AccScience Publishing / AJWEP / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/AJWEP025130096
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Digital and precision farming, emissions trade-offs, and food crop yields in Pakistan

Agha Amad Nabi1 ,  Muhammad Khalid Anser2,3 ,  Muhammad Asif4 ,  Khalid Zaman5*
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1 Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences, Government College University, Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan
2 Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Rize, Turkey
3 School of Business, Faculty of Social Sciences, Xi’an International University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China
4 Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences, Air University, Multan Campus, Pakistan
5 Department of Economics, Faculty of Social and Administrative Sciences, The University of Haripur, Haripur, Pakistan
AJWEP, 025130096 https://doi.org/10.36922/AJWEP025130096
Received: 30 March 2025 | Revised: 18 May 2025 | Accepted: 19 May 2025 | Published online: 29 May 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Climate change, low productivity, and environmental degradation are jeopardizing Pakistan’s agricultural sector, whose sustainability and resilience can be potentially improved using agricultural technology (AgriTech). This study examines the relationship between digital technology, precision farming, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, and Pakistan’s grain crop yields to determine how modern technology impacts ecologically responsible farming. The study used Autoregressive Distributed Lag bounds testing to explore how data analytics, modern farming technologies, and agricultural value-added (AGRI) affect grain crop yields in the short and long run. Long- and short-term crop yields were reduced by AGRI. Data analytics could only produce short-term advantages, but precision agriculture tools and digital technologies assisted in enhancing yields significantly. CH4 and N2O emissions were significantly associated with yield growth, suggesting efficiency trade-offs. This study found that digital technology is an intensive farming method, resulting in higher yields linked to higher input consumption and emissions. The technology also enabled precision agriculture to increase productivity with lower environmental impacts. Taken together, the findings of the current study collectively underline the need to merge smart farming technologies with environmentally friendly methods to boost Pakistan’s agricultural productivity and sustainability.

Keywords
AgriTech
Precision farming
Agricultural sustainability
Climate dynamics
Environmental stewardship
Food security
Pakistan
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution, Electronic ISSN: 1875-8568 Print ISSN: 0972-9860, Published by AccScience Publishing
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