A digital agricultural revolution
Traditionally, primary production investments are more limited than other sectors. That’s now changing, because it’s more important than ever to innovate sustainable ways of engaging with the food system.
Clearly, current agricultural systems are unsustainable. The rapid evolution of technology and its presence in our daily lives is essential for global food security. There’s a lot of discussion around the sustainability of agricultural systems. With this era’s growing population, one principal challenge is to provide enough food. However, we’re on the cusp of a new agricultural revolution.
According to UBS, food production, transportation and consumation will now depend on and will meet innovations such as vertical farming, food prepared in laboratories and algae aquaculture. The advanced technological trends of Big Data, IoT and AI are gradually integrating across the entire agricultural spectrum.
Agribusiness has a long way to catch up when it comes to the major issue of transforming. As you know, in recent years, it lagged significantly behind all other industries. The use of digital channels in this sector is still very small compared to other sectors, such as the financial and retail sectors. In 2018, only 0.3% of companies in this sector were using digital channels next to 2.5% in financials and 12% in retail.
Investments increase
Investment in agriculture-related technologies has increased greatly in recent years. The investment grew last year, jumping to $16.9 billion with a 43% increase from the previous year. The use of technology for the agribusiness sector as a whole is predicted to grow from its current value of $135 billion to about $700 billion by 2030 according to UBS Chief Investment Office (CIO).
We should stop assuming that technology is harming our ability to have quality, affordable food. Innovative technologies can help farmers be more productive and environmental friendly. They can also keep food tasty and meet consumer needs.
“A number of diverse trends have already pushed the food and agriculture sector high on the agenda of wider sustainable living. Governments are paying increasing attention to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) formulated by UN member states, as well as the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which clearly indicates that we are experiencing a period in which we are increasingly aware that societies now need to change, diversify and become more sustainable,” the same report notes.
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Author: PC-GR
The World of Technology
