What were some of the inventions or improvements to existing items done by Thomas Alva Edison?
At that place are an estimated 570 1000000 farms in the world and, in a slap-up twist of number synergy, co-ordinate to Valoral Advisors, funding rounds in technological innovations in agronomics and along the food value concatenation also raised around $570 million in 2014.
While much of this investment is directed at ag-tech startups and disruptive market place newcomers, in many ways priorities remain the same every bit e'er – innovation in resource use, especially in terms of land and water (also energy), to heave efficiency and yields. Here are five of the darm tech solutions helping to support global growth of sustainable agronomics and food production.
ane. Information preserved in soil
For traditional farming models, perhaps the chief determinant of supply capacity is simply the availability and suitability of land. Nevertheless, any idea of futurity potential must exist congenital on current data, with what data there is and then mapped to tell the story of a region. This story is finer written in the dirt, the soil.
The Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS) is developing continent-broad digital soil maps for sub-Saharan Africa using new analysis, statistics, field trials and crowdsourcing. Funded past the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the ISRIC Globe Soil Information AfSIS project has forged key partnerships with governments, plus a range of stakeholders and academic institutions, including the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Innovative farming ideas, such every bit digital soil mapping, particularly in data-thin regions such equally Africa, are central to planning sustainable agricultural intensification and natural resources management. With open up admission, these interactive maps are publicly bachelor to exist explored on Google Earth.
2. Innovative agriculture moving underground
Singapore relies heavily on imports for more than 90 per cent of its fruit and vegetables. It might, therefore, surprise diners to observe out that their rocket, radish and baby spinach has actually been cultivated locally. Non only that, only it has been grown in Singapore'due south first licensed indoor vegetable farm, past an electronics giant better known for TVs: Panasonic.
Almanac soil-based production chapters at the initial Panasonic facility launched last year was iii.6 tonnes, simply the visitor is past no means the only high-tech make developing farm tech solutions to showcase applied science rather than make profit.
Sharp is growing strawberries in Dubai, while Sony, Toshiba and Fujitsu are all utilising former make clean-room facilities at semiconductor plants across Japan for lettuce. These no-wash, no-soil greens are cultivated by ways of hydroponics and grown at more than twice the speed of normal field production, thank you to specialised LED lighting to optimise photosynthesis.
3. Greens fed on rainbow waste
I popular innovation in agriculture is embracing a virtuous circle of reciprocity. Hydroponics, equally the proper noun suggests, is a growing method which uses mineral-enriched water. Aquaponics takes matters a step further, bringing together fish and plant farming in 1 recirculating system.
At Bioaqua Subcontract at Blackford in Somerset – the largest integrated aquaponic farm in Europe – vegetables are grown and Rainbow Trout reared together in organic symbiosis, without chemicals or pesticides, but with the help of bees and worms.
The fish provide about of the constitute nutrition, by way of aquaculture effluent. In turn, fish waste metabolites are removed by nitrification and direct uptake by plants, with the suitably treated h2o then flowing back to the fish. In all, it is claimed this innovative farming thought requires upward to 95 per cent less h2o than traditional horticulture farming.
4. Using the lord's day to generate freshwater
Another of the major modern trends in agronomics is increasing h2o efficiency in farming and food production. Whether for traditional rural irrigation, arid regions or urban farms, this represents a cardinal metric in the confront of global population growth and climate change.
Considered together, scarcity of freshwater resources and the fact that 71 per cent of the Globe's surface is all the same covered in water, therefore make a compelling argument for desalination. The stumbling block, historically, has been its energy-hungry nature and prohibitively high running costs relative to agricultural profit margins.
One innovation in agriculture, offered by Sundrop Farms, draws on one of the few renewable resources in even more than abundant supply than seawater – sunlight. Sundrop Farms harvests solar power to generate energy for desalination to supply hydroponic greenhouses.
Requiring no freshwater, farmland or fossil fuels, this potential game-changer for sustainable farming is creating 300 jobs in Port Augusta, South Australia, with a 10-year contract won to grow tomatoes for Coles supermarkets.
5. Agriculture past aircraft
In the media, drones have generally been associated with the military and spying, plus the odd pizza-delivery publicity stunt, but it could become 1 of the most useful innovations in agronomics, if used wisely.
An annual contest in the United Arab Emirates, UAE Drones for Good Award, acknowledges both drones' dark reputation and the fact that things are changing. Competition finalists this year pitched benefits for unmanned aerial vehicles from conservation support to medical deliveries, as well equally farming help.
The Munich-based Quantum-Systems entry was a transition aircraft combining capabilities of a multicopter and stock-still-wing model – vertical accept-off, plus fast forward flight similar a normal airplane. Breakthrough VRT blueprint allows farmers to adopt precise fertilisation strategies via accurate flight-planning software with evaluation of crop conditions, so reducing reliance on fertilisers and boosting yields.
Dubai plans to scale up agronomics drone applied science usage in a bid to become cocky-sufficient in food security by 2030. With 98 per cent imports, the emirate currently outstrips Singapore.
Source: https://www.raconteur.net/sustainability/top-5-tech-innovations-in-agriculture/
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