New Agriculture and ICT Convergence

(Jungfrau, Switzerland - Alvin Wei-Cheng Wong)

Why is agriculture important? A key to why agriculture is so important to business and society is its output – from producing raw materials to contributing to global supply chains and economic development. The major branches of the agriculture are Agronomy, Horticulture, Forestry, Livestock, Fisheries, Agriculture Engineering and Economics.

End hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Hunger is the leading cause of death in the world. Our planet provides us with enormous resources, but unequal access and inefficient disposal leave millions of people malnourished. If we promote sustainable agriculture with modern technology and fair distribution systems, we can sustain the world's 8 billion people and ensure that no one ever suffers from hunger again.

Agriculture affects global trade because it links with other economic sectors, supports job creation and encourages economic development. Countries with strong agricultural sectors saw job growth in other sectors, according to USAID. Countries with improved agricultural productivity and robust agricultural infrastructure also have higher per capita incomes as producers in these countries innovate through technology and farm management practices to increase agricultural productivity and profitability. 

Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. It is the application of a combination of sciences such as biology, chemistry, economics, ecology, earth science, and genetics.

Ecological agriculture (agroeconology) is a new policy trend to stabilize human food production, protect wild habitats, and protect honeybees. In fact, it's hardly anything new. Most ecological farming methods date back to the days of small family farms, where many different crops were grown and most of the land, such as wetlands and field edges, was left undisturbed. 

Ecological agriculture improves pollination, which in turn improves crop yields. Ecological farming takes advantage of the natural ecosystem services, such as water filtration, pollination, oxygen production, and disease and pest control. 

In fact, agroecology has been the way of most farming in human history. Agroecology rejects genetically modified (GM) crops, fertilizers and pesticides. Ecological farmers limit insect damage to crops by avoiding large monocrop plantations and preserving ecosystem diversity. Ecological agriculture restores soil nutrients through natural composting systems. It also avoids soil erosion caused by wind and water erosion, which is typical of many agricultural areas being industrially farmed.

The practice of ecological agriculture involves building the strengths of natural ecosystems into agroecosystems, purposely disturbed to produce food and fiber. The overall strategies include using practices that (a) grow healthy plants with good defense capabilities, (b) stressing pests, and (c) enhancing populations of beneficial organisms. These are accomplished by enhanced habitat management both above ground and in the soil. Many of the practices that contribute to the overall strategies are well known—such as intensive use of cover crops or reduced tillage. 

- Computational Agroecology

Factors such as population growth, climate change, depletion of natural resources, soil erosion and the use of fossil fuels in agriculture have led to growing concerns about food security, requiring a fundamental rethinking of traditional farming practices. New ways to help farmers design, develop and manage sustainable farming practices by using breakthrough computational tools.

The new field of research, called computational agroecology, aims to combine technology and agricultural expertise to develop a variety of agricultural landscapes based on natural ecosystems, allowing farmers to explore thousands of potential designs of optimizing food production without fossil fuel-derived pesticides.

The infusion of new, advanced agricultural technologies is moving the global agricultural sector forward and changing the way producers grow, harvest and distribute agricultural products. The application of technology in agriculture or e-agriculture accelerates agricultural and rural development by adopting innovative methods to improve existing information and communication processes. It has revolutionized smallholder agriculture in several agrarian economies in particular and helped address several challenges associated with traditional forms of agriculture.

Technology has become a critical business for every farmer, agricultural retailer and agronomist. The increase in the adoption of agricultural technologies should come as no surprise to anyone. Agriculture is highly land and labor intensive. Farmers use technology to improve efficiency and manage costs. The development of digital technologies and the modernization of agriculture have led to the emergence of new concepts (not to mention new terms!). These terms include precision farming or farming, digital farming and smart farming. These terms are often used interchangeably, but have subtle differences in meaning.

Modern agriculture aims to produce high-quality food and animal feed with sufficient quantities of raw materials for various industrial applications. Further goals include protecting resources and protecting the environment. Given current developments from molecules to ecosystems (contemporary crop stress research), to successfully address these challenges, scientists must understand all aspects of environmental stress. 

Emerging agricultural technologies provide farmers with the means to respond to crop stress in an accurate and targeted manner and are expected to play an important role in improving agricultural efficiency, sustainability and quality.

When talking about modern agricultural technology, the role of ICT as a decision support system for farmers needs to be acknowledged. With the help of ICT, farmers are able to keep abreast of all the latest information. This includes data on weather, agriculture, and newer and more advanced methods of improving crop quality and yield.

Digital technologies, from GPS-based and sensor-driven work machines, drone applications to robotics, agriculture is becoming a digital industry. Digital technologies can support farmers in providing safe, sustainable and high-quality food. Not only can they help farmers "do more with less", but they can also contribute to combating climate change. 

[More to come ...]