Trends Shaping the Future of Sustainable Agriculture

Farmers today use satellites to plow fields, sensors to gather information about their soil, and sophisticated software to manage their operations.

Fremont, CA: Sustainable agriculture practices aim to protect the environment, expand earth's natural resources, and maintain and improve soil fertility. As a result, farmers have constantly introduced technology to the field, even if they were not early adopters. Farm technologies enhance crop productivity by delivering more precise and timely area and weather data, reducing the need for pesticides and fertilizers, increasing efficiency, and lowering fuel consumption.

The following are some of the key technologies for sustainable agriculture:

AI Stands for Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems analyze data to assist farmers in determining when and where to produce crops, feed livestock, and sell to maximize profits. Farmers may use data to apply fertilizers more efficiently and accurately. Farmers can better organize resources and use fewer chemicals and fuel if they have more information before planting.

Biotechnology

Biotechnology is one of the oldest methods available to farmers for crop improvement. Crossbreeding has resulted in hardier plants with higher yields and larger livestock over the millennia.

Modern laboratory procedures have reduced the time it takes to crossbreed plants, adding or eliminating traits to adapt to changing environments. Although these methods are controversial, proponents point to how crops can be made more productive, resistant to disease and insects, and better able to respond to local conditions, such as more severe droughts or higher amounts of moisture, even though opponents fear that modified crops will have unintended and potentially disastrous consequences.

The new gene-editing CRISPR technique can also boost productivity and disease resistance by modifying certain features.

Drones

Farmers are using drones to help them manage their crops more efficiently. Drones were initially used to spray pesticides onto crops. Taking aerial images to analyze crops and obtaining data from sensors that can be mined to identify the health of crops and weed populations are two other growing services. In some situations, drones have been used to distribute tree seeds for forestry operations.

Blockchain

Blockchain technology is usually connected with the purchase and sale of cryptocurrency, but it also has agricultural applications. For example, agricultural items may be tracked from farm to consumer using blockchain technology. It's already being used in agricultural supply chains to pinpoint the source of salmonella outbreaks and other food diseases.

Sustainable agriculture is an important puzzle in feeding more people and reducing climate change. Shifting food and fiber production to a sustainable system helps attain both objectives.