How Agricultural Technology Will Feed the World
The world’s population is growing at a faster rate than we can produce food. Luckily, the future of agricultural technology should serve as a solution.
As the world’s population continues to grow, the need for agricultural technology to meet a growing food demand also increases. Traditional elements of farming, such as sowing, watering, and harvesting have all become computerized. This helps crops to be efficiently monitored, so that less water and energy is used. For example, agricultural technology has helped some farmers in California to use 20% less water in almond production. This is an important feat, considering how much water a single almond can consume.
Now that farms are becoming more high-tech, farmers are able to more effectively control their crops and animals in order to prevent disease, excessive energy consumption, and even the effects of weather. Further, an enhanced understanding of genetics has helped to manipulate plant and animal genetics so that farmers are always able to get the product they want. This could help reduce costly upsets that result in lost profit and wasted food. Advancements in agricultural technology will help farmers to produce more goods for a fraction of the cost, which should also result in more food and lower prices for consumers.
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How to Feed a Growing Population
Within a few decades, the world population could increase by more than two billion. We don’t have access to more farmable land, which is why agricultural technology is in higher demand. As mentioned, the first step includes high-tech farms that can produce a larger amount of food for a reduced cost. To do that, technology needs to be used to predict and prevent certain outcomes. That information can then be stored in a computer that can be used to predict future seasonal production, based on behavior, history, and weather patterns. Scientists are also working on producing crops at a faster rate; a shorter cycle means that more food can be produced. As for the issue of finite land, farmers are also growing crops in buildings, which has proven to be a successful way to increase food production.
Robotic Farms
In addition, to make a farm more like a factory in terms of mass production, land and aerial robots could replace humans completely when it comes to monitoring crops and animals. Robots could pick crops more efficiently as well. In the future, farming is likely to become completely operated by machines.
The Issue with Agricultural Technology
Genetically modified crops are already a controversial topic, with many consumers refusing to eat them, despite a lack of scientific evidence that they are harmful. The main way that we can feed a growing population, however, is through genetic modification and technology that can help crops to be healthier, be more more nutritious, and to grow faster.