in 2023. The market is further poised to grow at a CAGR of 22.5% over the next 10 years and will enjoy a market value of US$ 6795.6 million by the end of 2033.

The market accounts for 13.0% of the total drone services market. The share of agricultural drone services in the total drone services market is expected to increase over the forecast period.

Report Attributes	Details
Market Size (2022A)	US$ 729.0 Million
Estimated Market Value (2023E)	US$ 893.0 Million
Forecasted Market Value (2033F)	US$ 6795.6 Million
Global Market Growth Rate (2023-2033)	22.5% CAGR
North America Market Share (2022)	~34%
East Asia Market Growth Rate (2023-2033)	~24.7% CAGR
United States Market Growth Rate (2023-2033)	~20.3% CAGR
Key Companies Profiled	Aerial drone solution AERIUM Analytics Aeroview Services Afridrones Agri Spray Drones Astral Aerial Solutions DC Geomatics DJM Aerial Solutions Drone Ag Dronegy DroneHive Dropcopter LahakX My Drone Services Inc. PrecisionHawk Services Rantizo Trimble Inc.

The Rising Popularity of Precision Agriculture Will Create Huge Demand for Agricultural Drones

As per World Bank data, the global population is estimated to reach 9.9 billion by 2050. Considering the already severity of food in the world, it really becomes a question to ponder upon whether we will be able to meet everyone’s need for food. Specialists across the world are looking for a solution, and they all can agree that agricultural drones can be one of the ways of increasing overall crop yields.

Agriculture drones can perform different sets of tasks such as irrigation monitoring and planning, crop health analysis, crop damage assessment, and soil analysis among others. Western countries are the first ones to integrate drones into the agricultural field and now slowly and steadily the trend is also picking up in Asian countries. Though the majority of the market players are associated with agricultural drones are pretty much early in their operation, resulting in high cash burn as the current focus is on business expansion rather than being profitable.

• Short Term (2023 Q1-2026): The agriculture drone services industry is in the early stage of the business cycle, and it is expected that the market will rapidly grow a take shape of an organized industry in the upcoming ~2-5 years. The market players are also expecting high demand rising from small-scale farmers.
• Medium Term (2026-2029): Keeping the continuous increment of the global population, it is expected that many macro factors will shape the future of the agriculture drone services market. As agricultural drones will become more mainstream, the participation of small and medium-scale farmers is expected to increase, resulting in higher demand for drones for agricultural purposes.
• Long Term (2029-2033): Continuous technological advancement in the field of agricultural drones will create a plethora of opportunities for the drone services market. The ease from the regulatory bodies is also expected to boost the growth of the market.

As per the newly published report by Fact.MR, a market research and competitive intelligence provider, the global agriculture drone services market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.5% during the forecast period of 2023-2033.

The above depicts the market analysis of the agriculture drone service industry based on the services and region. Under the service type, mapping & surveying accounts for 54% of the total market shares.

Factors Driving the Demand for Agricultural Drone Services Market

“Aging Workforce in Agriculture”

Currently, in the agriculture industry, the majority of the workforce is aged between ~35-45 years, and with the increasing global average age, it is expected to rise in the coming future. Considering the age factor, it is expected that the future of agriculture will be fully digital.

Agricultural drones are a recent example of digital agriculture. Agriculture drones can extensively perform almost most tasks such as spraying, seeding, crop health inspection, field soil analysis, and crop damage assessment among others. Agricultural drones can perform all these above-mentioned tasks in 1/10th of the time taken by other means and are also cost-effective. The market is expected to witness high demand owing to the rapidly aging global population and rising pressure on the agriculture field to produce more.

“Reducing Agricultural land”

As the world population is expected to reach the 9.9 billion mark by the end of 2050. The demand for residential and commercial spaces is increasing, and eventually creating pressure on agricultural land. It is really alarming to see the rate at which the volume of agricultural land is reducing, which is ultimately creating pressure on agricultural land to produce more with the limited supply.

The agricultural drone services providers are trying to solve the problem of limited agricultural land and low productivity by developing specialized drones, especially for agriculture purposes. Agriculture drones can help farmers in the optimal use of all available materials like pesticides, water, and other chemicals, which will ultimately increase the crop yield, benefitting the farmers/enterprises.

Factors Affecting the Growth of the Agricultural Drone Services Market

“Lower Range and Scale of Agricultural Drones”

Currently, the global agriculture drone services market is in its early stages, and market players are still developing drones on a trial-and-error basis. Market players are still collecting feedback and data, and It will take some time & effort before companies will be able to develop the most technologically advanced and well-equipped drones for agriculture purposes.

The present drone used in agricultural fields is suitable for small-size land. They are best for small-scale operations and can really boost productivity at a comparatively lower cost. However, these are not very useful for large-scale operations or big farmlands, where the area of operation and analysis is huge. Considering the fact that the average life of batteries of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is quite less, that is why it is still advisable to use airplanes or satellites for mapping, spraying, and inspecting large farmland.

Country-wise Insights

The US Contributes Most to the Income of the Global Agricultural Drones Market

The US has been the front-runner in the field of the overall drone services market. From development to deployment, the US market is highly organized and competitive in comparison to the rest of the world. The US agriculture drone services market is expected to reach a valuation of US$ 273.3 million in 2023.

Though the agriculture industry does not contribute significantly to the overall US GDP, however, the spending of small and large-scale farmers is pretty high on agricultural drones. The US agriculture industry is highly technology-driven, and with drones being the latest acquisition, it is expected that the US agriculture drone services market to witness double-digit market growth during the forecast period and will become a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Indian Agricultural Drone Services Market to Witness Fastest Growth

India is the only major economy of the world where the agriculture industry’s contribution to the total GDP is double-digit which is around ~15%. India also accounts for one of the largest agricultural workforces in the world. However, the majority of agricultural activities are performed manually, which gives an immense amount of opportunity for agriculture drone service companies to cater.

Given the importance of the agriculture industry in India, it is important for the people who are involved in agriculture to integrate technology into their day-to-day operations. With factors such as the rising Indian population along with the increasing demand for food products, it is not incorrect to say that the future of agricultural drones will be decided by the Indian market. India’s agriculture drone services market is expected to grow at a gigantic CAGR of 27.1% over the next 10 years.

The Indian agricultural drone services market is evolving at a fast pace, and the industry saw a few notable companies making a mark on the global level. A few of the notable Indian drone companies are Aarav Unmanned Systems, Skylark Drones, ideaForge, and Optimized Electrotech among others. These companies have been heavily funded by local and global investors for their R&D and business expansion.

Category-wise Insights

The Majority of the Demand for Agricultural drones is for Mapping & Surveying Services

Mapping & surveying is one of the most sought-after services among all the services provided by agriculture drone service companies. As these services have to be performed on time to time basis, resulting in higher demand from the end-users, leading to high-income generation for the service providers.

Mapping & surveying help the end-users in analyzing crop health, performing crop damage assessment, and farmland soil analysis among others. As these services can directly have an impact on the overall productivity of agriculture, it enjoys and highest demand among other agriculture drone services. The market players are investing huge amounts of money in developing specific drones to perform mapping and surveying services on bigger farmland so that they can serve better and improve their earnings.

Spraying & Seeding Services to Witness Fastest Growth

Among all other services performed by agricultural drones, spraying and seeding witnessed the fastest growth over the forecast period. The rising complex environment has resulted in the uncertainty of the farmland produces. Farmers across the globe are using pesticides and other required chemicals to protect and increase their yield.

The income from spraying and seeding services by agricultural drones is expected to reach a valuation of US$ 196.8 million in 2023. The market is further expected to grow at a significantly high CAGR owing to multiple factors such as rising pressure on agriculture to produce more, costly and ineffective traditional methods, and lack of workforce.

Competitive Landscape

The key market players associated with agriculture drone services are Aerial drone solution, AERIUM Analytics, Aeroview Services, Afridrones, Agri Spray Drones, Astral Aerial Solutions, DC Geomatics, DJM Aerial Solutions, Drone Ag, Dronegy, DroneHive, Dropcopter, LahakX, My Drone Services Inc., PrecisionHawk Services, Rantizo, Trimble Inc.

The global agriculture drone services market is still in its early stage and has been growing rapidly in the recent past. The industry is also witnessing multiple new startups coming to the market with new and advanced technology to capture the market share. The market players are getting funded heavily by private equity firms and institutional investors. The market has been buzzing with notable mergers and acquisitions also. A few of the notable M&A are mentioned below;

• In September 2022, Valqari, a drone delivery solution provider completed the acquisition of IDU Group, a drone delivery integrator for an undisclosed amount.
• In April 2021, AgEagle Aerial Systems Inc., a market leader in drone solutions completed the acquisition of Measure Global Inc. aerial intelligence solutions company for a whopping US$ 45 million.

Fact.MR has provided detailed information about the providers of agriculture drone services positioned across regions, revenue growth, and service offering expansion, in the recently published report.

Segmentation of the Agriculture Drone Services Market

• By Drone Type:

  • Multi-Rotor
  • Fixed Wing

• By Service:

  • Mapping & Surveying
  • Inspection
  • Spraying & Seeding
  • Others (Not mentioned elsewhere)

• By Region:

  • North America
  • Latin America
  • Europe
  • East Asia
  • South Asia & Oceania
  • Middle East & Africa