ABSTRACT
Agriculture is facing the greatest challenge of feeding more than 9 billion people by 2050 in a manner that advances economic development and a healthy environment. A 70% increase from 2006 in food production is required to meet this demand (World Resources Institute 2013). With limited resources of land and water, increased agricultural production is projected to come primarily from intensification on existing arable land (FAO 2011). Conventional farming practices treat an agricultural field uniformly despite the inherent variability in soil properties and crop growth conditions. Uniform management may result in over-or under-application of resources in specific locations within a field, which may have a negative impact on the environment and profitability (McKinion et al. 2001; Plant 2001). Sustainable agriculture is a viable means of meeting the food demand while balancing crop production and minimizing environmental impacts. Precision agriculture (PA) is a promising approach to attain sustainable agriculture.
