Not the obvious stuff like AI, Big Data, and the IoT…
The significance of agriculture in Asia is distinct compared to other parts of the world. With Asia being home to about 60% of the world’s population, the demand for food is considerably high. For Asian countries that export agricultural products, agriculture plays a major role in the GDP and employment. Given the current focus on food security, agriculture is not just an industry but a way of life. This has led to rapid technological advancements in Asian agricultural countries, with smart farms emerging as the next big trend. In addition to traditional Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies like artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things, there are other disruptive technologies that are further enhancing smart farms.
Aquaponics: Infinite Loop Eco-Farming
Farming requires not only vast tracts of land and farming equipment but also irrigation, which consumes a lot of water. Aquaponics is a new technology that combines fish farming with hydroponics for plants. This system conserves water in an infinite loop. Fish live in large tanks, and their waste, bacteria, and nutrients are absorbed through water pipes into the soil where the plants grow. The plants absorb the nitrogen, and the remaining clean water flows back into the tank. Thai startup ‘AHAS’ has ambitious plans to establish aquaponics farms throughout the city. They aim to implement this farming method in popular hotels, hospitals, and homes and create urban aquaponics centers. As a fun thought, if the earth were to flood, we might have to farm on floating houses. The fish play a crucial role in providing our daily food.
Blockchain: Farming’s timeline is transparent
Blockchain is all about transparency and unforgeability. When it comes to farming, the goal is to provide clean, fresh produce. In South Korea, ‘uLikeKorea’ operates a blockchain-based livestock smart farm. They claim that the growth process of animals and plants can be transparently managed through blockchain servers. The data is sent to a blockchain-based cloud server and stored securely, allowing us to easily track the value chain of the food we eat. If a fruit is infested with pests or an egg contains bacteria that causes food poisoning, we can quickly identify the issue. In a blockchain world, information is transparent, nothing is hidden, and everything is traceable. Information is transparent, nothing is hidden, and in a blockchain world, it’s possible.
Fully autonomous drones: Guardian warriors protect farmland
You may have already witnessed drones flying over farmland, but typically it’s the farmers who control them. Now, fully autonomous drones are able to navigate themselves to their destination and apply pesticides and fertilizers in precise locations without human control. ‘Airbots Aerospace’, an Indian startup, has developed a self-driving drone for agriculture, equipped with a 5G network and the ability to independently avoid obstacles. However, drones also have negative potential. If used in war or for mass destruction, they could be catastrophic for humanity. To prevent this, it’s crucial to instill a sense of humanity in autonomous drones, so they autonomously prioritize “good thoughts”.
Vertical Farming Systems: Focus on high-value crops
If you want to farm on a large scale, you will need a significant amount of land, so you can’t really imagine how many hills have been cut away. The concept of vertical farms emerged from this challenge. The Korean startup ‘AGUNI’ is constructing a “plant factory” by assembling modules and cultivating crops vertically. What’s unique about this approach is that it creates a space beneath the modules using air pressure to optimize the microbial environment, allowing the roots to absorb more nutrients. While it might sound like simply punching a hole in a module and pressurizing it, it has the potential to yield high-value crops that can be used in human medicine. It’s even possible that biopharmaceuticals can now be produced in these compact modules.
