| Technology in agriculture affects many areas of agriculture, such as fertilizers, pesticides, seed technology, etc. Biotechnology and genetic engineering have resulted in pest resistance and increased crop yields. Mechanization has led to efficient tilling, harvesting, and a reduction in manual labor. Irrigation methods and transportation systems have improved, processing machinery has reduced wastage etc., and the effect is visible in all areas.
New-age technologies focus on robotics, precision agriculture, artificial intelligence, block chain technology, and more. Some technological advancements that have innovated agriculture:
Improved productivity from mechanization of agriculture. To reduce manual labor and make the processes faster, combine harvesters are finding greater use. Indian farming is characterized by small landholdings, and the need is to partner with others to take advantage of modern machines.
Climate/ weather prediction through artificial intelligence. A major advance in agriculture is the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Modern equipment and tools based on AI enable data gathering and assist in precision farming and informed decision-making.
Drones, remote sensors, and satellites gather 24/7 data on weather patterns in and around the fields, providing farmers with vital information on temperature, rainfall, soil, humidity, etc.,
However, AI finds slow acceptance in a country like India where marginal farming, fragmented landholdings, and other reasons act as impediments. But there is no doubt that technologies based on AI can bring precision to large-scale farming and lead to an exponential rise in productivity.
Resilient crops developed via use of biotechnology. Agriculture refers to a wide resource of methodologies that include traditional breeding methods, genetic engineering, and development of microorganisms for agriculture. Generally speaking, genetic engineering uses the understanding of DNA to identify and work with genes to increase crop resistance to pests, and the development of high-yielding varieties also make improvements to livestock.
The spinoff of biotechnology in agriculture has resulted in all-around benefits for farmers and end consumers. Though some controversial approaches have led to resistance in the adoption of biotechnology, there is no doubt that the future of agriculture is heavily dependent on SAFE biotechnology, given the changing climate and increase in population.
Improving farm yields and supply chain management use Big Data. The collection and compilation of data and its further processing to make it useful for decision-making/problem-solving are expanding the way big data functions. Big data is slated to play a major role in smart farming, and the benefits percolate across the entire supply chain and the markets. Agriculture is becoming larger, and it depends on a large number of variables.
This is resulting in greater collection and use of complex data, which has to be meaningfully interpreted and managed. Data can be from external sources such as social media, supplier network, markets, or from sensor/machine data from the fields. Transformation of agriculture from using big data is taking place that affect crop yield, supply chain management, yield prediction, etc. |
