Reviewing the evidence on precision agriculture and environmental sustainability

Precision agriculture (PA) is widely presented as a solution to the contemporary problem of feeding the world while conserving natural resources and limiting environmental harms. In this review paper, we summarize the field trial evidence demonstrating that PA use leads to environmental benefits. We systematically reviewed 444 English-language academic publications on PA and sustainability, we found 54 papers that present field-trial or modeling evidence, of which 45 demonstrated environmental benefits during field trials including: reduced fertilizer use; reduced herbicide or pesticide use; reduced water use or contamination (e.g., runoff); improved soil quality; or reduced GHG emissions or fuel consumption. The most evidence exists for variable rate technologies in grain farming, which showed decreased fertilizer use compared to control or universal applications. Our analysis also reveals that some academics make claims about PA and sustainability without presenting adequate evidence. More research is needed which defines sustainability models and metrics, then empirically tests PA along these metrics across a range of agricultural systems.