Effectiveness Assessment of Investments in Robotic Biological Plant Protection

Evaluation of the effectiveness of digital technologies adoption is relevant in all areas of activity, including agriculture. The goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of investments in robotic technologies for biological plant protection in greenhouse enterprises. This article proposes a decision-making algorithm for evaluating the effectiveness of investments in robotic technology projects for biological plant protection based on a financial model, which is supplemented by the technical and economic parameters of digital technologies. Testing of the model on the example of a Russian enterprise showed that the project pays off in two years, while the profitability of the enterprise grows by increasing the yield and boosting the sales of environmentally friendly products in the context of replacing chemical plant protection with biological methods. The main assessed risk factors for the project are a decrease in revenue, an increase in overall costs of the greenhouse, and an increase in the cost of digital technology development and implementation. Sensitivity of the project to personnel recruitment and requalification issues appeared to be very low. The study contributes to the development of methods for economic assessment of the effectiveness of digital technologies in agriculture. In addition, it shows in a specific case that for transitional and low-income countries (in this case Russia), implementation of the high technologies may result in higher relative operational expenses.

Entomophagy; Fertilizer; Insectivore; Internet of things; Risks; Sensitivity analysis

To date, there are two main reasons for the digitization of the agricultural sector:

·         Improving productivity of agro-industrial complex (AIC) sector enterprises;

·         Reducing losses in agricultural production.

Losses in agriculture arise from natural conditions that the producer cannot affect, biological threats, and unskilled workers who fail to accept or use high-tech solutions (Trisasongko et al., 2016; Zinchenko, 2017; Wegren et al., 2019; Borisov and Danilova, 2020). Therefore, one of the potential economic effects of the digitization of the AIC in Russia can be an increase in the market supply of agricultural products. 

Table 1 Possibilities, limitations and risks of digital technologies application in agriculture in Russia

       Table 1 organizes the main areas of digital use in agriculture, as well as the main limitations and risks of their application in Russia. These limitations and risks are based on a literature review of the results of the theory and practice of the introduction of digital solutions in agriculture of other countries, including developing countries such as Russia. Among the main constraints, we should point out the significant need for investments related to production facilities and infrastructure upgrades (Lele and Goswami, 2017; Pivoto et al., 2018; Iovlev et al., 2019; Zaytsev, 2020), the requalification and training of staff capable of working with new technologies (Salemink et al., 2017; Pivoto et al., 2018; Rotz et al., 2019; Kudryavtseva et al., 2019), the difficulties in purchasing technologies and equipment abroad, and the inaccessibility of information (Yong et al., 2018). These limitations create significant risks for the successful implementation of projects applying digital solutions in agriculture and their increase in price.

        Within the current study, the object of research is the use of robotic technologies to carry out the protection of plants using biological methods. Table 2 presents some of the latest developments used in plant protection. The equipment described in Table 2 is usually designed either for spraying (chemical protection of plants) or for pruning and thinning. In addition, we present robots engaged in biological plant protection in one way or another and mention the use of drones for scanning the territory and producing a detailed map of the state of the fields. With additional software, such drones can identify the contamination zones in the greenhouse area. The authors found the only robot on the market that can conduct both pest treatment and pruning, LettuceBot2. However, this robot cannot be used in greenhouse farms for biological plant protection. Thus, the authors were not able to find robotic solutions capable of scanning the territory of greenhouses for infestation with insect pests and placing biological agents of protection (entomophages) automatically.

Table 2 Robots used for biological plant protection

Because of increasing interest in and attention to ecology and health, agricultural enterprises need to address the challenge of improving the environmental safety of production. Despite the simplicity of using chemical methods to protect plants inside greenhouses, enterprises are faced with a number of negative consequences, which are difficult to measure: harm to human health (both workers and consumers) and harm to treated soil. Separately, we should note the increasing costs of creating or acquiring new chemicals due to the adaptation of pests to the chemicals used, as well as the growth of the exchange rates of major currencies against the ruble.

Many countries in Europe are currently switching or have already switched to biological methods of plant protection, although this method also has a number of drawbacks. Among the drawbacks is its slow action, so there is a need for constant monitoring of the condition of the greenhouse, which requires having specialized workers on staff.

The goal of this research is to assess the cost-effectiveness of robotic technology for biological plant protection. To achieve this goal, feasibility studies of the project will be considered, a comparative analysis of costs will be carried out, and the effectiveness of investments in robotic technology of biological protection of greenhouse plants located in the Moscow region of Russia, as well as the risks of the project will be assessed.

The study proposed and tested a decision-making algorithm for investments in robotic technologies of biological plant protection. The proposed decision-making algorithm will allow agricultural enterprises to make decisions on the effectiveness of investments in robotic plant protection technology projects. At the heart of the algorithm lies the financial model, which is supplemented by the technical and economic parameters of digital technology.

As a result of the study, it has been proven that the introduction of robotic biological plant protection technology improves the profitability of the agricultural enterprise; this investment pays off in two years. The project is most sensitive to such factors as a decrease in revenue for eco-products and an increase in the cost of robotic technology considering scientific and technical uncertainty in the use and creation of new technology and an increase in overall costs.

An important limitation of this study is that it was modeled on one greenhouse farm located in Russia. As part of the following detailed research, the algorithm is being tested at agricultural enterprises in other regions.

This research was supported by the Academic Excellence Project 5-100, proposed by Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.

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