The dawn of agriculture spawned civilisations for the last 10,000 years. It meant groups of people didn't have to hunt and gather food and be nomads running between forests or fishing along the coastline. All the great civilisations of the world were possible because of this simple fact. Food was on the table, so mankind started to think about what's next.
The evolution/development of agriculture can be largely grouped under four eras. The Paleo era when early domestication of plants and animals started to happen before 5000 BCE. Then comes the Civilization Era in which more efficient farming systems were developed that standardized food production (5000 BCE to 1600 AD). The Medieval Era, roughly between 1600 to 1900, when basic mechanization and fertilizers emerged. The Modern Era in which we are living now when crop genetics, productive fertilisation and large scale farming have taken eminence.
But some things are happening in the agriculture sector in the last decade or so, that the pace of change is increasing rapidly, and it turns out that even agriculture is not immune to the changes of the digital age. Technological innovations have the ability to transform every link in the food chain, from seed to spoons.
Why do we need these innovations to drive agricultural growth?
We need to feed close to 2 billion Indians by around 2050. Why is it important? Well, in 1947 we just needed to feed 0.3 billion Indians and our population would have increased by 6 times in 100 years. The need to embrace the opportunities these innovations offer is practical and real as Agricultural efficiency is still relatively poor: It takes 5000 litres of water to grow 1 kg of rice, it takes 880 gallons of water to produce one gallon of milk and 7 tons of feed to produce just 1 ton of meat.
Then, of course, we have the threat of climate change looming over our heads which further elevates our challenges to crop management, access to fresh water and good top soil.
But fortunately, the makings of a fifth agricultural revolution is here, with the potential to reduce or eliminate all of the above issues while being responsible to nature and health.
Today we look at eight digital technologies as listed by PwC2016 which can have the potential to transform agriculture. They range from the specific technical tools to new ways of seeing the existing system.
1. Sensors:
Sensors allow your smartphones to do magical things like switching off the screen when the phone is near your ears to turning on DND whille your driving. But soon the most ubiquitous digital technology in agriculture would be sensors of all types, as they deliver a tremendous array of functions (covering a wide range of agriculture arenas, from crops to livestock) and they're very affordable. They can be used to analyze the soil, water requirements, air quality or a greenhouse, for example using the infrared spectrum that is otherwise invisible to the human eye. The resulting information can be analyzed and displayed graphically allowing for detailed analysis and providing forecasts and remedies for problems such as efficiency, drought or disease. Sensors also include wearable technologies for livestock that can monitor movement, estrus cycles, healthy vitals, and general herd identifying information. The market for agricultural sensors is expected to reach $2.5 billion by 2025. Here are companies from Coimbatore that specialise in using sensors to create better efficiency in Farming through SmartAgri (www.tiino.in) and Flybird Innovations (http://www.flybirdinnovations.com/)
2. Drones:
These mini-robots can give farmers the ability to visit and observe parts of the field they cannot easily go during the growing season, and with new camera technologies to collect information not seen with the human eye. Drones are extremely helpful and can be used in soil and field analysis, planting, crop spraying/monitoring, irrigation and crop health assessment.
3. 3D Printing:
3D printers are becoming familiar, but their potential is still massively untapped. From creating food utensils to parts needed for repair in one of their tools, 3D printing can easily down the cost to a few pennies. A veterinarian might use it to produce a weight-bearing support for a cow with a broken leg.Food Ink is a pop up dining experience in which not only is all of the food created through 3D printing, but so are the utensils and furniture. Foodini offers a 3D food printer for home use starting at Rs. 1,50,000.
4. Robots:
Robots are already creating a furore among technologists and policy makers because they reduce labour costs, particularly for time consuming and repetitive tasks. However, now they are going to the next level: functioning autonomously or through set instructions to offer new kinds of assistance to people. For example, there are wine bots (from VisionRobotics) that are used in vineyards to prune vines, remove young shoots, and monitor the vine and soil for general health. Nursery bots are used in plant nurseries to relocate potted plants (see Harvest Automation for a demonstration of their speed and accuracy). In the livestock industry, there’s a herder bot that will keep cattle moving in the right direction and another robot to mix the feed. These new generation robots even include “soft robots” made from material and not from metal, for more delicate handling tasks. The robot market in agriculture is expected to grow from just under $1bn/year now to $16 bn/year by 2020.
5. Artificial Intelligence (AI):
Yes AI can do more than schedule your tasks to tell weather on your smartphone. AI can take the data gained from sensors and convert it to actionable information. AI refers to machines that can mimic "cognitive" functions such as "learning" and "problem solving". An exciting example in agriculture is machine vision, where computers process visual data collected via UAV, satellite or even smart phones and provide the farmer with useful information. For example, companies like Fermentrics are using AI to reduce inefficiencies in food production. Using machine vision (image-based automatic inspection) allows for constant monitoring of fields or herds. This information can then be used to reduce irregularities in growth or production and to be identified before they become problems. AI is particularly important because it can interpret information far better than humans and can be used to filter data and allow humans to only become involved when it is absolutely necessary.
6. Augmented Reality (AR):
AR, sometimes called mixed reality, is the addition of information, typically by computers or sensors, to that of the real world. It is the middle ground between reality and virtual reality. Food producers can use AR to layout the planting options in a field or by a fertilizer salesman to demonstrate the impact his product could have on his customer’s field. The argument with AR is that it is more than images superimposed on a computer screen, the user needs to actually see the virtual images as part of the real image before him (such as with Google’s Glass or Microsoft’s HoloLens or PokemonGo). The technology is still very expensive, but high-value uses such as identifying pathogenic bacteria in the food chain are likely to be among the early applications.
7. Virtual Reality (VR):
Adoption of VR technology will also be slowed by high implementation costs, but as with the other technologies here, the prices are coming down very quickly. An example of VR use is livestock video monitoring systems that send data back to a computer program, which in turn constructs a visual representation of the herd or brood allowing the farmer to check in on the cows or chickens remotely. VR is developing into an important training tool in many industries, and is already an important teaching tool in veterinary medicine. A natural extension would be training employees and workers for on-farm work. Despite the many possible applications and uses, this is one technology that may still be some way away from fully integrating itself into the agriculture industry.
8. Blockchain:
As with the other technologies listed, a blockchain is a way of using technology to gather, interpret and share information. As the agriculture sector has one of the biggest disconnects between suppliers and retailers, Blockchain has the ability to create direct links among participants of the supply chain thereby ensuring farmers are paid fairly and retailers receive the right products. Given that each year almost one in ten people fall ill from consuming contaminated food; this technology has the potential to directly affect the consumer in a monumental way. In this case, it is the information that goes along the food chain. Having a solid source of reliable information about food (including where it was grown; how it was processed, stored and transported; who was in control at each stage of the journey) has been a challenge ever since people started trading for food. These days, with an increasingly global food chain, and ever more complicated compliance requirements, the information chain is even more important than ever. Blockchain is essentially an incorruptible electronic ledger that can track each transaction of a food item’s journey through the food chain. From a legal standpoint, the encryption allows for safekeeping of information, reducing the need for lawyers or legal action. Farmers and producers can connect to and access the blockchain can make information more available.
Together, these eight technologies are part of the Internet of Things (IoT): the connectivity of machines in collecting, sharing and analyzing data. The connectivity has dramatic applications in the agribusiness sector, where there are significant geographical and information access challenges. Taking it a step further, some agriculturalists refer to the Internet of Food (IoF) in which all information regarding a specific food could be available to a consumer. Simply by accessing a mobile device, consumers can determine the location, growing techniques, flavor, potential allergies, shelf-life, etc. of the food they are about to purchase or eat. This could take place in a restaurant or supermarket. Non-human commerce, with 'things' doing business with each other, is evolving so quickly now it has been termed 'Digital business'.
These are just few fundamental technologies that we have discussed that are already in play with some level of implementation across the world, representing tremendous opportunities for those who recognize its potential. Maybe, just maybe, farmers of crops are entering the era when they need to start thinking of themselves as farmers of data.