Wireless Sensor Networks Applied to Precision Agriculture: A worldwide literature review with emphasis on Latin America

Agriculture is fundamental to the economic and social development of populations worldwide since the food of millions of people depends on agriculture. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, in 2017, more than 100 million people were food insecure. In developing countries, where this situation is more pronounced, agriculture is a family activity in which farming processes don’t make use of technology. The use of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) to provide precision agriculture (PA) has demonstrated positive results related to crop yields and resource management, which raises the need to determine the progress of research on the impact of these technologies. This article analyzes different proposals focused on the optimization of agricultural processes, with particular focus on their benefit to small and medium producers and, therefore, to food security. A literature review was conducted with an emphasis on scientific developments in Latin America, a region where family farming is one of the main economic activities. Through this study, it was possible to generate indicators of development and general successes and setbacks as well as to determine the main technical characteristics and most addressed topics in publications on this subject.