Agtech's IoT surge: what's driving adoption

Agriculture is changing fast, and farmers are increasingly turning to connected technologies to deal with tighter margins, unpredictable weather and sustainability pressures. For IoT solution developers, the most important question is: where is the demand strongest? Recent studies and market data give clear signals about what farmers are investing in—and why.

Precision farming and soil monitoring

Soil monitoring is one of the fastest-growing segments in agtech. Farmers are investing in IoT sensors that measure soil moisture, salinity, temperature and nutrient levels to optimize irrigation and fertilization. The global soil monitoring market is projected to grow from USD 375 million in 2022 to over USD 1.0 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of nearly 13%.

This demand is fueled by the proven impact: studies show that sensor-driven irrigation can reduce water use by up to 30% without yield loss. Farmers are buying solutions that help them save water, comply with usage restrictions, and keep yields stable.

Livestock monitoring

IoT adoption is also rising in livestock production. Farmers are equipping cattle and other animals with GPS collars, ear tags and biometric sensors to track health, grazing, and location.

Demand here is tied directly to risk management. Livestock is capital-intensive and losing even a small percentage of animals to illness or escape can have major financial consequences. Farmersare showing a willingness to invest in IoT systems that provide early warnings and reduce mortality rates.

Smart irrigation systems

Water scarcity is one of the biggest drivers of IoT adoption in agriculture. Farmers are seeking automated irrigation systems that connect to soil and weather data, making water use more efficient.

The smart irrigation market is forecast to growat CAGR ~13% between 2023 and 2030, driven largely by agriculture. The trend is particularly strong in regions facing water stress, such as parts of North America, India, and Australia.

Farmers aren’t just adopting sensors — they are paying for closed-loop systems that automatically adjust watering, reducing labor as well as input costs.

Carbon markets and sustainability reporting

Another emerging demand driver is compliance and sustainability. Farmers are being asked to prove soil carbon levels, water use efficiency and land management practices to access subsidies or participate in carbon markets.

The World Bank highlights the importance of measurable, verifiable soil and land-use data to unlock carbon credits. Farmers participating in these schemes will increasingly need IoT-based soil and land monitoring systems that can produce audit-ready data streams.

Demand here is expected to accelerate as carbon trading matures — making secure and tamper-proof IoT data collection a growing requirement.

Regional adoption patterns

Demand is not uniform across the globe. North America leadsthe digital agriculture market with about 32% share, thanks to large farms and strong infrastructure. But Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region, driven by government-backed precision agriculture programs in China, India and Southeast Asia.

For IoT developers, this shows two different demand signals:

• In North America, farmers invest in advanced integrations and expect robust, large-scale solutions.
• In Asia-Pacific, demand is high for affordable, scalable  systems that can be deployed across millions of smallholder farms.

The big picture

The data points to four clear areas where farmer demand for IoT solutions is strongest:

1. Soil monitoring and precision farming – saving water and fertilizer, stabilizing yields.
2. Livestock monitoring – reducing losses and improving productivity.
3. Smart irrigation – responding to global water scarcity with automation.
4. Sustainability compliance –  providing verifiable data for subsidies and carbon markets.

The global agriculture IoT market is projected to grow from USD 8.5 billion in 2024 to over USD 12.6 billion by 2030 and it’s farmer demand in these categories that will drive the lion’s share of that growth.