Rabiya Abbasi, an artificial intelligence researcher, data scientist, mechatronics engineer and entrepreneur, says the fourth agricultural revolution promises to grow more food on less land and feed more people.
In this period we live in, agriculture is in the middle of the fourth industrial revolution. Emerging and game-changing technologies are driving economic, environmental and social change in the global food system. In the face of increasing hunger, population and changing climate, everyone is paying attention, from politicians to billionaires.
The U.S. Equipment Manufacturers Association published a study in February 2022 exploring how new technologies can do more for farmers with less. Those who tried these new technologies achieved an average of 4 percent reduction in crop production, 7 percent in fertilizer use, 9 percent in herbicide use, 6 percent in fossil fuel use and 4 percent in water use.
Using Internet of Things (IoT) technology, farmers can monitor their crops remotely by detecting plant growth, water levels and pest infestations with the help of sensors. We see this technology not only in agricultural lands, but also in the management of Farm66, which is a 2000 m2 closed farm in Hong Kong, and we see the use of IoT. The IoT-powered agriculture industry is projected to reach US$4.5 billion by 2025.
Used on 20 million hectares of cotton in China, drones provide information on pest control, fertilizer, herbicide application, irrigation, productivity improvement and harvest timing.
Meanwhile, artificial intelligence and machine learning are deployed in Australia's volatile environment to predict weather, temperature, water use and soil conditions.
Big data has enormous potential to radicalize the industry by reducing future variables and uncertainty. Relying on cloud programs to analyze large datasets, farmers can closely monitor environmental conditions in real time.
It is estimated that the agricultural Big Data market will reach US$ 1.4 billion by 2025.
The promise of increased profitability creates great excitement in the private sector. Agritech startups have grown more than 80 percent since 2012. Amazon's Jeff Bezos and tech billionaire Eric Schmidt are among those joining the industry. The world's largest technology-focused investment fund injects approximately $200 million into its vertical farming venture "Plenty". Bill Gates and Richard Branson are playing a game with the food company Cargill.
Related Products
The history of agricultural modernization strongly shows that increased productivity carries potential risks, including social inequality and ecological degradation.
Either way, advanced technology and agriculture's pursuit of the future will have both positive and negative consequences.
Challenges include growing digital inequality, access to energy and other resources, changing laws and regulations, data interoperability and security concerns. Smart farms are hackable farms. And as large corporations collect and sell data from farmers, escalating tensions over data misuse is a significant threat.
As agriculture globally faces the “perfect storm” of a rapidly growing population demanding more nutritional energy amid significant environmental challenges, the 570 million mostly family-owned farms worldwide need to sustain their livelihoods.
If integrated correctly, new technologies can increase crop yields, reduce production costs, increase traceability of food, eliminate unnecessary waste and detect diseases in advance. But utilizing the full value of Agriculture 4.0 will not be easy. Industry, research, government and business groups must work together to remove legal barriers, improve digital literacy and access, and enable platforms to better exchange secure data. Agriculture may be one of humanity's oldest technological advances, but it will take human ingenuity and creativity to ensure its continuity.