This is a short article about what we think the future of farming will look like
I think that the future of farming would be almost fully autonomous, and would require less hard labour, and more automated. Another likelihood is that plants will be genetically modified to last longer.
Pesticides
A pesticide is a kind of spray/ powder / scent that repels and prevents insects or germs that might harm the food in growth, making it inedible to form coming near the plant, or eating the plant.
I think, rather than using harmful chemicals that could do just as much damage as the pests themselves, we could use natural pesticides like, Neem or Vegetable oil which do not destroy the environment around them, like chemicals do, at least not on a similar scale compared to environment harming chemicals like cypermethrin or fenvalerate. That is why, if you live near a farming plot of land, there might be a sign that says “ Do not directly touch plant, Pesticides in area “
Fertilisers
Fertilisers are added to be edible or useful plants in order to produce enough food to feed the humans that live in the locality. Fertilisers give plants with necessary nutrients which allow crops to grow bigger and faster, and to produce more food for the growing human population. Examples of fertilisers include synthetic and natural. Synthetic is man made and worse for the environment. Examples of synthetic fertilisers are Ammonium Nitrate and Superphosphate. Natural is better for the environment, and can come in many examples. One would be the Waste of animals. Now don't laugh, but human waste ( poo/pee ) is actually safe to use, and many developing nations are actually using it, as it is quite cheap.
Greenhouses
Greenhouses are a way to farm in places with extreme conditions such as the far north. Greenhouses work like this. Sun filters through the glass windows, inside the house, creating a warm environment inside, allowing the plants to grow. Let's take the example of a day in Svalbard, in the freezing cold country of Norway.
Snow is on the ground, but the sun is shining. The glass creates a warm environment, allowing plants to grow. This is useful as Permafrost ( frozen soil) does not allow plants to grow in cold areas, but new indoor and greenhouse technology may provide food for the inhabitants.
Farm Automation
Instead of manually planting and seeding and harvesting crops, automated farming is the next generation. First, robots will add the seeds to the plantation, seeds genetically modified to grow faster. Then, Drones, such as the DJI Agras will release fertiliser above the field. After That, a speed cutter, similar to an unmanned tractor removes all the harvest with a blade, with the produce being shipped to countries and cities all around the world. Sure, you may, and in some ways this is an amazing world, without hard labour in farming, but there is always another side to everything. Let me tell you what I mean. According to ResourceWatch, One Billion people worldwide have a full or part time job working in agriculture, which is one eighth of the global population. In Worldviews words “ Globally, about 1 billion people* work in the agricultural sector, about 28% of the population employed in 2018. This is down from 44% in 1991.” It is an absolutely crazy fact. Now, if we were to replace most of these jobs with robots, many people who have a job in the agricultural sector depend their life on it, and if it was suddenly taken away from them, many, many people would lose their job, and in turn not be financially stable, as there might be no more jobs available. This can be seen in developing nations such as Ghana, Bolivia and Senegal who’s main exports are fruit and vegetables grown in their country. The positive side of this, would be less child labour in plantations, as it would be all replaced by robots and new technology. Another con would be the extreme costs of all the new technology and robots, which only rich nations, who already have a stable income would be able to purchase this new technology, but the developing nations who really need it would only be able to pay the fraction of the cost, which directly goes against what i said about replacing child labour in developing nations, a Domino effect.
GMO
A GMO is a Genetically modified organism, which can do many things, such as make the plant in question grow faster, grow bigger yields of the product or grow larger fruit or vegetables. It is good, because it can make the production more cost effective. GMOs are made in a lab using genetic engineering to change the genetic make up to do things the scientists want. Bad things about GMOs are, with changing the genetic makeup, you might lose nutrients, have allergic reactions, and in some rare cases, GMOs could be a cause of cancer. That is why, in many supermarkets you will see GMO free product signs displayed on many fruits and vegetables.
Thank You For Reading
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