Role of existing and emerging technologies in advancing climate-smart agriculture through modeling: A review

Under changing climate and burgeoning food production demands, climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practices are the need of the hour. Physically-based crop models have been designed, which require large sets of input variables, besides being timeworn, tedious, and not user-friendly in the current situation. There is a rapid advancement in the modeling approaches in agricultural practices. But, still, there is a shortage of comprehensive information related to the recent technological advancement in the modeling applications toward CSA and its prospects. The paper reviews, critically assess, and discusses the present state-of-art modeling technologies related to the CSA. Special emphasis is placed on highlighting the current research trends in the different crop simulation models and their CSA applications. The assessment and analysis of the combined implications of crop simulation and hydrological models form another vital area of our review. Subsequently, the suitability and future scope of AI in crop simulation models is thoroughly assessed. Finally, the ways to address future challenges for CSA through the models and AI-based approaches are evaluated. We have selected and critically reviewed the literature to deliberate on the various aspects of modeling and their impact on CSA. Overall, we attempted to distinctly bring out the different latest and advanced technologies and their potential roles in modeling exercises towards CSA. The current review also collates and presents new and innovative modeling approaches toward CSA with techno-feasible solutions. The review involves the simulation-optimization framework for coupling hydrological and climate models with crop models that presently have the utmost importance for the CSA. Concurrently it also highlights the overarching significance of different models and suggests refined solutions that enable better crop and environment estimation, field management, and decision-making.