Agriculture is one of the oldest activities in the world. In fact, it is one of the professions that has evolved the most. Due to an exponential growth in the world’s population, several ways to increase productivity have arisen since there is a constant need to produce more with fewer resources because of its scarcity (Walch, 2019). Technology has been introduced in this 5 trillion-dollar industry some years ago. However, lately, there has been a shift towards the use of artificial intelligence in several industries and agriculture cannot be left behind. Artificial Intelligence can be defined as “a broad field of science encompassing not only computer science but also psychology, philosophy, linguistics and other areas” (van Duin and Bakhshi, 2019).
Through technologies such as computer vision and deep learning algorithms that are applications of AI, farmers are now able to analyze data collected in their farms and generate insights from it so that they are able to optimize production, control for quality and resource utilization (Walch, 2019). One good example of this is the partnership between Deloitte Portugal and Sogrape (the biggest wine producer in Portugal). This partnership resulted in the installation of sensors in Sogrape’s vineyards in order to generate data easily. This process allowed the company to control for temperature and to improve harvesting quality and accuracy (also known as precision agriculture (Walch, 2019)) without the need to do regular in-field inspections to samples of grapes.
Moreover, as the world is moving away from being an agrarian society, this industry is facing a shortage in the agricultural labor force, as more and more people are now living in urban areas. Therefore, artificial intelligence bots can be an optimal solution to tackle this problem. These bots are robots developed with the help of AI that are able to improve productivity in farms as they harvest in higher quantities and at a higher pace than humans do (Newman, 2018).
References
Walch, K. (2019). How AI Is Transforming Agriculture. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/07/05/how-ai-is-transforming-agriculture/#7afb67a34ad1 [Accessed on 14 Oct. 2019].
Newman, D. (2019). Top Six Digital Transformation Trends In Agriculture. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2018/05/14/top-six-digital-transformation-trends-in-agriculture/#5035dcc1ed2e [Accessed on 15 Oct. 2019].
van Duin, S. and Bakhshi, N. (2019). Part 1: Artificial Intelligence Defined. [online] Deloitte Netherlands. Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/nl/nl/pages/data-analytics/articles/part-1-artificial-intelligence-defined.html [Accessed on 15 Oct. 2019].
Dear Pedro,
Thanks for writing this interesting post! I agree with you that we have to find a solution for the increasing labor shortage that is currently occurring in the agricultural sector. Essentially, it stays an important sector that provides us with parts of our daily food! I think the importance of the agricultural sector differs per continent, but also differs per country, which is certainly influenced by the different urbanisation rates.
Furthermore, I agree with you that a technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI) could contribute to the solution of tackling the shortage problem, and could be able to take over several human tasks. It is already a huge progress that remote-controlled vehicles based on AI and deep learning are able to collect data about fields, in order to give farmers better information regarding the circumstances of their field (Byrum, n.d.). The practices of precision agriculture are very beneficial, and could indeed be improved by further AI technology developments. It also saves the farmer much time and helps him to be better informed about the health and conditions of his plants and fields.
However, some potential threats have to be taken into account. As we know, fields are extremely dependent on external conditions related to mother nature. Unpredictable weather conditions, interacting organisms, and the possibility of pests and diseases are all possibly unexpected forces that may have bad impacts on farmer’s fields (Byrum, n.d.). Since natural forces can change in a second, this makes the forecasting for field conditions quite uncertain. Furthermore, I think that even if AI could take over certain human tasks, still humans are needed for the interpretation of the data and to detect any system errors that may occur. Therefore, the AI bots where you talk about are, at least nowadays, more an ideal addition to agriculture than a strict replacement.
In order to make AI technology as effective as possible in the agricultural sector, AI controlled devices should be designed according to specific plants in specific regions (in order to forecast and take into account all known weather conditions in the area). For this, more effort, skills, and funding in the technology developments in the agricultural sector are needed (Byrum, n.d.).
Reference:
Byrum, J. (n.d.). The Challenges for Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture. [online] PlugandPlayTechCenter. Available at: https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/resources/artificial-intelligence-agtech/ [Accessed 16 Oct. 2019].
Pedro, interesting article! I think technological developments have always been important in agriculture. It boosts efficiency and improves yields. Like you said, this is a 5 trillion dollar industry, which implies huge competition. I think farmers are happy to adopt modern technologies in their practices. Not only, because of better decision making from an efficiency perspective, but also for the livestock. These current technologies help farmers to detect when an animal gets sick or injured prior to their illness. These tools help farmers make timely decisions on how to provide help. To give you my thoughts on the title: no I dont believe agriculture is becoming less important. In fact, I think we are going to see a shift in smart-farming, where farmers become data-driven decision makers to secure their business and more importantly passion for the future.
Hi Pedro,
I like the idea that an agriculture industry is being disrupted by AI which, consequently, improves the productivity in farms. It probably will lower the costs of food and save people from starvation in poor countries. On the other hand, I am also worried that more advanced agricultural technologies in the developed countries will damage the industry in the poor countries. I once watched a documentary from Deutsche Welle news and got to know that the surplus of wheat flours produced in Germany often sold at very cheap price to some poor nations in Africa. There were some local farmers in the interview criticizing the import of cheap wheat flours that it is detrimental to the local agricultural industry. Apparently, the cheap food from abroad lowers the profitability of the local farmers.
I also read an article arguing that people should know that it harms the local clothes industry when the disposed clothes are collected from the rich countries and sent to poor countries as a charity. Of course when people from rich countries collect clothes and ship them to third world, they are doing it with a good will thinking that those items will help poor people. However, these free clothes actually kill the local clothing industry.
I think the technological gap between the rich and poor countries is getting even larger. What makes the problem more severe is that the rapid advancement of AI and robots in the developed countries are replacing manpower. For many third world countries, cheap manpower is the only economic resources that they have to realize economic advancement. However, the recent technological development in AI and robotics is taking that chance away from the third world countries, subsequently leaving them no “comparative advantages” in any industries.
Another interesting viewpoint is how technology-enabled farming is enabling new business models such as vertical farming. Aligned with what you mentioned in your post, entrepreneurs and incumbents are exploring opportunities through vertical farming. Vertical farming makes it possible to grow crops closer to where it is consumed, having a variety of positive effects such as: lower transport costs, less emissions, locally sourced and grown, and fresher produce. Given your post’s focus on the impact of AI and sensors, you might be interested in checking out the role of Philips Lighting. The company is a market leader for manufacturing purpose-built LED lighting to enable more efficient and controlled farming.
Check it out here: https://www.lighting.philips.com/main/products/horticulture/city-farming