Food sustainability and shortage issues have become a concern because of the estimation of human population expected to reach 9.7 billion by the year 2050. Farming techniques have evolved through time, with what we now call modern farming, farmers integrate modern technology and innovation with traditional ways to achieve maximum yield while driving sustainability.
Vertical Farming and Urban Agriculture
Gone were the days, where vegetables are grown miles away from the city. Farming has been urbanized with the introduction of vertical farming, ditching the traditional ways of farming, saving space, reducing waste and shortens supply chains. Crops are grown on vertically stacked layers using Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technology, where the temperature, light and humidity are controlled.
Instead of soil, aeroponics and hydroponic growing mediums are commonly used with coconut husk and peat moss among the most popularly used. The benefits of vertical farming range from a higher yield, reduced water consumption and more organic crops.
Drones and Autobots
With the dramatic decrease in bee numbers, the future of pollination has become a hot issue as it affects the agricultural production level. This is where drones come in. With area coverage up to 20 to 25 acres per hour, drones are used to take over the bees and help with the pollination process. Besides that, agricultural drones are also used for soil and field analysis, seed planting, crop and spot spraying, crop mapping and surveying and irrigation monitoring and management.
Another agricultural modern technology innovation is autonomous robots, where the robots help weed, hoe and help during harvest. These robots are equipped with a combination of machine vision, voice recognition and temperature sensors to communicate and collect data.
Genetic Editing
CRISPR technology is a simple yet powerful tool for editing genomes by removing, adding or altering sections of the DNA sequence. Scientists now are starting to engineer crops to boost flavour, maximize yields, resist disease and increase profitability.
