Contribution of Precision Agriculture to Drought and Food Security

Agriculture is one of the most important fields of activity where the essential and basic needs of humanity are produced. Many difficulties and uncertainties such as diseases, pests, weeds, drought, economic crises, pandemic, climatic changes, drought, hail, flood, tornado, decrease in agricultural lands and natural resources, and fragmentation of agricultural lands, are struggled during agricultural activities. These difficult and laborious activities also carry some risks such as the inability to obtain an efficient product for various reasons or a sufficient income to meet the expenditures. Therefore, the aim in agricultural production is to increase productivity and product quality in agriculture, to use minimum inputs, to ensure food safety, to protect natural resources and the environment, and to provide economic, sustainable, and productive management. For such a production, it is necessary to use quality seeds, irrigation, fertilization, plant protection, etc., and applications should be done duly on time and with machinery. The use of precision agriculture technologies not only makes productivity more effective, but also provides an economical production by preventing environmental pollution, protecting natural resources, food safety, and preventing unnecessary input use. In this study, the benefits of variable rate applications that cause the emergence of precision agriculture technology, and the effects of precision irrigation applications on drought are explained. In addition, the potential of precision agriculture technologies to contribute to food security is explained.