3.2.1. Global Positioning System and remote Sensing

The developments observed in Agriculture 3.0 were expanded and improved in Agriculture 4.0. This covers the increasingly complex applications of remote sensing and GPS technologies. These technologies improve the capabilities of autonomous vehicles in agriculture by combining information from multiple origins such as satellites, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), and sensors. GPS and remote sensing-based technologies are used to send alerts when crops exhibit stress, to monitor fields remotely, and to improve agricultural management practices [25]. These developments have also been found to be used in handheld and stationary agricultural machinery for jobs like pesticide and insecticide treatment, irrigation, crop harvesting, and animal location tracking and scouting [5, 21].

The major applications of GPS and remote sensing are listed in Figure 2. In addition, these technologies also provide detailed information about soil health, assessing factors like moisture content, levels of organic matter, cation exchange capacity, conductivity, and texture. This information serves as an early warning system, identifying potential issues and offering immediate solutions [23, 27]. Moreover, by analyzing reflection values at different wavelengths, these technologies can provide insights into plant growth and health. Images captured by a UAV equipped with a spectral camera, flown at the optimal altitude and under ideal sunlight conditions, contribute to this analysis [28]. All this makes GPS and remote sensing a valuable advancement in agriculture and a valuable component in Agriculture 4.0.

3.2.2. Drones and Sensors

These innovations were slightly used in Agriculture 3.0, but they are now common and more advanced in the Agriculture 4.0 era. Over the past few years, drone-based imaging in precision agriculture has advanced quickly. Smaller farms are more likely to use drone imagery than satellite imagery when costs are prohibitive. Precision spraying by drone is a major advantage as it increases payload capacity [29]. Plant managers can monitor crop growth in real-time even from a distance utilizing drones. Integrating drones with 5G technology is used to transport agricultural goods and raw materials to various production lines [27].

Figure 3 summarizes and illustrates the wider application of drones and sensors. It can be used for weeding and pest management, disease detection, pruning, milking, sorting, planting, water supply, environmental monitoring, crop scouting, plant monitoring, and phenotyping [31]. The utilization of multifunctional creative systems comprising remote sensor platforms including agricultural aircraft, satellites, drones, and UAVs with a variety of sensor types that might be employed in several areas of interest for applications is essential to the success of agriculture 4.0 [32].

3.2.3. Internet of Things

The IoT is a vital component of Agriculture 4.0 and a key indicator of technological progress in 21st-century society. It is currently implemented in agriculture globally through a variety of channels. Among them, embedded technology is the one and it is a system of linked devices that perceive, communicate, and interact with their internal and external environments. Any microprocessor-powered system or sensor can collect, process, and analyze data; this control process is carried out by any remote computer or device linked to the internet [33]. Crop, climatic, and soil parameters are measured by sensing technologies powered by IoT.

The water requirement for irrigation is managed by controlling those parameters [34]. It is also suitable in the recent category of agriculture 4.0, the internet of underground things to acquire data relevant to our planet to make decisions [32]. The implementation of IoT aims to reduce agricultural resource wastes such as water, crops, soil, and nutrients by automation of agriculture. IoT is also used in data analytics to identify whether an operation is effective or ineffective [34]. The diversification of agricultural production due to IoT in plant and cattle production, processing, transportation, storage, planning, and management leads to resource efficiency and savings for competitive production [35].

3.2.4. Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is currently popular globally with agriculture being the primary focus of its introduction and rise which is converting agriculture into agriculture 4.0. It provides better resource control and efficient cost management for the highest irrigation water use efficiency. Researchers developed a precision agriculture utilization system based on cloud firmware that consumes less water for irrigation [36]. Before being saved by various data generated in agriculture 4.0 domains, including sensors, cars, and robots can be handled using offline processing and streaming, or a mix of these methods [37]. The foundational architecture of cloud computing makes intelligent farming applications possible. It includes scalable computations, programs, data retrieval, and repository services for farm management systems. Another cloud computing application in agriculture is data flow from external sources and real-time monitoring and guidance systems in farm fields.

Data systems are included in cloud systems for food and agriculture-led industrial sectors to boost the food supply in the future. These systems gather and distribute data from different agricultural control systems, to save costs and reduce adverse environmental effects [32]. Sensor data are handled in the cloud despite big volumes in single dedicated storage without examining memory needs for real-time data access, processing, and storage. Data can be stored on numerous dispersed servers via cloud computing. In contrast to traditional databases, where data is stored in a single dedicated storage unit, the likelihood of data loss in cloud computing is reduced. The weather parameter monitoring system that uses cloud computing and includes sensors with measuring range, micro-controllers, communication interfaces, and information storage is examined and found cost-effective in agriculture [38].

3.2.5. Artificial Intelligence

The main behavior of Agriculture 4.0 is digital data in agriculture. AI is mainly and frequently used in agriculture, especially in computer vision, acoustic event processing, and data processing [39]. In the agricultural industry, AI in its various forms including machine learning (ML), neural networks, and deep learning brings change in thinking. Its application in conjunction with big data, extremely effective computers, and IoT has created a portal for opportunities to investigate, comprehend, and analyze agricultural operations using massive amounts of data to minimize labor costs and increase production [38].

Using AI and ML for improved crop monitoring, and water for agriculture food product traceability, can help agriculture supply chains (preproduction, production, processing, and distribution) to be effective [39]. It also facilitates products to reach the end-user or consumer easily and efficiently on time without losing their quality attributes. Moreover, AI is also used in genome editing to develop weed, pesticide, climate change, temperature stress, and water stress-resistant genomes in crop seeds and animals.

3.2.6. Blockchain

From the moment crops are planted in the field until they are harvested, blockchain performs a vital part in guaranteeing the origin of food by dealing with the supply line in Agriculture 4.0. Blockchain is an emerging technology [40] that can track crop growth, aggregate information about seed quality, and account for the crop’s journey after it leaves the farm. With the help of Agriculture 4.0, agricultural enterprises are beginning to employ blockchain innovation to develop knowledge in the supply chain and lessen transactional bottlenecks, such as those brought on by COVID-19-related worldwide concerns [40]. For instance, data about fresh fruit farming can be obtained from the source to the retail store, and rice exporters can discuss trading and the need for international supply chains to be flexible. These efforts can advance the supply chain by facilitating a quicker and more affordable supply of goods, enhancing product traceability, and enhancing partner coordination [40].

Additionally, blockchain is used in agricultural systems including traceability for waste reduction and food safety, food security, effective contract exchange, and dependable operational data analysis [40]. Supply chain management used blockchain innovation in its business activities and suggested using autonomous vehicles and some blockchain features to transport food from supplier to customer in the agriculture 4.0 era. After it was first made available with Bitcoin [41, 42], the scientific community has been interested in blockchain innovation to explore its potential utilization in the supply line domain. Special concern was given to the audibility of supply chains for dairy, meat, yogurt, butter, and cheese [41]. A lot of effort was made in this regard and positive results were observed. Finally, since blockchain data is cryptographically protected, it aids Agriculture 4.0 in protecting sensor data [40, 42].

3.2.7. Big Data and Analytics

Agriculture 4.0 allowed farmers to manage their farms at spatial and temporal levels by accessing explicit information from substantial amounts of heterogeneous data and providing decision-making using Big Data and Analytics technology [43]. In the agri-food sector, agriculture 4.0 encompasses digital innovations and other advanced innovations, such as big data and digital twins [40]. Big data is produced at a variable rate with inconsistencies in the supply chain from a range of locations and sources, in various forms. It helps to monitor and analyze customer behavior and reduces overall time, cost, and waste in the food industry. These improvements have made the sector smarter and more efficient. It can also be combined with other advanced technologies to alert food safety risks in the supply chain [44].

Sensors, intelligent machines, cameras, and actors operating along the food supply chain are constantly producing data, and handling the big data generated along the food supply chain is still challenging and time-consuming and requires a large computational infrastructure. Industry 4.0 technologies try to solve this problem by data integrity, processing, transformation, governance, and analysis online using big data analytics [45]. The most current application of big data is in vegetable and fruit planting, identifying soil types for farming, mitigating post-harvest losses, and managing fruit and vegetable quality through ML [46]. Not only this, but big data can also be used to identify the exact feeding timing with an underwater image processing system, nutrient strategy, feed quantity, and disease diagnosis needed. This helps to optimize production to prevent waste in the initial stages of aquaculture growth and improve the quality of seafood products [47]. The bigger the data used and analyzed, the more accurate prediction is found. The inputs and other process monitoring become easy, production costs will be reduced, and yield will increase.

3.2.8. Soilless Agriculture and Vertical Farming

In this era of Agriculture 4.0, the food needs of the rapidly increasing population and environmental degradation, growing demand for agricultural goods, and the lack of resources transform agriculture into soilless and indoor VF [48]. This is the method and practice of cultivating and producing crops and plants in challenging environments where suitable land is unavailable [11, 14]. Crops grow by this practice without soil using fertile solutions in rural and urban places to use every inch of land and territory [49]. It also means producing plants in layers to maximize yield per unit area [50]. Its goal is to increase yield per unit of land area so that agriculture can be intensified sustainably [51].

VF is a well-known and commonly used soilless agriculture in vertical sloping areas and vertically stacked layers [11]. It uses shipping containers, skyscrapers, or warehouses [49] using hydroponics, aeroponics, or aquaponics methods to produce food [11, 14, 49]. This process uses 95% less water, fertilizer, nutritional supplements, and no pesticide [11, 14]. VF makes it simpler to regulate plants’ temperature, relative humidity, CO₂ concentration, and airflow velocity [48]. According to Roberts et al. [51], VF improves crop pest and disease management. The three most common types of VF systems are hydroponics, aeroponics, and Aquaponics.

As Figure 4 indicates, the first VF system, hydroponics is the method of growing plants in a liquid nutrient solution, without soil. In this system, the roots of the plants are immersed in the water or the nutrient solution [52]. There are two types of hydroponic systems: open systems, in which the nutrient solution is given directly to the plant roots and is not reused, and closed systems, in which the surplus solution is collected, refilled, and recycled.

As Figure 5 depicts, the second type of VF system, aeroponics does not require trays or other water-holding containers. Because it employs nutrient solutions or mist in place of water without soil, and the roots are suspended in the air [52]. Consequently, this method is useful in a dry environment. Another advantage of the aeroponics method is that it does not require fertilizer or pesticides. In this system, crop yield rose by 45%–75%, while fertilizer use was cut by 60% [52]. Furthermore, research has demonstrated that this high-density planting method makes harvesting easier and produces higher yields.

The third type, Aquaponics, is a system that combines hydroponics and aquaculture [52] as shown in Figure 6. Using effluent from fish tanks to fertilize hydroponic growth beds is known as aquaponics. Nutrient-rich waste produced by fish is used for plant growth [52]. Aquaponic systems are an excellent way to grow lettuce, herbs, and specialist greens including watercress, spinach, chives, and basil.

Generally, the Agriculture 4.0 era integrates crop production with information technologies to make VF cost-effective [52].

3.2.9. Nuclear Technology

Apart from the most devastating fearing and deadly bombs and utilization for electric generating, atomic power, and atomic energy appeared in Agriculture 4.0 to create genetic mutations in crops. Atomic energies are used in agriculture as ionizing energy such as gamma rays, electrons, and X-rays for pest control, mutagenicity, increased agricultural yield, and improved postharvest quality. Nuclear power is nowadays used in agricultural production as waste heat [53]. Miernicki et al. [53] summarized applications of atomic energy as waste heat in greenhouse heating, aquaculture, animal shelter heating, soil heating (open-field agriculture), algal biofuel production, and post-production. Farmers can also modify the genetic composition of crops to create superior strains in many ways using radioisotopes. It is feasible to cause crop mutations and produce more disease-resistant, climatically tolerant, yield-maximizing, and quickly developing cultivars by administering low amounts of gamma or neutron irradiation.

The implementation of atomic power in agriculture and food production is multifaceted. It was used in Insect Sterile Methodology to manage crop insects, tracer method for fertilizer potency, radioactive beam for crop fostering, and irradiation for nourishment or crop protection. This technique has increased the yield, quality, and quantity of aromatic and medicinal plants used as ingredients. Furthermore, enhanced output in the agriculture and nourishment sector is expected from optimizing the utilization of nuclear power. Ebrahimi et al. [54] identify key areas of progress in atomic power that become apparent in agricultural technology. These are applied for pest-enhanced food processing, to enhance animal health and agricultural productivity. This literature survey indicates that atomic power and innovations have revolutionized farm work in this agriculture 4.0 era.

3.2.10. Agricultural Decision Support System

ADSS is a human–computer system that utilizes data from various sources, to provide farmers with a list of advice for supporting their decision-making under different circumstances [36, 55]. It is an automated system that incorporates databases, modeling tools, and multicriteria analysis techniques to help evaluate and prioritize a collection of options during any decision-making process [56]. ADSS is developed using a general construction framework as shown in Figure 7. Researchers and organizations have developed different farm decision support systems using these frameworks. Crop simulation and prediction, dairy farms, and Farm Management Information Systems [57] and land use, crop yield and quality, resource management, pollution management, and economic evaluation are the main applications of these ADSS [56]. According to Zhai et al. [36], the application areas of ADSS also include food waste prevention, mission planning, water resource management, and climate change adaptation.

ADSSs like AquaCrop, APSIM, and DSSAT make yield prediction and climate impact scenario analysis possible. These systems work by modifying the different management practices like water, sowing date and time, and pesticide and nutrient utilization using soil, weather, and crop as input [8, 56, 58]. Similarly, ADSS for dairy yield forecasting also become practicable due to the advancement of data technology. It can easily predict milk, fat, and protein yield per cow by analyzing the previously stored data.

ADSS increases an agricultural company’s value by reducing costs, minimizing risks, enhancing planning, and better use of available resources [57]. The primary advantages of ADSS include the ability to evaluate more options, enhanced comprehension of the business and its procedures, detection of unforeseen circumstances, enhanced communication, reduced costs, better choices, quicker decision-making, and more efficient use of data and resources [36, 56, 57]. In-depth information about the challenges and architectural design of agricultural decision support systems is available in reference [36, 55, 56].

3.2.11. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

This technology is well known in the entertainment industry and now its advancements are also applied and used in agriculture in this Agriculture 4.0 era. AR is a technology that overlays a real-time view of the physical world with valuable additional information to augment the photographic depiction of an object [59]. Virtual reality is also a simulated environment that can create and experience the virtual real world [60]. AR is an advanced version of VR and is designed for a particular role than VR [61]. These technological advancements in agriculture are called virtual agriculture [62]. A system for detecting various bugs was created by Nigam, Kabra, and Doke [59]; the system’s ability to detect pests is a sign of its application in agriculture. This method, which eliminates the need to create physical models, lowers product costs, improves product quality and production, and shortens the manufacturing time, was also utilized by Zang et al. [60] for tractor performance testing.

AR can improve efficiency and lower supervisory costs in precision cattle and crop production [56, 61]. In a virtual version, it will assist in methodically gathering the necessary data and interpreting the data from the analytical results on the field, such as soil stress conditions and insect species [62]. Providing farmers with entertainment in a virtual version of their farm fields can help them make decisions by reflecting on the growth status of the crops. Using previously gathered field data and cloud data; AR enables farmers to view a virtualized version of their fields with their unaided eyes [62]. This enables them to apply pesticides, conduct efficient and uniform plowing, and assess the supplements in the land [62]. In agriculture, AR and VR are mostly applicable to production, resource regulation, distribution of goods, and the design and manufacture of agricultural machinery [59, 63]. According to Xi, Adcock, and McCulloch [64], AR could improve food production and quality of life.

3.2.12. Nanotechnology

In the Agriculture 4.0 era, nanotechnology is utilized as nanoparticles in the form of nanopesticides, nanofertilizers [65], and advanced biosensors. These technologies reduced the loss of soil biodiversity and resistance to pathogens and pests by eliminating the blind application of pesticides and chemical fertilizers [14]. The application area of nanotechnology in agriculture is summarized in Figure 8. It can be used widely in agriculture for crop protection, food processing and packaging, food security and water purification, environmental remediation, and crop improvement [66]. Nanoparticles, nanosensors, and nanoencapsulation are mostly used in agriculture for crop production to control plant disease and to sense and monitor different pesticides, nutrients, and parasites [67]. Nanosensors are also crucial for monitoring chemical and physical events in crop and soil environments, assessing soil and plant nutrient status, and detecting pathogens in crops.

Nanomaterials are also used for genetically modifying animals and plants [66]. In addition, nanoparticles, nano brushes, and nanomembranes are applied to treat water and soil; cleaning and maintaining of fishponds [66]. According to Balasubramanian et al. [68], nanotechnologies are used in the forms of nanoemulsion, magnetic nanoselection, nanodevice, nanorobot, and nanotechnology with BioPhotonics for the muscle food system, breeding, cultured cell anchorage, for sorting molecules, for genuine tracking and expiry date checking in packaged products, respectively. It is also utilized as a packaging material since it has mechanical tolerance, heat-resistant properties, enhanced biodegradability, and improved barrier properties. Furthermore, due to their sensitivity and detection accuracy, nanotechnology is used as nanosensors in the meat industry to identify the presence of microbial pathogens, contamination, and toxins [68]. Nanotechnology paves the way for environmentally friendly and more sustainable agriculture [65].

3.2.13. 3D and 4D Printing

Significant advances in Industry 4.0, such as 3D and 4D printing, previously used in the industrial sector, are now being employed in Agriculture 4.0 for meat and food production [14, 68]. In the manufacturing sector, 3D printing is becoming increasingly common, especially in the food production sector. For instance, carrot-based food packages with the natural supplies of protein, carbs, colors, and antioxidants found in microalgae, in short, 3D printing turns mush into meals. 3D and 4D printing could also enhance various facets of the agriculture and the food industry, by developing customized diet programs and food qualities for specific populations such as athletes and the elderly. For instance, this includes turning food waste and by-products into new goods and producing plant-based alternatives to meat and seafood [46].

4D printing integrates 3D-printed foods with smart materials that react to external or internal environmental/human stimuli to change the products’ physical or chemical properties over time. This was demonstrated recently by Ghazal and colleagues, who used red cabbage juice and vanillin powder to create a 4D product that changed color and flavor in response to an external or internal pH stimulus [69]. Materials used in 4D printing can change or self-assemble over time in response to environmental causes like moisture, light, or heat. The food sector uses binder jetting, extrusion, inkjet printing, and bioprinting techniques for 3D and 4D printing. Among them, extrusion and bioprinting are the most widely used techniques, particularly to create meat in vitro [68] as shown in Figure 9. These technologies not only create new avenues for agriculturally relevant and inventive product characteristics but also optimize material utilization, minimize waste, and promote sustainability [70]. In addition, it can stop food shortages, stop animal abuse, cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, and save water [68].

3.2.14. Other Technologies and Advancements in Agriculture 4.0

Other advanced technologies identified and applied in Agriculture 4.0 are bioplastics, desert agriculture, genetic modification, cultured meats, food sharing, crowd farming, and chatbots [14].

3.2.14.1. Bioplastics

Bioplastics are biodegradable conventional petroleum-based plastic substitutes [71, 72] that are mostly produced, derived, extracted, and synthesized [73] from different agricultural and food wastes, bio-waste from effluent, paper waste, and feather quill [74, 75], microorganisms, and biogenic [73]. Bioplastics use dates back more than 25 years. However, they are unable to fulfill the claims that they will be helpful as plastics and will completely return to nature without causing any harm [14].

Bioplastics are made in many parts of the world today from different sources. These sources include starch, cellulose, and protein [76], and lipids, such as polylactic acid, polyamide 11, poly-3-hydroxybutyrate, polyhydroxyalkanoate, and polyhydroxyuretanes [76]. Bioplastics are also recyclable, biodegradable, and compostable [14]. There are diverse types of biodegradable bioplastics based on chemical properties, biodegradation, Ecotoxicity, disintegration, manufacturing process, chemical and structural origin, etc. These classifications are thoroughly documented in [73, 75].

Because of their unique properties and capabilities, starch- and cellulose-based bioplastics are replacing widely used petrochemical polymer plastics at a much lower cost. As a result, numerous academics are studying these materials extensively [73]. According to Gamage et al. [73], starch-based bioplastics, in agriculture, are used for mulching to cover the top surface soil to control the development of weeds and soil temperature and silage wrapping of green foliage crops or grass in the form of bales. Furthermore, it is used for packaging perishable products like fruit and vegetables for long-lasting products like pasta and chips to preserve their quality and as carrier bags since they can easily decomposable after use [77].

Compared with petroleum-based plastics, bioplastics have a positive impact on the environment by reducing acidification, eutrophication, the risk of global warming, ozone layer depletion, freshwater ecotoxicity, and human toxicity [71, 72]. In addition, bioplastics have great significance in biodegradability, energy efficiency, low carbon footprint, versatility [71, 76], societal acceptance, and unique thermal and mechanical characteristics [76]. Moreover, bioplastics are less toxic, eco-friendly, increase soil fertility, and help develop organic waste management by effectively utilizing many wastes from different industries as bioplastics [75].

Ali et al. [74] documented the life cycle assessment of many types of bioplastics as indicated in Figure 10, their applications, benefits, recycling methods, and impacts. However, large-scale production, optimum biodegradability, cost, durability, recycling methods, sustainability, and greenhouse gas emissions of bioplastics still require extensive research and development [75, 76]. Therefore, every concerned body government, NGO, researcher, industrialist, policy maker, stakeholder [72], and others must work together. This transforms petroleum-based plastics completely into bioplastics and creates social awareness about the multidimensional benefits of bioplastics [76].

3.2.14.3. Genetic Modification

Crops that are more resistant to drought are improved by genetic modification [14]. Abiotic and biotic stresses, like heat, salt, cold, drought, bacteria, fungi, viruses, insects, and nematodes, can affect crops, plants, and animals in agriculture [83]. According to Clercq, Vats, and Biel [14], Kumar and Kumar [84], and Mittler and Blumwald [85], genetic engineering improves how plants and animals react to various kinds of stress. Furthermore, it also opens new markets and allows the development of new crops and kinds [86]. Most people call it biotechnology [84] or breeding, and it is great anticipation for agricultural improvement [86]. As science and technology have advanced, breeding has undergone various modifications, and in this era of Agriculture 4.0, breeding has reached Breeding 4.0. As large data creation and computer computational power increased [87], breeding became increasingly straightforward. As a result, genotype selection and gene editing technologies expanded, improving breeding accuracy and efficiency.

In addition, data-informed plant breeding technologies [87], genome prediction and selection, high-throughput phenotype determination, and application of AI and ML have become easy to use in genome editing. The summarized steps of genetic modification are presented in Figure 11. The following genome editing techniques are an advanced innovative approach for agriculture 4.0 and make genome editing easy. These are transcription activator-like effectors [86–88], zinc-finger nucleases [86, 88], and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats [14, 86–88]. Furthermore, DNA technologies based on DNA molecular markers, transgenic technology, and gene expression have been widely used in this agricultural development era [89].

Fang et al. [89] emphasized that DNA-based technologies demonstrated significant promise for enhancing crop breeding program efficiency and agricultural productivity, safeguarding germplasm resources and the environment. Hamdan et al. [88] documented many advantages of genetic modification including increased farmer’s and customer benefits, reduced environmental effects in agriculture, boosted crop output, and effective terra firm utilization. Additionally, they discussed the rise in forbearance to crop infection, sustenance improvement of main crops, production of plant-based pharmaceuticals, reduction in toxicity, allergies, and intended genetic effect on human health. Due to such positive effects of genetic modification on human health, the environment, and social and economic aspects, genetic engineering is much needed to address the nutrient demands of the future [14], in the era of Agriculture 4.0.

3.2.14.4. Cultured Meats

Cultured meat is the process of generating meat through the isolation, culture, and multiplication of animal cells [90]. Cells are cultivated in a growth medium in a bioreactor instead of coming directly from animal slaughtering [91–93]. Production of cultured meat was introduced to solve moral, ecological, and public health problems related to animal-based meat [94]. This advancement is introduced because the practice of industrial animal husbandry is contributing to the cruel treatment of animals and hastening the negative consequences of climate change.

Furthermore, raising animals in large densities raises the possibility of foodborne illness, epidemic viruses, and antibiotic resistance. This poses serious risks to the security of food supplies and the health of people and animals. Meat cultivation is an innovative technology with great promise, but it is currently in the initial stages of development [14]. It is an interdisciplinary field of study that holds the potential to eliminate the world’s reliance on animal agriculture. Cultured meat has great promise to affect animal welfare, animal-borne food-related diseases, the environment, and food security [14]. In addition, it is thought that cultured beef can lower greenhouse gas emissions, enhance water and land use, eradicate food-borne and zoonotic diseases, lessen antibiotic resistance, and decrease the slaughter of animals [94].

Siddiqui et al. [95] summarized the supply chain of cultured meat as presented in Figure 12. Like other agricultural products, the supply chain of cultured meat needs the integration of different actors. These include scientists for meat production from cultured cells, industrialists for mass production and packaging, traders for distribution and retail, and consumers for daily consumption. During supply chain management, many types of technology are used. Diverse advanced technologies used in the cultured meat industry are reviewed and documented well by Kamalapuram and Choudhury [90] including AI, ML, decision support systems, etc. For further information on cultured meat industries, it is recommended to refer to this literature. There are still a lot of unknowns even with the apparent benefits of cultured beef [93]. Therefore, proponents and manufacturers of cultured meat need to think about how their products relate to various institutions and social and cultural phenomena of their communities’ preferences [94].

3.2.14.5. Food Sharing

Food waste has been seen as a severe problem for the security of the world economy, environment, and health [92] and must be reduced by food sharing [14]. Food sharing has long been accepted as a social and cultural norm in most communities and is gaining popularity nowadays [96]. Due to overproduction in one part of the globe, there is a surplus of food, but in the other, there is a shortage of food, so it might be shared using a food-sharing platform. Local efforts that gather, manage, and distribute excess food have become more prevalent because of growing worries about food waste. Moreover, food sharing is strengthened by the emergence of new ICT technologies such as mobile applications and web platforms [97] like special food-sharing websites, and social media.

These apps and platforms implemented online and offline [96], made food sharing easy between neighbors and local shops. This eliminated discarded foods [14] and avoided unnecessary resource waste. The common working process of food-sharing platforms’ is presented in Figure 13 above. Food sharing is a voluntary activity, and all the agents participating in the process are volunteers. Food is an easily spoiled, decayed, and rapidly changing material, and its waste is not only food lost but also the waste of energy and cost of its value chain. Therefore, ethically surplus food has to be shared instead of thrown away, since somebody else is suffering from hunger [96]. In addition to the reduction of food waste, it also improves social inclusion and community engagement [97, 98] and food security [97] as it connects people and fosters social networks [98].

Food sharing brings many people from various backgrounds and motivations together [97]. This community engagement improves collaboration, cooperation, information sharing, entertainment, and important sources used for food production or other things [96]. Food-sharing platforms are efficient tools for obtaining social, economic, and environmental sustainability and equality [98] as no money transactions are done and open to all levels of the food supply chain [96]. To facilitate food sharing within a community, it is important to consider technological acceptance, cultural norms, values, religious perspectives, and other socioeconomic aspects and perspectives.

3.2.14.6. Crowd Farming

Crowd farming allows people to own the land and plants a remote farmer cultivates [14]. It is characterized as a new value creation model [99], an open collaborative learning paradigm, a source for product development, and an online problem-solving tool and production model [100]. Crowd farming is also a process of outsourcing tasks by the organization or individual in an online platform in an “open call” [100, 101]. This links the producer and customer, so the owner gets its crop at no waste and zero overproduction [14].

The most commonly adopted crowd farming system is shown above in Figure 14. Nowadays, it has gained academicians’ and industrialists’ attention worldwide [100]. Crowd farming focuses on large and complex tasks that require the tight collaboration of multiple workers with different expertise [99]. It can also implemented by companies with full-time employees, fixed workplaces, and well-organized working structures [101].

3.2.14.7. Chatbots

Chatbots are easy-to-use and very user-friendly applications [102] that are becoming increasingly beneficial in agriculture. It allows farmers and consumers to communicate easily through their smartphones or personal computers. As Figure 15 illustrates, the farmer or the consumer asks the Chatbots what they need in their phone, laptop, or desktop computer and the Chatbots process their request and respond to their request. After receiving the relevant response and information from the Chatbots they act and perform accordingly. Chatbots provide a means of gaining access to and comprehending enormous volumes of data, facilitating the process of making well-informed judgments by aiding recommendations for a specific problem [14, 102]. Chatbots are more intelligent AI systems that are not just data retrieval systems, and they are also used for agricultural marketing and agricultural product delivery systems [103]. It is applied as a mediator and connector between the farmer and the consumer; thus, the consumer gets the farmer’s recommendation based on his requirement specifications [103] and vice versa for farmers and other stakeholders [104].

Chatbots reduce food waste and save customers cash by accessing fresh products at a convenient economic price [103, 104]. Additionally, it eliminates the intermediary problem [104] and increases the farmer’s income by selling their products on time. Furthermore, Chatbots make agriculture an attractive profession for youths [103]. It can send data from varying sensors such as temperature, soil moisture, humidity, soil PH, and light sensors to databases and then send them to farmers when asked for information [105]. This indicates that Chatbots are vital parts of Agriculture 4.0 advancement.

3.4.1. Agriculture 4.0 and Education

The introduction of digital technologies into agriculture requires new knowledge and skills. Agriculture 4.0 is a digital data agricultural system that can significantly catalyze mutual learning, generate, share, and use knowledge and information related to intelligent agricultural practices, trends, opportunities, and operations. Agriculture 4.0 fosters digital education and makes acquiring new multidisciplinary skills and knowledge easier, providing a modularized approach to education that new job opportunities will require. In addition, as Agriculture 4.0 saves production time, farmers can engage in education and other training to qualify in certain fields. Also, farmers could interact with the community and share their knowledge by hosting lectures, workshops, or farm tours through community education and workshops. This benefit is also related to the community and society, additional detail in this regard is presented later.

Nowadays, attracting a young workforce to Ethiopian agriculture is hard since many young students are fans of computers and enjoy working on computers. However, Agriculture 4.0 creates increased employment opportunities for these urban graduates in agriculture using AI, IoT, food sharing, crowd farming, etc. Furthermore, this attracts the farmers to educate themselves to operate intelligent agricultural machines and technologies further lowering the country’s illiteracy rate. That means as they are educated more, they increase their chances of working in other areas. And help them understand the power of education and send their children to school. Generally, Agriculture 4.0 helps to realize the importance of education, demonstrates how it facilitates technological advancement, fosters development, and makes information sharing and mutual learning extremely beneficial for the country.

3.4.2. Agriculture 4.0 and Economy

Agriculture 4.0 in Ethiopia can provide greater control over activities leading to the optimization of resources. And consequently to less wastage of agricultural inputs including water, fertilizer, pesticides, seeds, fungicides, and herbicides, and harvesting and postharvest loss. All this leads the farmer savings on production inputs of around 30% with a productivity increase of 20%. Also, it results in a reduction of overproduction by crowd farming and food waste by food sharing. It helps to reduce post-harvest losses and create self-sufficiency in food, reduces food imports, increases agricultural exports, and increases the economic return of both the farmers and the country [11].

Agriculture 4.0 also increases agricultural productivity, reduction in waste, and reliable food production [11] in the country. Food waste means not only the eaten food but also the energy, land, water, labor, manufacturing, and packaging materials and costs. So reducing food waste implies saving such costs [14], and Agriculture 4.0 helps to reduce and eliminate these wastes. The application of Agriculture 4.0 can reduce energy and input and increase the quality leading to an increased farm sale [13]. It is also used to eliminate the middlemen or the broker who intentionally increased the food price for the customers to sustain their profitability without giving attention to the farmer’s profitability. But Agriculture 4.0 creates direct contact between the farmer and customer and benefits both of them mutually and marketing takes place at a reasonably low price for the customer and profitable price for the farmer. Agriculture 4.0 saves time so the farmers can engage in other activities and increase their income.

3.4.3. Agriculture 4.0 and the Environment

There is one aspect of agriculture that should not be underestimated, and that is environmental sustainability, which will be a defining characteristic of the agriculture of the future. Agriculture 4.0 is specifically designed to improve the sustainability of agricultural activity and the environmental impact of the entire food chain. It makes every drop of water count and reduces the environmental footprint of farming [11]. It can also improve emission control and mitigation strategies [32]. These technologies allow us to examine the soil’s spatial and temporal variations and manage them accordingly. The main environmental challenges of chemical drift (pesticide, fertilizer, fungicide, herbicide, etc.) can be reduced by optimization of agricultural activities using Agriculture 4.0.

As Ethiopia is a land of varied demography, Agriculture 4.0 brings many benefits and opportunities for sustainable environmental creation. It reduces land degradation in many mountainous fields and helps us to improve our irrigation management practices to save water. Additionally, it enables us to reduce chemical applications and assists in the use of organic and natural products that reduce environmental pollution. For example, bioplastics reduce and eliminate synthetic plastics that are hard to recycle and reduce environmental pollution as many plastics are burned since they are not recycled effectively and efficiently in the country. Food sharing also reduces the waste of foods that completely pollute the environment by producing unpleasant smells and many poisonous gases like methane.

3.4.4. Agriculture 4.0 and Workload

It is well established that recent technologies also improve the working conditions of the operator. They are made less burdensome, and time-saving thanks to the support of digital and innovative tools. Technologies reduce the workload of the farmers and operators and reduce the time that the farmers spend on agricultural operations [13] since machinery in Agriculture 4.0 is autonomous and self-driving. Agriculture 4.0 machinery is primarily operated remotely, shielding operators from inclement weather, intense heat, direct sunlight, and dust particles. This lessens operator fatigue and enables operators to work in comfortable conditions. So, Agriculture 4.0 helps the operator to work in a comfortable and pleasant environment and conditions sitting from the office or someplace remotely on his farm field and reducing his/her workload.

3.4.5. Agriculture 4.0 and Health

Agriculture 4.0 allows constant and precise monitoring of each stage of the production chain that translates into a higher quality product, which is undoubtedly beneficial to health. It is estimated that products in a high-tech supply chain retain their properties and are therefore healthier. In addition, Agriculture 4.0 allows control of agrochemical and fertilizer utilization to produce high-quality food products that improve consumer’s health and quality of life [13]. The reduction of methane from the decomposition of food waste is another benefit of Agriculture 4.0. Methane is 23 times more deadly than carbon dioxide [14], and its production from waste food is reduced by eliminating food waste at any food supply chain level by using Agriculture 4.0.

Generally, Agriculture 4.0 improves the health of our community and farmers through three main directions. In the beginning, it helps the farmer and other communities to reduce work overloads that create back pain, tiredness, and other health problems. Next, it helps to reduce food wastes that produce highly poisonous and deadly gases, as a result, the environment’s sustained pollution is reduced, and community health is improved. Finally, it helps us by providing high-quality and nutritious crops, fruits, vegetables, and other plants that improve our health by direct consumption or use as a medicine.

3.4.6. Agriculture 4.0 and Community or Society

Agriculture 4.0 can increase social interaction and community engagement, especially through food sharing and crowd-farming technological advancements. As it improves the quality of life, the social sustainability of the community increases, and youth attraction and participation in agricultural activities increase [13]. Farmers who use Agriculture 4.0 technologies may discover that, because of automated and streamlined procedures, they have more free time. They can use this additional time for volunteer work, social events, and community involvement to improve their social and community engagements. In the beginning, farmers could interact with the community and share their knowledge by hosting lectures, workshops, or farm tours through community education and workshops.

Next, farmers who have more spare time can offer their produce to customers directly by taking part in local events or farmer’s markets. This strengthens ties within the community, encourages a healthy diet, and boosts the regional economy. Then, farmers can contribute their time and expertise to a range of community projects, including food banks, environmental efforts, and community gardens. It helps the farmer to contribute their agricultural knowledge to enhance local conservation, sustainability, or food security initiatives in their community and society. Furthermore, farmers can become members of or head agricultural, environmental, or rural development-related community organizations. This enables them to connect with like-minded people, share ideas, and collaborate to solve problems or encourage constructive change in their neighborhood.

In addition, farmers can serve as mentors to students with an interest in agriculture or to aspiring farmers. To impart their experience and expertise to the upcoming generation of farmers, they could provide training courses, internships, and apprenticeships on their farms. Moreover, farmers can participate in advocacy campaigns to have an impact on national, regional, or local agriculture policies. Members of the public can express their ideas, share their experiences, and help shape policies that support sustainable agriculture and rural development by joining advocacy groups or attending community meetings. Finally, farmers who have more spare time can concentrate on their personal growth and explore interests or hobbies outside of farming. Sports, the arts, or volunteer work in non-agricultural fields are a few examples of non-agricultural activities that might improve their lives and widen their social networks.

3.5.1. Challenges

Despite its benefits and necessity, adopting Agriculture 4.0 in Ethiopia comes with significant challenges and disadvantages. Many of these challenges were observed in developed countries before they achieved advancements in this sector. Main barriers include a lack of infrastructure (26%), limited availability of R&D and innovative business model (26%), lack of quality education (22%), and limitation of digital literacy and skilled manpower (26%). Additional challenges include the availability of limited information flow between the agricultural value chain actors (26%), technological complexity (40%), worries about reliability (42%), and, most notably, incompetence between advanced technological components (54%) [113]. It is expected that Ethiopia will face similar and additional challenges during the adoption of Agriculture 4.0. These anticipated barriers can be categorized as technological, economic, political, social, and environmental [112].

A major challenge in adopting Agriculture 4.0 in Ethiopia is the lack of technical and operational capacity, as well as gaps in knowledge and skills needed to manage advanced technologies. This issue arises from the scarcity of technologically equipped teaching institutes, laboratories, and facilities, as well as a shortage of trained workforce. Trained manpower is important for managing farms and data, operating smart agricultural machinery, maintaining machinery, and replacing machinery parts. Since Agriculture 4.0 components are all digital, digital literacy is critical. However, Ethiopia faces significant challenges in this area. As of 2015, the overall literacy rate in the country was just 49%, with 69% accounting for the age of 15–24. Only 8.1% of the population participated in higher education, and the rest participated in primary and secondary education. Furthermore, the digital literacy rate in Ethiopia is very low, at only 3.75% [108], for example, only 3% use mobile money. The lack of digital devices like smartphones or personal computers due to their price contributes to these challenges. Additionally, the low basic literacy rate and the language barrier, as most digital devices are imported with their operating systems in foreign languages and limited numbers of apps in the national language, further hinder the adoption of digital technologies and digital literacy.

In addition, the lack of required infrastructures to manage the bulk data and information used in Agriculture 4.0 is also a technological challenge for its adoption [112] in Ethiopia. Agriculture 4.0 needs different infrastructures such as connectivity, data centers, training facilities, road infrastructures, sensor networks, and automation systems. Among these, connectivity is placed at the forefront. High-speed internet and 5G networks are required for data transmission as well as the operation of IoT devices. However, as of 2024, only 19.4% (24.8 million people) are internet users and the average internet speed is just 27.2 Mbps, which is considered very low in terms of both user numbers and speeds. To store and analyze big data for decision-making, suitable data centers are required, along with facilities for educational and training programs that equip farmers with digital literacy. As of 2024, these infrastructures are limited, to give an illustration, the 5G network is available in 145 locations within Addis Ababa, Adama, Harar, Haromaya, and Dire Dewa only.

Higher investment costs for machinery purchase, infrastructure development, and skilled labor development are economic challenges for implementing Agriculture 4.0 [112] in Ethiopia. The majority of farmers are smallholders, with less than 2 hectares of land and limited budgets, which makes purchasing advanced agricultural machinery (hardware) and farm management software financially unfeasible. In addition, prohibitive costs of production discourage the adoption of Agriculture 4.0 without considering the weight of its benefits. Farmers fear the loss of money by investing in Agriculture 4.0 in small and scattered lands. Furthermore, the lack of open investment and loans as well as funds and grants for small-scale farmers will reduce the adoption rate of Agriculture 4.0 in our country.

Weak policies for encouraging farmer-centered approaches, and political demographic differences between developing and developed countries [112], as well as between educated and uneducated people within the country are also political challenges to adopting Agriculture 4.0 in Ethiopia. People training and qualification, digital literacy [112], social acceptance, awareness, and perceptions of smart technologies especially for cultured meat [94], genetic modification, and food sharing are the main social challenges to fostering the practice of Agriculture 4.0 in Ethiopia. This is because people think that all technologies are against religion, and they break the rules written in the holy scripts. People’s perception and acceptance of genetically modified plants and animals is the main challenge to implementing Agriculture 4.0. To illustrate, in a study conducted in Japan only, 40%–50% out of 10,000 are not willing to eat genetically modified plants or animals [69].

In Ethiopia, most people like the increased yield, but they think that genetic modification reduced the nutrients and health benefits of the crops in addition to the pesticides and fertilizers applied during the crop production process. In addition, genetically modified crops are not considered organic, and this perception reduced the acceptance of genetically modified crop seeds and factory-processed food products especially in all rural and less civilized urban places. Cultured meat technologies and 3D and 4D printed food printing technologies also faced the same challenge as genetic modification technologies, and Balasubramanian, Pushparaj, and Park [68] also indicated that cultured meat is prohibited and halal in most religions. In addition, the lack of food-safe substrate/material, effectiveness, and scalability are the main challenges of implementing 3D and 4D printing in agriculture and food manufacturing industries [68] in Ethiopia and other countries. Apart from the challenges of adopting Agriculture 4.0 in Ethiopia, hopeful opportunities indicate the implementation capabilities of Agriculture 4.0 in the country.

3.5.2. Opportunities

As part of the Digital Ethiopia strategy, Ethiopia plans to achieve 70% digital literacy by 2025. Additionally, the 5 million youth coders’ initiative, which capacitates 5 million youths in digital skills by 2026, has been launched to enhance digital literacy. Furthermore, universities are increasingly engaging in digital innovations, training, and research within the agriculture sector. These combined efforts aim to produce technically equipped, digitally literate, and skillful manpower capable of operating, maintaining, and managing Agriculture 4.0 technologies. Moreover, Ethiopia has introduced a climate-smart farming initiative to promote resilient agricultural practices in the future. The deployment of 5G internet offers significant potential for the adoption of Agriculture 4.0, enabling faster data transmission (10 Gbps) and the seamless operation of IoT devices. The Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020–2030), proposed by the African Union [114], further provides an opportunity to enhance digital infrastructures, including big data, AI, IoT, and blockchain, which is suitable for implementing Agriculture 4.0.

The development of data centers for cryptocurrency and AI applications by Ethiopian investment holdings and Raxio data center (Tier III certified facility) in Addis Ababa enables the storage and analysis of big data. This capability is helpful for agricultural and food systems, facilitating informed, timely, and better decision-making. Additionally, in Ethiopia, the availability of large uncultivated arable land [114] and land cluster initiatives present a significant opportunity for implementing Agriculture 4.0. These resources expand the potential for utilizing digital machinery in sustainable tillage, planting, harvesting, and animal feed processing, as well as operating equipment such as rakes, and hay balers.

The existence of public universities and agricultural research institutes, including the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (IMWIC), and the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) [115], contributes a significant role to fostering Agriculture 4.0 by conducting researches and supporting innovations. Furthermore, the Global Network of Digital Agriculture Innovation Hub Ethiopia [114] provides additional opportunities to cultivate digital agri-tech entrepreneurs and promote the adoption of Agriculture 4.0.

Moreover, OCP Africa and Morocco-based Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) are supporting the scale-up of agri-techs in Ethiopia. Events such as the FinTech Addis Exhibition and Forum, Agri Tech Expo, and Agri Tech Movers Forum also create valuable exposure for entrepreneurs and agriculture technology enthusiasts [115]. Additionally, government incentives and support for Agri-tech entrepreneurs, as part of the 2025 Digital Ethiopia plan, along with initiatives of private company Agri-tech accelerator programs and competitions present significant opportunities to promote the adoption of Agriculture 4.0. These efforts are further reinforced by digital agriculture competitions supported by organizations such as FAO, Mastercard Foundation, World Bank, and Orbit Innovation Hub.

Another key opportunity to encourage the promotion of Agriculture 4.0 is the government’s tax-free agricultural machinery import initiative. Given Ethiopia’s relatively high import taxes compared to other countries, this policy is expected to increase farmer’s and investor’s investment in advanced agricultural technologies. Finally, the establishment of the Agricultural Mechanization Center of Excellence, an initiative project in collaboration with the Korean government, also nurtures the adoption of Agriculture 4.0 in the country.

3.5.3. Directions