Role of precision agriculture in food supply

Introduction. The aim of our research is to provide an overview of the role and challenges of precision agriculture, to examine the current situation, in particular its impact on sustainable food production. Materials and methods. The study is descriptive and used scientific secondary data as the primary source. The authors also conducted a primary research of farmers in Hungary in 2022 what they think about the role of precision farming. The primary research method is a questionnaire survey. Results and discussion. Precision farming is a management approach that focuses on ( near real-time) observation, measurement, and responses to variability in crops, fields and animals. Precision farming means the practical appearance of digitized agriculture, the use of digital solutions in agriculture, where developments are directed to how to manage in a more competitive way, to increase efficiency, while also placing great emphasis on environmental sustainability. Precision farming is increasingly used in agriculture today. The demand for agricultural products will grow dynamically over the next few decades, and this can be met by more efficient production. On the Internet, when we type the term of precision agriculture we will get 147 million search results. In our research, according to 81% of respondents, precision farming is very important. In recent years, the development of precision agricultural technology, mechanization and agricultural informatics has undergone significant development. More than half of the farmers use some kind of precision support system. Nearly 70 percent of respondents think that precision technology systems are too expensive. 31 percent of farmers would like to have more knowledge about precision technologies, mainly concerning productivity (yield, quality, etc.), plantation condition (plant growth status, soil analysis, etc.) and the distribution of inputs (irrigation water, organic fertilisers, fertilisers, etc.). More than half of the farmers think that policy makers in the industry (financial support, legal environment, etc.) should take action to make precision farming more accepted in practice and they think that it would also be important to deal with it more intensively in education. Farmers are open to precision solutions, but there are challenges to effective spreading. Conclusions. The competitive future of agriculture is influenced by digitalisation and the use of precision agriculture. Precision agriculture is becoming increasingly popular in practice, as it can make a major contribution to sustainable food production.