Digital agriculture
[12] Second, critics say its policies promoted heavy input use and dependence on agrochemicals, which led to adverse environmental effects like soil degradation and chemical runoff.These technologies include, but are not limited to: The FAO estimates the world will need to produce 56% more food (as compared to 2010, under "business as usual" growth) to feed over 9 billion in 2050.Digital technology changes economic activity by lowering the costs of replicating, transporting, tracking, verifying, and searching for data.[36][37][38] Using VRA alongside geo-spatial mapping, farmers can apply inputs to hyper-localized regions of their farm — sometimes down to the individual plant level.[40][41] One study in Argentina found that a precision agriculture approach based on crop physiological principles could result in 54% higher farm output.By facilitating a market for equipment sharing, digital technology ensures fewer tractors sit idle and allows owners to make extra income.E-extension (electronic provision of traditional agricultural extension services) allows for farming knowledge and skills to diffuse at low cost.For example, the machine-learning-enabled mobile app Plantix, Krisikart India diagnoses crops' diseases, pests, and nutrient deficiencies based on a smartphone photo.For example, e-commerce solves two efficiency issues: difficulty matching buyers and sellers, especially in rural areas, and the high transaction costs associated with in-person, cash-based trade.[73] Organizations like FarmDrive and Apollo Agriculture incorporate satellite imagery, weather forecasts, and remote sensor data when calculating farmers' loan eligibility.Lenders accept rice as collateral because real-time, digital tracking assures them the product was not lost or damaged in the post-harvest process.Though digital technologies can facilitate market access and information flow, there's no guarantee they won't exacerbate existing inequalities.[93][94] This could mitigate resource waste and negative environmental externalities,[95] like greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions,[94] soil erosion,[96] and fertilizer runoff.[97] González-Dugo et al. 2013 found that precision irrigation of a citrus orchard could reduce water use by 25 percent while maintaining a constant yield.[101] For example, satellite and drone imagery can track land use and/or forest cover; distributed ledger technologies can enable trusted transactions and exchange of data; food sensors can monitor temperatures to minimize contamination during storage and transport.[112] As a key enabler of agricultural change, digital infrastructure requires further development, but growing ICT access indicates progress.In China, where the average farm size is less than 1 ha,[113] Alibaba's customer-to-customer e-commerce platform called Rural Taobao has helped melon growers in Bachu County market their produce all over the country.As Bronson (2018) notes, "training a rural work-force in Internet technology skills (e.g., coding) is obviously a key part of agricultural "modernization.[114] Digital agriculture developers have designed ways around these barriers, such as ICTs with audio messages[49] and extension videos in local languages.[51] Some characterize digital agriculture innovation, a knowledge- and skills-intensive process, as concentrated in "Big Ag" companies and research universities.[116] Although digital agriculture may be concentrated in a few developed countries because of "structure, institutional, and economic barriers,"[115] ag-tech startups have experienced significant growth in Africa,[117][118][119] the Caribbean and Pacific,[120] Asia,[110] and Latin America as well.[122] The unanswered regulatory questions mostly concern big data, and they include: Besides establishing regulations to boost stakeholder confidence, policymakers can harness digital agriculture for the provision of public goods.[112] Lastly, digital agriculture technologies — particularly traceability systems — can improve monitoring of environmental compliance, evaluation of subsidy eligibility, etc.According to Project Breakthrough, digital agriculture can help advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by providing farmers with more real-time information about their farms, allowing them to make better decisions.
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