The commercial introduction of genetically modified crops two decades ago heralded the beginning of the technology age for the agriculture sector. It paved the way for a slew of advancements and changes that enabled mass producers of food products to achieve incredible economies of scale at farm level and across the entire industry.

Biotechnology started the tech trend but it now represents just a small portion of the advanced systems and processes used to drive growth in agriculture. The arrival of GPS enabled tractors and other devices, for example, has resulted in a new wave of precision agriculture that has allowed farmers and manufacturers to manage crop inputs and yields to an increasing degree. In addition, the development of remote sensing tech has laid the foundation for aerial vehicles such as drones to scout fields and monitor produce in real time from connected digital devices such as smartphones and tablets.

To remain competitive, those within the agriculture industry now bring all this tech together effectively and make sense of a growing mass of information to ensure yields are optimized all year round. Big data analytics is the latest trend that promises to deliver even more insights that farmers and corporations can use to improve the application of technologies and inform production decisions. This requires an extensive knowledge and understanding of IT, and frameworks such as Hadoop. It is fair to say that technology is now intertwined with nearly every aspect of the agriculture sector in 2017.

image via seedbuzz

However, while current tech is sufficient for now, a study by the Food and Agriculture Organization shows production will have to increase by 70 percent to meet the projected daily calories for every person across the globe by 2050. The vast majority of land is already farmed, which means technology will be central to driving higher yields. The acute financial reality of food production will also force the sector to embrace new mindsets, so artificial intelligence and robotics are sure to be the focus as corporations streamline processes across the board.

The world’s first automated lettuce farm is set to launch this year and the prospect of fields being tilled, sown, tended and harvested by a legion of autonomous machines is not beyond the realm of possibility in the near future. Innovators, such as Jai Shroff, who is at the forefront of innovative tech research and applications for crop protection through his global enterprise UPL Limited, are set to drive growth in the agricultural robotics sector. Investment bank Goldman Sachs recently predicted that the sector will be worth a staggering $240 billion by 2021 as manufacturers double down on driverless tractors and other big and small pieces of kit that move agriculture closer to an “internet of plants and fields”.

image via agric.ng

Automation is drastically reducing labor costs in agriculture and the use LED lighting specifically for the cultivation of plants will begin to reduce energy costs as producers become more adept at reaching mass yields in any type of climate or weather. Moving forward, drone monitors co-operating and working in swarms via ultra-wideband radio are just one of the innovations to look forward to. While its impact on jobs and careers in agriculture is less certain, tech is set to play a leading role in the industry for years to come.

Tags : Future of Technology