What!? The Farm of The Future is Now?
Spoiler alert... producers are optimising their operations.
In the 21st century we have faced multiple challenges: we have had to produce more food than ever before with an ever-shrinking rural labour force.
We’ve had to adopt more efficient and sustainable production methods, while we continue to face increasing challenges related to climate change, a worldwide pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and everything in between.
The World population is expected to grow by over a third before 2050. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, projections show that feeding a world population of 9.1 billion people in 2050 would require raising overall food production by some 70%.
While this objective is daunting, there is a silver lining as we head deeper into the fourth industrial revolution led by big-impact high-speed technological advancements.
This revolution is being driven by the convergence of digital, biological, and physical innovations. Included, is the increased use of precision technologies on every continent. Technologies such as drones, machine learning systems, the Internet of Things tech advanced robotics, and biotechnologies. These advancements are rapidly changing the way we create, exchange, and distribute value.
The Digital Age has changed our lives. Computers and phones are primary means used to communicate, as we interact through digital infrastructures.We see everyday items and industries making use of these new technologies. And this reality is not confined to areas outside of the agro-ecosphere:
While more and more cars drive themselves…
there are variable applicators and unmanned sprayers on-farm both on the ground and in the air - increasing efficiency, precision, and safety for tech-forward operations all around the world.
While smart technologies help us to power “off-grid” homes, enable shipping and logistics at scale, support state of the art hospitals, banking institutions, universities, factories, and more...
more and more farmers are finding themselves at the intersection of traditional farming practices and high-tech innovations.
Producers are optimising their operations, yields, and in turn food security; leveraging advancing technologies such as AI supported climate monitoring, irrigation management systems, fleet tracking, digital scouting, and advanced remote sensing technologies that both monitor crops on the ground and from the skies above. There is no doubt that the farms of the future are already here.*
Till next time,
*Abstract taken from my presentation at the SABI Congress 2022 on remote sensing technologies, and how Aerobotics’ solutions fit in and compliment current advancements in agricultural technology as we know it. The SABI Congress and Exhibition is one of Africa’s largest and most established irrigation and water saving events.
**Image credit: Chris Ensminger via Unsplash. See more @ www.viramedio.de