Nothing is perfect and everything can go under many changes and improvements.
The IT sector is all set to revolutionize the world, so how can it leave the most important sector i.e. the agricultural sector behind?
The UK Food and Agriculture Association estimates that the world population will increase by 47%, to 8.9 billion by 2050. The production in agriculture must double in the next 30 years to be able to sustain the population growth and at the same time, the amount of arable land is decreasing.
Agriculture is the sector that is most important for any country as most of the necessary things and the raw material is the output of this sector only. And if all the countries want to at least produce the quantity that is enough for its people, they have to work towards growing the productivity of this sector.
Technological advancement can grow productivity to an insane amount and this is the reason that all the startups whose project scope is focused on agriculture are fully supported by the Government.
Here are the top 5 emerging trends in the field of agriculture:
1. IT in agriculture:
A friend of mine has started a startup that is focused on creating a pump that will release water in an efficient way on the farm by just a click from the farmer’s mobile.
Agriculture is being connected with big data. Many apps have been created to help agriculture grow and tons are under development. The app provides personalized information on watering, use of chemicals, seed placement, weather and soil type. These apps help in increasing productivity and growing higher quality products. They help in efficient agricultural project execution.
Blockchain is also keeping its feet in the field. It is the technology that provided us with bitcoins. It is making the payment easy for the agricultural field. Many foreign country farmers are using bitcoins to get speedy returns. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has promised to help two billion people around the world who don’t have bank accounts by providing them funds via Bitcoin.
Rural countries are targeting to develop technology in normal phones too as their farmers are uneducated and they can just use their phones to make a call and thus they are developing products that will start and stop by a missed call by their phones.
2. Low-cost Aquaponics:
This method is to combine two forms of nature and then letting them help each other.
It combines the benefits of aquaculture and hydroponics. In this method, vegetables are grown in nutrition-rich water rather than in simple soil. The naturally produced waste of fish and vegetables works in a circular manner and they help each other grow. No water goes into waste and thus this method is 90% water-efficient than the traditional method.
This is a sustainable and environment-friendly method. Soil erosion is controlled and no pesticide is to be used. The primary input is just fish and vegetables and thus it is a cost-efficient process. It is not dependent on rain. This is a timely crop turn around.
The main benefit is that farmers will get the benefit of increased per square foot production versus traditional farming. This will help in growing multiple fish and vegetables at the same time, you just have to come up with efficient project planning.
3. Biotech in Seeds and Biocontrols:
Biotech seeds help in increasing the quality and quantity of the output. Improved quality seeds help in producing the best products. Biotechnology helps in:
- Speed up the multiplication process for vegetatively propagated crops
- Detect diseases transmitted by seed and planting material
- Eradicate diseases transmitted by planting material
- Protect seeds with biological control agents
- Test varietal identity and purity
Biotechnology has resulted in benefits to farmers, producers and consumers. It helps in making pest control and weed management safer and easier while safeguarding the crops against diseases. For example, genetically engineered insect-resistant cotton has allowed for a significant reduction in the use of persistent, synthetic pesticides that may contaminate groundwater and the environment.
4. Small mechanisation:
Mechanisation means using agricultural machinery to mechanise the work of agriculture that can greatly increase the productivity of the farmers.
The history of modernising farming starts with mechanisation. This helps in increasing productivity and decreasing the need for labour. This can heavily increase the income of the farmer.
Current mechanised agriculture includes tractors, trucks, combined harvests, aeroplanes, helicopters and other vehicles. Precision agriculture also used GPS to increase the yield.
The availability of mechanisation is increasing every year for small farmers. A farmer can handle large fields by using machines and thus they do not need an extra hand. This saves them labour charges and the other person can take a new piece of land and they can farm there.
Companies are trying to create a sharing mechanism that can be shared by the farmers and therefore buying the mechanism could be made cheaper for them. This will help increase the will of farmers to opt for the mechanism as it is possible that they may fear to buy it alone but if the cost can be shared, these machines can fit their budgets.
5. Packing Innovation:
The depreciation for a farmer comes in the form of waste product. Many a time the product is crushed or becomes rotten and when the income is so low, any loss is extremely bad.
Breakthroughs in packing designs have helped this situation a lot. Today, the package companies can provide packages that are very protective of our food. Packages are now capable of increasing the life of the food. This can help in avoiding waste and thus can be cost-effective. Instead of plastic, that harms our food, corn starch pressed bags can be used to keep our food from harm. Many biodegradable packaging can help in keeping the full process environment friendly.
Conclusion:
These innovations can help in increasing the productivity and the quality of the product. It can help in keeping the product fresh until it reaches the market and with that, it will help in making the whole process environment friendly. Hopefully, we will soon witness immense growth in the agricultural sector.
Author Bio:
Shyamal is the Founder of SmartTask, an online work management tool that’s helping teams be more productive by having clarity on who’s doing what by when. Has a penchant for researching and sharing strategies that could benefit a team’s productivity.