Understanding the factors influencing the environmental stewardship of precision farming farmers - A systematic literature review

Precision farming has emerged as a transformative approach to enhance resource efficiency and minimize environmental impact as agriculture confronts more and more sustainability concerns. This systematic literature review delves into key factors influencing environmental stewardship in the context of farmers embracing precision farming using the Theory, Contexts, Characteristics and Methods (TCCM) framework. Well-screened data obtained from the Web of Science database published between 2002 and 2024, 40 relevant studies being reviewed through bibliometric and thematic content analysis using R Studio and VOS viewer. Findings revealed a steady increase in precision farming research, led by the United States, Agriculture and Human Values as the most cited journal and Finger’s (2019) work has received the most citations. Key findings pointed out that social norms, economic incentives and government policies as significant determinants of farmers’ environmental stewardship. Despite advancements, farmers are still confined by resource scarcity, knowledge gap and differences of opinion about environmental issues. This review marks the necessity of targeted interventions as a panacea to the barriers, encouraging ecological resilience and sustainability in agriculture.