Technology: New hopes for Agriculture

Most people are unaware of the true significance of agriculture in our society. It’s more than just to provide food to the total numbers of individuals in a certain country. Agriculture does not only provide our nourishment for our daily intake but also an income source of every single nation that exists on this planet, where most manufacturing industries as well as businesses are dependent on it. Without giving a serious attention on it, any country can be politically and economically unstable and paralyzed in any ways. Agriculture is quickly becoming an exciting high-tech industry, drawing new professionals, new companies and new investors. There are concerns over the amount of labor and equipments needed in the agriculture sector. The future of agriculture production system aims to produce high quality and quantity agricultural products for wide range of consumers. Modern agriculture is an evolving approach with innovations in farming practices that helps in increasing agricultural efficiency and reduces the loss of natural resources. By applying this modern technology, farmers are gaining more profits and able to increase their productivity of yield. Agricultural production system has witnessed a paradigm shift in last few decades with advancements in precision agricultural technologies. The increasing world population leading to decrease in land holding size has made people think about the application of artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics for economically viable, environmentally safe and sustainable agriculture.

With an aging population Japan is unable to meet the demands of agricultural labor market. Similarly United States currently depends on large number of immigrant workers but between the decrease in seasonal farmworkers. At this point there is the need for significantly increase production yields. The UN estimates the world population will rise to 9.7 billion in 2050. The world will need a lot more food and farmers will face serious pressure to keep up with demand. So here we need agricultural robots or modern technology. Modern technology will help in increasing production yields for farmers in various ways. From drones to autonomous tractors to robotics arms, the technology is being deployed in creative and innovative applications. Simply, an agricultural robot is a robot deployed for agricultural purposes. Agricultural robots automate slow, repetitive and dull tasks for farmers, allowing them to focus more on improving overall production yields.

Some of the most common robots in agriculture are used for

• Harvesting and picking
• Weed control
• Autonomous mowing, pruning, seeding, spraying and thrining
• Phenotyping
• Sorting and packing
• Utility platforms
• Horticulture tasks
• Livestock applications such as automatic milking , washing and castrating

Advantages

Modern machines can control the efforts of farmers.The work that required many people and time to do can be easily done by modern technology without spending a lot of money on it. The farmers doesn’t have to pay the extra money for the farmer’s service. It can save a lot of money for the farmers.

And we all are well aware from the fact that due to lack of transport, our full grown fruits and vegetables from one part of country are not transported to other part due to which farmers are not able to get their required investments amount back. So, with the help of the modern technology , we can transport them easily. Trucks and tractors are mostly used for this purposes. Buffalo carts were used by farmers before and it was quite difficult for them as it is more time consuming .But now with the help of transportation technology they can easily transport from one place to another.

Modern technological devices work more rapidly than humans. If farmers can farm a field in a week, with the help of modern technology they can farm it in a day. This is how much technology can save the time of farmers.Water supply to the fields was very difficult for the farmers. They used to take the water in the bowls to the field and it also waste time but now with the help of machines and devices, they can easily get water in their fields.

Modern technology increases the trading and business of agriculture. With the help of these technologies, they can easily sell their product to market and expands their trade and business. They can easily contact and communicate with the buyers. They don’t have to depend upon middle man to sell their product. There is involvement of 10 middlemen when bringing agro product to market which results not getting the desired profit to the farmers.

Disadvantages

Since there is good and bad aspects of everything. These technologies also have some cons which are highlighted below.

Most of the farmers are illiterates so they are unable to use the modern machines. They can’t handle the machines properly due to lack of practical knowledge.

The robotic machine could not change their culture so we have to set their programme manually.
While the cost of maintenance is very high, farmers cannot afford them.

In the name of technology, there are many driverless agricultural robots. These robots can make farmers lose their job.

Conclusion

Today’s farmers face lots of challenges ;an aging workforce, a shortage of low-cost labor , environmental hazards and climate change and for every problem there seems to technological device in the works to fix it .These devices will be something the farmers will wear to fulfill their daily tasks in a more comfortable way. Many of our older farmers have age related issues and by providing these technologies we can ensure they can complete their task. Observing above all are the pros and cons of modern technology ,we need to emphasized more on using new technological devices rather than using traditional methods for the betterment of agricultural sector.

Writer: Rubina Sah (Student, Bsc. Ag IAAS Paklihawa Campus)