The Convergence of IoT, AI, and Blockchain in Agriculture: A Survey and Research Challenges

The agricultural sector is currently undergoing a digital revolution through the implementation of smart devices, IoT sensors, blockchain technology, robots, and AI (artificial intelligence) algorithms. These technologies are not only digitizing farmers' services but also automating numerous aspects of agricultural work, including irrigation, disease detection, climate forecasting, and monitoring of soil conditions and crop characteristics. Through this paper, we review the most important aspects of smart agriculture, as well as some practical solutions that have been implemented in this direction. Then we continue with the description of the challenges of real applications that have been implemented. Finally, through the proposed conceptual model, we describe how real monitoring can be conducted by leveraging IoT, AI and blockchain technology. In addition, we highlight the implications triggered through these technologies and identify some of the persistent challenges.