The Biggest Future Trends In Agriculture And Food Production

The Biggest Future Trends In Agriculture And Food Production

Thank you for reading my latest article on?The Biggest Future Trends In Agriculture And Food Production. Here at?LinkedIn?and at?Forbes?I regularly write about management and technology trends.

To read my future articles simply join my network here or click 'Follow'. Also feel free to connect with me via Twitter ,??Facebook ,?Instagram ,?Slideshare ?or?YouTube .

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To feed the growing global population, estimates suggest we’ll have to increase food production by as much as 68 percent by 2050 . And that’s not the only challenge; there’s also the fact that the middle-class population is growing, which generally brings with it increased demand for meat over grains, legumes, and wheat. Satisfying this demand for more food – and, most likely, more meat – presents a huge challenge for our already struggling planet, especially when you consider that the food system accounts for 26 percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. (Agriculture, forestry, and land use make up 18.4 percent of this, while the rest is down to things like packaging, refrigeration, and transport.)

The obvious, and arguably the simplest, solution is for us all to adopt a plant-based diet. (Research shows that excluding meat and dairy is the single most impactful way for people to reduce their environmental impact.) But, if we’re honest, getting billions of people to switch overnight to a fully vegan diet is, at best, unlikely. After all, meat is deeply ingrained in many cultures, as is dairy.

With all this in mind, it’s clear that we need urgent new innovations in agriculture and food production. In this article, I outline the two broad trends that I believe will revolutionize our food system.

Trend 1: Reimagining farming methods

Embracing new farming methods could help the agriculture industry reduce its environmental impact while still increasing productivity. While previous evolutions in farming have largely been driven by mechanical improvements (namely, bigger, better machinery) or genetic advances (better seed, more effective fertilizers, etc.), the next big transformation is being driven by digital tools. For example, we have:

·????????Automation – including the use of robots, drones, and autonomous tractors to make farming more efficient.

·????????Precision farming – which involves applying irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides at variable rates, depending on the needs of crops, rather than uniformly applying them at set times, quantities, and frequencies.

A good example of precision farming comes from a collaboration between Israeli company Phytech and Swiss agrichemical company Syngenta. Together, they have developed a monitoring system that includes plant growth sensors and soil moisture sensors to help farmers continually monitor crop growth and soil health and take action when and where it’s needed.

Other key trends to watch in farming methods include:

·????????More localized, urban farming – i.e., producing food closer to the people who need it, thereby reducing food miles.

·????????Vertical farming (the practice of growing crops in vertical layers) and hydroponics (growing plants in nutrient-rich water) – are both methods that generally use less water, soil, and space than traditional field farming methods. If this sounds niche, think again; the world’s largest vertical farm , located in Newark, New Jersey, shows that vertical farming can be done on a huge scale and with impressive results. Creators AeroFarm say the vertical farm is 390 times more productive per square foot than a field farm.

Trend 2: Finding new ways to create food (especially meat)

Did you know that one-third of croplands are used to grow feed for livestock rather than humans? It’s an astonishing statistic. If we could only find innovative new ways to create meat, more of that land could be given over to growing crops for humans – something that will surely become more pressing as the global population grows.

This is where cultured (lab-grown) and plant-based meats come into play. Starting with plant-based meats, it’s clear that the market for meat alternatives is thriving. Chains like Burger King are routinely stocking plant-based burgers, and plant-based pioneers Beyond Meat became one of the most successful IPOs in history after going public at $1.5 billion and being valued at $13 billion less than three months later . In fact, estimates suggest meat alternatives could account for 10 percent of the global meat industry by 2029.

For those who don’t want to make the switch to plant-based meats, cultured meat – which is genetically the same as real meat but is produced from animal cells – could prove to be a viable alternative. Real meat without the factory farms and animal slaughter? Sounds pretty good to me. It's early days for cultured meat, but there are signs that the market – and regulators – are coming around to the idea. In 2020, Singapore became the first nation to approve cultured meat for sale .

There’s also the potential for 3D printing to play a role in food production. Barcelona-based startup NovaMeat is leading the way in 3D printing plant-based food and has already successfully created the world’s first 3D printed piece of “meat” that apparently mimics the fibrous nature of real meat.

To learn more about the business and technology trends that are transforming today's companies, sign up for my newsletter , and check out my book ‘Business Trends in Practice: The 25+ Trends That are Redefining Organizations ’.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope you enjoyed reading this article? Please feel free to share your comments below and don't forget you can sign up to my other newsletters?Future Trends: Tech & Business ,?Big Data & Analytics ?and?Artificial Intelligence (AI) .

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Bernard Marr

Bernard Marr is a world-renowned futurist, influencer and thought leader in the field of business and technology. He is the author of 20 best-selling books, writes a regular column for Forbes and advises and coaches many of the world’s best-known organisations. He has over 2 million social media followers, over 1 million newsletter subscribers and was ranked by LinkedIn as one of the top 5 business influencers in the world and the No 1 influencer in the UK.

Alfred T.

2nd Generational Heir to Nikola Tesla, 1st to Drazen, World's leading authority on CTP Energy Science, C-domain Communication?, CTP (anti)gravitic & FTL propulsion. Architect of the Nth Industrial Revolution?

2 年

There are other considerations overlooked

回复
Venkatesh Kedlaya (ramjayguru)

Business Coach, Motivational Speaker, Business Strategy Advisor (SMEs), AI enthusiast, Author-3TMagic --Think.Transform.Transcend, Viksit Bharat Ambassador.

2 年

Very nice article. Food revolution is going to transform the way we have been feeding ourselves thus far 1. A plant based diet is the fastest alternative. Need to be totally devoid of meat but the consumption patterns must change 2. Alternative methods of production of meat.. One aspect of increasing theivestock for human consumption is si.ply not sustainable because of the water resources involved in generating every pound of animal meat. Some regulatory and tax imposition will expedite things along with Bioresesrch. Israel seems to be leaps ahead in this space India will have many startups too in this space using AI for Agri and Meat production. Thanks for sharing Bernard.

回复
Al Karaki - "The Climate Change Guy"

Founder and CEO at 4iAfrica - Insight | Innovation | Implementation | Impact. Leading the World's Largest and Most Sustainable Nature Based Climate Action Solution and other Innovative Products and Projects

2 年

It was only after a recent AgriTech presentation to the UN's World Food Programme here in Eswatini, Africa did the scenarios and figures you described hit home. Our presentation highlighted Aquaponics and Vertical Food Gardens as well as alternative crops such as hemp and the over 50,000 products which can be produced such as hempcrete which provides low carbon and affordable building material. Fast forward 4 days and our newly conceptulised initiative - Aquaponics 4 African schools has met with tremendous enthusiasm - 10 other African countries now want to be included, countless numbers of people and aquaponic practitioners have volunteered to assist with training and installation of even very basic no-electricity aquaponic systems for rural schools and a prominent media channel has indicated possible support for all of our content. And the cherry on top of all this was a request to get involved via a very large scale Vertical Food Gardens project to provide nutritious food to millions of starving people based in the cities. Its a glimmer of hope for sustainable food production at a time when COVID and conflict have contributed to the collapse of feeding schemes everywhere. Bernard, thank you so much for highlighting the alternative possibilities for Agriculture and Food Production #AfricasGrowingRevolution #Aquaponics4Africa

Anjali Sharma

MANAGING PARTNER AT GAMA JOBS||GET YOUR DREAM JOB WITH US|| HELPING PROFESSIONALS TO GROW|| WWW(DOT)GAMAJOBS(DOT)COM||

2 年

Useful!!!

回复

要查看或添加评论,请登录

Bernard Marr的更多文章

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了