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We often wonder what the future holds for us. This is how we found ourselves wondering: what will the agriculture of the future look like? What are the challenges to be faced and how to be prepared?
In this series of articles, we will explore what tomorrow's agriculture might look like at base the scientific evidence we have and the trends that can be observed globally.
It goes without saying that, given the premise, the first article in the series should be devoted to the effects of climate change on agriculture. What kind of impact do they have on this sector? How can ways of farming be adapted to increase the resilience of agrifood systems?
Theincrease in average global temperature, which will reach or exceed 1.5°C by 2050, will cause significant problems for the agricultural sector, itself closely dependent on climate trends. Indeed, drought events and heat waves are expected to increase, as well as floods, with irregular and concentrated rainfall in extreme tropical weather events even in temperate zones (Arora, 2019).
This will be accompanied by an accelerated development of microbial pathogens, such as fungi and oomycetes, as well as insect and mite populations, which tend to become more prolific, to the point of increasing the number of annual generations they are able to develop. The distribution of pathogens will also change, with expansion into areas once unsuitable for low temperatures. (Cannon, 1998)
Such conditions will make the work of the farmer, who, although he has always been accustomed to coping with weather and adversity, had never been faced with such out-of-the-ordinary situations, increasingly difficult. Should we therefore give up in the face of the inescapable?
The answer is of course no: new challenges require new tools; it is up to us to identify them. One constant over the 300,000 years of human history is undoubtedly the ability of our species to adapt, engineering itself to meet the most difficult challenges. With research and development of increasingly cutting-edge technologies, it will be possible to devise new approaches to better manage our crops in a changed climate. Let's look at some of them.
To cope with drought events, it is first possible to adopt some practices specific toaridoculture, which involves increasing the water naturally available to crops through reduced losses and the use of crops and techniques that make the best use of available water resources. For example, drought-tolerant species or varieties can be used, deep plowing that reduces runoff and promotes water infiltration, combating weeds that take water away from crops, and implementing controlled water stress practices. It is also important to increase water use efficiency, such as through decision support systems (DSS). These, on base data collected from weather stations and soil moisture sensors, suggest how much and how often to irrigate crops to achieve optimal results while saving water. This is the case with our DSS irrigation module, which, combined with our weather station xSense Pro and soil moisture sensors xNode soil, can formulate specific irrigation advice for numerous crops and for each specific weather situation.
To protect crops from microbial insects and pathogens, which are increasingly aggressive and unpredictable in their development, an integrated approach should be taken. This means on the one hand to implement preventive measures that will discourage the development of these pathogens, and on the other hand to put in place systematic monitoring, for example by means of special sensors. For fungal diseases, sensors are needed that can monitor weather conditions, such as weather stations and leaf wetness sensors. The data collected will allow, through predictive models and decision support systems (DSS), to understand when crops are most at risk of being affected and, therefore, when it is most appropriate to treat. As for insects, it is also appropriate to use special traps, such as our xTraps, that can capture them and, through image recognition algorithms, recognize and count them automatically. In this way, again thanks to predictive models, it will be possible to predict the evolution of their populations and treat in base to it.
Finally, increasing the resilience of agricultural systems also involves improving the health of the soil, for example by going to increase its organic carbon content through practices of regenerative agriculture. The latter help not only to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere but also to increase water quality and enhance biodiversity.
Techniques such as green manure, crop rotation and the use of cover crops, which are characteristic of the regenerative approach, not only contribute to carbon sequestration from the atmosphere, but also improve soil structure, helping to reduce erosion and increasing long-term soil fertility. It is crucial to remember that the sustainability of agriculture comes through a balance between productivity and conservation of natural resources. New technologies and innovative agricultural practices, when integrated with traditional methods, can offer a pathway to more resilient and sustainable agricultural production.
In conclusion, the agriculture of the future will inevitably face complex challenges, but the tools to do so are already available to us.Technological innovation, combined with increased awareness, will enable farmers to continue to produce food efficiently without compromising the environmental balance. Only through an integrated and collaborative approach will it be possible to ensure food security and a sustainable future for agriculture.
Arora, N.K. 2019. Impact of climate change on agriculture production and its sustainable solutions. Environmental Sustainability 2019 2:2 2(2): 95-96. doi: 10.1007/S42398-019-00078-W.
Cannon, R.J.C. 1998. The implications of predicted climate change for insect pests in the UK, with emphasis on non-indigenous species. Glob Chang Biol 4(7): 785-796. doi: 10.1046/J.1365-2486.1998.00190.X.
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