Agriculture is at a historic turning point, challenged by climate extremes, resource degradation, rising food demand, workforce shortages and geopolitical instability. Deep-tech solutions – spanning generative AI, computer vision, edge IoT, satellite sensing, robotics, CRISPR and nanotechnology – offer transformative opportunities to strengthen productivity, resilience and sustainability.

Generative AI can support tailored farmer advice, pest management and climate-risk modelling, although limited high-quality local data constrains its full potential. Computer vision and edge IoT enables rapid detection and real-time decision-making, but face barriers related to field variability, cost and system interoperability. Satellite-based monitoring brings affordable large-scale insights but is less accurate on small or fragmented farms. Robotics automates labour-intensive tasks, though high capital requirements hinder adoption in low-income regions. CRISPR accelerates the development of climate-resilient and pest-resistant crops, yet regulatory hurdles and public perception slow commercialization. Nanotechnology supports precision input delivery and biosensing but lacks long-term environmental safety data.

The report highlights breakthrough use cases emerging from these domains and stresses the need for coordinated action in policy, finance, skills, data infrastructure and innovation support.