Investing in rural communities, from agritech to smart villages
Smart communities are on the rise – and it’s not just cities that stand to benefit. Smart technology also has plenty to offer in rural and agricultural settings.
From smart cities to smart villages, the smart tech revolution is coming to the rural U.S. Smart technology makes the most of data and analytics to enable better decision-making. Rural use cases for leading technologies, such as agritech, connectivity solutions, IoT, AI, and energy solutions, could deliver substantial returns for today’s investors.
With the Internet of Things (IoT) market projected to exceed $3,352.97 billion by 2030
The agritech revolution: Enhancing efficiency and sustainability
Investing in agritech isn’t just potentially strategic – it could be necessary. Given record-breaking heat waves and water scarcity impacting millions of Americans, 262.6 million acres of crops and 18.8 million beef cattle are experiencing drought.
With smart agritech, farmers can monitor real-time soil conditions, weather, and crop health by deploying sensors, smart devices, and computer vision to make data-driven decisions, optimize resources, and improve crop outcomes. Experts predict the IoT-enabled agricultural monitoring market will hit $4.5 billion by 2025.
AI-driven predictive analytics generate crop yield and weather predictions, allowing for informed farming decisions. U.S.-based Valley Irrigation (a Valmont company)
Automation and AI are also cutting labor costs and boosting efficiency. Researchers have used customized tractors and drones for barley farming without human touch,
Farmers can improve crop yields, raise profits, and boost performance with agritech. So, it’s hardly surprising that the agritech market is experiencing exponential growth. With a 2022 valuation exceeding $22 billion and a projected $75.8 billion by 2032,
Rural connectivity: The rise of smart villages
The rural version of “smart cities,” the “smart village” concept can potentially transform rural areas. But infrastructure investments are needed to ensure connectivity and fully unlock technology’s potential in more remote areas. After all, roughly a third of rural Americans don’t currently have broadband access.
To embrace what smart villages’ potential, rural areas will need:
- A broadband fiber network: Broadband fiber networks are essential, as they allow rural communities to take advantage of the latest technology trends. Deloitte predicts over $130 billion of investments are required to make this a reality in the U.S.
Deloitte (7/2017): Communications infrastructure upgrade: The need for deep fiber - 5G and Wi-Fi 6 or 6E: Insufficient 5G or Wi-Fi 6 connectivity hampers rural community development. 5G smartphone demand rose from 3.3% in January 2020 to 17% by the end of 2021,
Statista (9/7/2023): 5G in the United States - Statistics & Facts driving network expansion across the U.S. and benefiting chip producers like Marvell Technology and Qualcomm. -
IoT devices and sensors: There will be an estimated 8 billion IoT connections in North America alone by 2030.
Statista (9/27/2023): Internet of Things (IoT) in the U.S. - statistics & facts These devices and sensors can collect real-time data from rural communities, helping with water quality monitoring, traffic light efficiency, property protection, and more.
Once these are in place, those in rural areas can take advantage of new opportunities, such as:
- Remote work and learning: Connectivity demand is high, with 12.7% of full-time employees working from home and 28.2% following a hybrid model,
Forbes (6/12/2023): Remote Work Statistics And Trends In 2023 as well as American public colleges enrolling roughly 8.5 million online students in 2021 and private schools having 2.7 million remote learners.Forbes (5/24/2023): By The Numbers: The Rise Of Online Learning In The U.S. - Telehealth: While there are 53.3 primary care physicians per 100,000 people in large metropolitan areas, there are just 39.8 in nonmetropolitan areas.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (5/2014): State Variability in Supply of Office-based Primary Care Providers: United States, 2012 Improved connectivity would enable remote consultations, monitoring, or AI diagnostics. More people could benefit from wearables like Fitbit, Garmin, and Vitls, a solution offering monitoring and data sharing with healthcare professionals to shorten hospital stays and improve deterioration detection. - Smart tech, sensors, and predictive analytics: These capabilities could enhance rural infrastructure and management needs. For example, GeoDigital Insight
GeoDigital (n.d.): GeoDigital | Vegetation Management offers 3D data and analytics for vegetation management. Smart trash can solutions like BigbellyBloomberg (6/10/2015): New York City Is Turning Smart Garbage Bins Into Free Wi-Fi Hotspots or Bin-ENVIDIA (4/1/2019): A Can with a Plan: Smart Recycling Bin Makes It Easy to Be Green offer AI capabilities for optimizing waste management.
Smart energy technology and efficiency
Renewable energy is flourishing in rural areas in part due to climate goals, like the U.S. aiming for carbon-free electricity by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050.
What’s more, rural areas are adopting smart grid solutions, which can reduce operational costs and fossil fuel dependency, optimize local resource utilization, and extend system components’ lifespans.
U.S. investments in smart grid technology are expected to grow to $16.4 billion annually by 2026.
Rural and agricultural technology has the power to transform
Everything from agritech to broadband to smart meters has the potential to transform rural communities and agriculture, leading to a more productive and sustainable future. Not only will these technologies enable those in rural areas to take advantage of the latest technology and farmers to keep up with the growing food demand, but they also present investors with the potential for significant ROI.
References to companies are for illustrative purposes only and should not be viewed as investment recommendations.
Risk Warning: Investment involves risk including the loss of capital.
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