15 Emerging Agriculture Technologies That Will Change The World

Below are technologies related to agricultural and natural manufacturing under four key areas of accelerating change: Sensors, Food, Automation and Engineering.

Sensors help agriculture by enabling real-time traceability and diagnosis of crop, livestock and farm machine states.

Food may benefit directly from genetic tailoring and potentially from producing meat directly in a lab.
Automation will help agriculture via large-scale robotic and microrobots to check and maintain crops at the plant level.

Engineering involves technologies that extend the reach of agriculture to new means, new places and new areas of the economy. Of particular interest will be synthetic biology, which allows efficiently reprogramming unicellular life to make fuels, byproducts accessible from organic chemistry and smart devices.

We have included predictions based on consultation with experts of when each technology will be scientifically viable (the kind of stuff that Google, governments, and universities develop), mainstream (when VCs and startups widely invest in it), and financially viable (when the technology is generally available on Kickstarter).

Sensors

Air & soil sensors: Fundamental additions to the automated farm, these sensors would enable a real time understanding of current farm, forest or body of water conditions.
Scientifically viable in 2013; mainstream and financially viable in 2015.

Equipment telematics: Allows mechanical devices such as tractors to warn mechanics that a failure is likely to occur soon. Intra-tractor communication can be used as a rudimentary "farm swarm" platform.
Scientifically viable in 2013; mainstream in 2016; and financially viable in 2017.

Livestock biometrics: Collars with GPS, RFID and biometrics can automatically identify and relay vital information about the livestock in real time.
Scientifically viable in 2017; mainstream and financially viable in 2020.

Crop sensors: Instead of prescribing field fertilization before application, high-resolution crop sensors inform application equipment of correct amounts needed. Optical sensors or drones are able to identify crop health across the field (for example, by using infra-red light).
Scientifically viable in 2015; mainstream in 2018; and financially viable in 2019.

Infrastructural health sensors: Can be used for monitoring vibrations and material conditions in buildings, bridges, factories, farms and other infrastructure. Coupled with an intelligent network, such sensors could feed crucial information back to maintenance crews or robots.
Scientifically viable in 2021; mainstream in 2025; and financially viable in 2027.

 

Lab-grown meat. NBC screenshotFood

Genetically designed food: The creation of entirely new strains of food animals and plants in order to better address biological and physiological needs. A departure from genetically modified food, genetically designed food would be engineered from the ground up.
Scientifically viable in 2016; mainstream in 2021; and financially viable in 2022.

In vitro meat: Also known as cultured meat or tubesteak, it is a flesh product that has never been part of a complete, living animal. Several current research projects are growing in vitro meat experimentally, although no meat has yet been produced for public consumption.
Scientifically viable in 2017; mainstream in 2024; and financially viable in 2027.

Automation

Variable rate swath control: Building on existing geolocation technologies, future swath control could save on seed, minerals, fertilizer and herbicides by reducing overlapping inputs. By pre-computing the shape of the field where the inputs are to be used, and by understanding the relative productivity of different areas of the field, tractors or agbots can procedurally apply inputs at variable rates throughout the field.
Scientifically viable in 2013; mainstream in 2014; and financially viable in 2016.

Rapid iteration selective breeding: The next generation of selective breeding where the end-result is analyzed quantitatively and improvements are suggested algorithmically.
Scientifically viable in 2014; mainstream and financially viable in 2017.

Agricultural robots: Also known as agbots, these are used to automate agricultural processes, such as harvesting, fruit picking, ploughing, soil maintenance, weeding, planting, irrigation, etc.
Scientifically viable in 2018; mainstream in 2020; and financially viable in 2021.

Precision agriculture: Farming management based on observing (and responding to) intra-field variations. With satellite imagery and advanced sensors, farmers can optimize returns on inputs while preserving resources at ever larger scales. Further understanding of crop variability, geolocated weather data and precise sensors should allow improved automated decision-making and complementary planting techniques.
Scientifically viable in 2019; mainstream in 2023; and financially viable in 2024.

Robotic farm swarms: The hypothetical combination of dozens or hundreds of agricultural robots with thousands of microscopic sensors, which together would monitor, predict, cultivate and extract crops from the land with practically no human intervention. Small-scale implementations are already on the horizon.
Scientifically viable in 2023; mainstream and financially viable in 2026.

Engineering

Closed ecological systems: Ecosystems that do not rely on matter exchange outside the system. Such closed ecosystems would theoretically transform waste products into oxygen, food and water in order to support life-forms inhabiting the system. Such systems already exist in small scales, but existing technological limitations prevent them from scaling.
Scientifically viable in 2015; mainstream in 2020; and financially viable in 2021.

Synthetic biology: Synthetic biology is about programming biology using standardized parts as one programs computers using standardized libraries today. Includes the broad redefinition and expansion of biotechnology, with the ultimate goals of being able to design, build and remediate engineered biological systems that process information, manipulate chemicals, fabricate materials and structures, produce energy, provide food, and maintain and enhance human health and our environment.
Scientifically viable in 2013; mainstream in 2023; and financially viable in 2024.

 

Vertical farms. Stefano Boeri Architetti

Vertical farming: A natural extension of urban agriculture, vertical farms would cultivate plant or animal life within dedicated or mixed-use skyscrapers in urban settings. Using techniques similar to glass houses, vertical farms could augment natural light using energy-efficient lighting. The advantages are numerous, including year-round crop production, protection from weather, support urban food autonomy and reduced transport costs.
Scientifically viable in 2023; mainstream and financially viable in 2027.

Source: BUSINESS INSIDER

Threats to food security in Nigeria

There is no gainsaying that Nigeria is seriously challenged. It is obvious, isn’t it? However, the greatest threat to national stability today is food security. By way of definition, food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food.

The family menu is fast disappearing. Juju music icon, Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey, in one of his classic albums released in the late 1980s said Nigerians were using formula to eat.

He sang about various eating formula such as 0-0-1, 0-1-0, 1-0-0, 1-0-1 and many others. The 1 in those numerals represents the meals families eat per day out of the three they are supposed to eat.

True, in many homes, particularly, among the majority poor Nigerians, hardly will one see those who are having 1-1-1 which represents three square meals per day. Food is a serious matter. It is said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Hunger and starvation had precipitated revolution in many countries. History has it that one of the causes of the French Revolution (1789 – 1790) was as a result of the increase in the price of bread.

 

I have been very worried about the increasing food insecurity in Nigeria. Workers are not being paid as and when due, both in the public and private sectors. High inflation, (now at 16.5 per cent), downsizing and rightsizing of workforce are now rife, so also is non-absorption of teeming unemployed youths in any meaningful and gainful employment.

Upon all, food prices have hit the rooftop. Expectedly, there is an exponential increase in crime rates. These are all threats to national security.

More directly, our agricultural sector which is primarily responsible for putting food on our table has been in the doldrums since the discovery of black gold which is crude oil in Oloibiri in the present day Bayelsa State about 1956. All the initiatives such as Operation Feed the Nation by the Olusegun Obasanjo military regime; the Green Revolution initiative of President Shehu Shagari, and similar ones by successive administrations have been more of lip service. As things stand, our choices are very limited as the crude oil which has been our mainstay since the 60s is no longer a money spinner as it used to be.

This is because of the low price the commodity now commands in the international market. Despite that, the sabotage on oil and gas pipelines by vandals and militants in the Niger Delta has ensured that our 2.2mbpd OPEC quota upon which the 2016 national budget is based can no longer be met. This has gone a long way to threaten the full implementation of the 2016 Appropriation Act.

The fiendish activities of the pipeline vandals apart from being an economic sabotage are also a menace to food security. This is because of the environmental degradation such acts engendered. The eco-system is destroyed as the water gets polluted by the toxic crude oil spill.

Concomitantly, the fishes, crabs, prawns and other aquatic lives get destroyed. Even the farmlands affected by oil spills become degraded and sterile for any agricultural cultivation. That is why I have been appealing to militant groups such as the Niger Delta Avengers to stop cutting their nose in order to spite their faces.

While it is true that by blowing up oil and gas pipelines, government will lose revenue, however, they are further impoverishing their kith and kins who are engaged in agric- business as they will also suffer collateral damage of losing their means of livelihood. They should imagine how long it took the Federal Government to kick-start the clean-up of the devastated Ogoniland.

Another potent threat to food security is the desertification being experienced in Northern Nigeria. Hundreds of kilometres of landmass have been lost to desert encroachment, largely as a result of draught and other human factor such as indiscriminate felling of trees.

This phenomenon largely precipitated the exodus of cattle herders from the core north to the Middle Belt and Southern Nigeria where they could get grass and water for their cattle. That migration has been a major source of conflict between farmers and cattle herders. 

There have been accusations and counter-accusations that cattle herders have been shepherding their cattle to graze on farmlands, a move the farmers have stoutly resisted. Disagreement over this issue has led to hundreds of deaths and destruction of property worth Billions of Naira in places like Benue and Enugu states.

The point being made here is that the face-off between these two groups of people constitutes a big threat to food security in Nigeria. Both farmers and cattle herders are food producers and a fight between the two groups does not augur well for the country.

Flooding is another threat to food security. In 2012, Nigeria witnessed flooding despite the early warning by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency. Available records show that 2012 flooding directly affected 30 states, killed 363 citizens, injured 5,851 and displaced 3,871,053 persons.

The total value of destroyed physical and durable assets caused by the floods in the most affected states was estimated to have reached N1.48tn. This year, NIMET had through its Seasonal Rainfall Prediction said about 16 states faced the danger of flooding in 2016.

What are we doing to forestall that from happening? If we allow it through our accustomed negligence and nonchalant attitude, we should be rest assured that it will pose threat to food security as many farmlands will be washed off and farmers who are displaced will not be able to nurture their plants.

 

The activities of terrorist Boko Haram in the North-East have since 2009 posed a major threat to food production and security in Nigeria. As the group embarked on their destructive missions, many farmers have been killed and those who manage to escape have had to abandon their farmlands to live as Internally Displaced Persons in camps and host communities.

I recall that some years ago, some traders who sold foodstuffs at Bodija market in Ibadan were slaughtered by this insurgent group on their way to Borno State to buy farm produce.

I may have painted a gory picture about the food security situation in Nigeria. However, it is not a hopeless case. I have listened to the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, at different fora and he sounds very convincing about how to deal with the daunting challenges being a practising farmer himself. Just on July 20, 2016, the Federal Executive Council met and approved the Agriculture Promotion Policy (2016-2019). According to Ogbeh, the policy outlined all that needed to be done to achieve self-sufficiency in agriculture.  He said: “The document is entitled, ‘The Green Alternative’ and it outlines virtually everything we need to do, every policy we need to undertake to achieve self-sufficiency in agriculture and also to become a major exporter of agricultural products.”

 

It is imperative we all know that we are stakeholders in tackling the issue of food security.  We can be smallholder farmers planting vegetables and fruits in our backyards. We can engage in small scale animal husbandry and poultry in our homes. We can also provide an enabling environment so that those who want to engage in agriculture can practise without fear of molestation.

It is gratifying that the Imo State Government has declared Thursday and Friday as farming days for its work force. I do hope the government will provide the needed incentives for the workers to engage in farming. Food security is the best security because, as the saying goes, an hungry man is an angry man.

‘Nigeria is the Second Highest Importer of Rice in the World’

The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), says it has developed new standards for rice seeds, harvest, milling, drying and hygiene practice for processing and storage of rice in the country.

The Director-General of the organisation, Mr Osita Aboloma, said this in Abuja on Tuesday at the 3rd Nigeria Rice Investment Forum organised by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

Represented by Dr Barth Ugwu, the Head, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) office of the organisation, Aboloma said the standards, developed in 2016 was to improve the quality of paddy and milled rice.

He said that total compliance with the standards would ensure zero rejection of the country’s agricultural products at the international markets.

The director-general listed some of the quality parameters embedded in the standards to include germination, husk less seed, pesticides, residues, packaging, labelling and storage.

The Chief Executive Officer, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Business Group, Mrs Gloria Akobundu, said that increase in agricultural production was crucial to promoting the country’s economy.

Akobundu said that increasing in rice production in the country would guarantee economic growth.

According to her, an average Nigerian citizen consumes over 24.5 kilogrammes of rice annually, adding that the nation`s production level of 3.5 million tonnes of rice annually is insufficient.

She said that the theme of the forum entitled: “2018 Self Sufficiency in Rice Production: Opportunities, Challenges and Road Ahead’’, was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan to diversify the economy.

“Nigeria is the second highest importer of rice in the world and the highest in Africa,’’ she said.

Mr Hiroshi Kodama, the Senior Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), said the agency had assisted Nigerian farmers in rice milling and processing in Niger and Nasarawa States.

He said the agency would extend its assistance to other states of the federation to boost rice production in the country.

CBN Hints on Plans to Restructure Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele has disclosed that the apex bank, under its Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS) has over N250 billion which has not been fully disbursed as well as a N220 billion micro, small and medium enterprise development fund, with just N80billion utilised so far. ‎According to him, the central bank is interested in how small holder farmers can benefit from the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), through the micro, small and medium enterprise.

 

Emefiele , a member of the Presidential Task Force on Agriculture, disclosed this while fielding questions from journalists at the Odeda Farm Institute, Odeda during the Task Force’s inspection of the facilities of the Institute and some farm centres in the state. The Presidential Task Force, which also included the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh and the Kebbi State governor, Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, were earlier conducted by the state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, round Eriwe Fish Farm in Ijebu-Ode, Greenhouse Technology Centre, Kotopo in Abeokuta and Owowo Farm Settlement in Ewekoro local government area. Emefiele added: “When we find a state that is serious and ready to work with us, we burst the commercial agricultural credit scheme facility that we have because the President has mandated that those who are serious, we must support. That is the essence of this.” He added that the Bank of Agriculture (BoA) will be properly restructured by the Federal government towards assisting farmers to boost agricultural production in the country and ensure food sufficiency. Emefiele said that if the restructuring was eventually done, it would help the bank to perform its primary responsibilities well. The CBN governor explained that the team was mandated by the president to go round the entire federation on a fact-finding mission on how to resuscitate some of the age-long agricultural potentials of the country. He added that the President specifically tasked the team to locate how to ensure increase in the production of cassava, maize and resuscitate cocoa production in the southwest emphasising maize production will support the poultry productivity in the South Western part of the country. He said, “For us to go round the entire federation, not just about rice, tomatoes, millet but also about even coming down South. What can we do to resuscitate some of our age-long agricultural potential.”

How Youths Can Create Wealth & Income Trading Local Food Commodities

Nigerians spend as much as N25.2bn on feeding themselves on a daily basis according to a recent report released by NOI Polls.

The report stated that about 80% of Nigerians which is about 140 million of the nation’s population of 175 million spend at least $1 which is about N160 on food daily. This amounts to N22.4bn while the remaining 35 million people spend an average of half a dollar which is approximately N80 amounting to N2.8bn per day making a total average daily food spend of N25.2bn by the country’s general population.

Going by these figures, all the food consumed in the country in one year sums up to about N9.2tn, of which 14% of this which amounts to about N1.3tn is imported. This is an opportunity for massive investment for investors who are expected to seize the opportunities in food businesses.

The average Nigerian spends about 72.97% of his or her earnings on food

Out of this figure, more than 70% is expended daily on local food stuffs and commodities.

Among the most prominent of the local food stuffs and commodities daily consumed by Nigerians from all strata, age and tribe include;

• Rice
• Beans
• Egusi
• Ogbono
• Sea foods (Cray Fish, Dry Fish, Stock Fish, Smoked Fish)
• Palm Oil
• Vegetable Oil
• Vegetables
• Yam
• Garri
• Tomatoes
• Onions
• Pepper
• Plantain
• Semovita
• Wheat
• Local Soup and Stew Condiments (Cut Across Different Tribes in Nigeria)
• Local Vegetables (Oha, Bitter leaf, Ewedu leaf, Ugu, etc)

Most of these food stuffs and commodities are largely locally sourced and constitute more than 80% of the essential ingredients and condiments needed to make the average Nigerian day to day meals and dishes.

Most of these local food stuffs and commodities are largely purchased by Nigerians daily from the conventional traditional open air markets and neighbourhood stores.

A visit to any of these markets, readily found in neighbourhoods and within every estate will bring you to the shocking reality of the irresistible and helpless day to day rush by Nigerians from all classes and life strata (Mothers, working class, Men, Children etc) to lay their hands on one local food stuff or the other.

However, a close observation among the different food commodities vendors and local food stuffs shop owners would most clearly reveal to you that more than 95% of these traders and shop owners are actually aged and elderly women and in fewer cases men in their late 40s and early 50s.

The question that comes to minds are:

• Why are the youths missing in the trading action?

• Are the youths ignorant of the wealth and income potentials of these commodities and their trading?

The answer to above question mostly is yes.

To address this situation we need the government and indeed individuals and corporate bodies to join hands and help in the:

• Enlightenment of youths on how they can invest and create income trading in these identified highly sought for local food and food commodities.

• Enlightenment of Youths on how they can adopt technologically driven platforms and innovations to change the traditional open air market’s approach to food stuffs sales and trading.

• Assist interested youths in forming and registering food commodities trading cooperatives in batches of 10 members (Each member providing an appropriate surety).

• These cooperatives will be made up of members from different areas and roles shared across sourcing, trading, retailing, accounts etc

This will also directly boost the MSME sector of the Nigerian Economy, thus creating wealth.