Pham Thi Huong went from the grueling job of scooping coffee out of Vietnam’s central highlands to an inconceivable one: growing strawberries on rocks.
Huong and her husband threw the shovel away from their hard-working days at the mercy of volatile commodity prices in 2019 and joined vertical farming company Orlar. Now they work together in a greenhouse where connected white pillars line up like library stacks, each holding a rock above another rock.
The rocks are treated with a proprietary blend of microbes to support plant life. Romaine lettuce, basil, bok choy and flowers sprout from the stones.
“I was very surprised to see this for the first time,” Huong said across a jagged line from his mountainous farming village.
“I thought, with technology like this, we can develop more,” Huong added, pointing to an additional advantage: using far fewer chemicals than in traditional farming.
Huong’s move is part of a spreading agricultural revolution in Asia that aims to feed a growing population against a backdrop of formidable problems. The daunting list includes food inflation, climate change, accessibility issues, supply chain disruptions, urban migration, aging societies, and severe hunger.
Huong’s employer, Orlar, is cautious about the details of his technology, but says it minimizes the need for chemicals, power, water and land. The startup’s task is one facing businesses and farmers around the world, where the population is expanding but the resources are not. To feed an increasingly hungry planet, Orlar and other new agricultural revolutionaries must produce more with less.
Food prices have soared across Asia, reaching their highest levels since 2011. Farmers face droughts and ice storms, rising fertilizer and fuel costs, pandemic-related labor shortages and supply chain disruptions. supply shortages exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Prices are expected to continue rising. Meanwhile, Asia’s population is projected to increase by 700 million to 5.3 billion by 2050. Last year, more than 1.1 billion people had access to adequate food in this region alone.
The trillion dollar question now is: How will the world’s most populous landmass be fed in the coming decades?
Throughout the region, companies are approaching this task by harnessing the power of technology.
Some are disrupting thousands of years of traditional soil farming and breaking new ground, growing the foods of our future on rocks, hydrogel sheets, petri dishes and vertical racks. Others bring machine learning to agritech.
In Japan, cherry-red robotic tractors serve as new beasts of burden.
In China, pigs are monitored by roaming cameras and tomatoes are harvested by bots.
From Philippine rice to Vietnamese shrimp, selective breeding is being applied to increase yields. The climate is controlled in greenhouses, vertical farms and fish tanks.
Some of the technology, from tracking soil health to tracking a mango’s supply chain, is getting cheaper, says Patricia Sosrodjojo, a partner at Seedstars International Ventures, an early-stage investor in emerging markets.
But Sosrodjojo also warned that the “complicated” global problems of the past two years illustrate the need for more innovation.
“People… realized that there is this machinery that brings food to market. And then things like COVID-19 and supply chain, [issues] that could happen, happened,” he said in an interview with Nikkei Asia. “It also serves as a wake-up call that these threats are real.”
Many companies are investing in research to develop solutions for problems that are expected to become more serious in the future. “It is better to prepare the cart now, then put the horse in later,” said Jauhar Ali of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), who has been preparing for food shortages by genetically modifying rice to optimize nutrition and performance. performance.
The agritech revolution could hardly be more pressing. Population growth has increased, but stocks have dwindled, with staple food stocks declining for four straight years until recently, according to the International Grains Council.
Stocks of wheat, barley, corn, soybeans and rice will fall to an eight-year low of 583 million metric tons in 2023, according to the intergovernmental organization.
A trifecta of problems has fueled food inflation: COVID-19, conflict and climate change. Russia’s war in Ukraine has raised costs, from animal feed to fertilizer. This has exacerbated food insecurity unleashed by export bans, hoarding and supply chain chaos during the pandemic. Global warming threatens to intensify crop damage caused by droughts, floods, typhoons and pests.
Agritech has the potential to be an integral part of an innovation ecosystem that could mean fewer humans go hungry. But his acolytes will have to overcome crucial impediments, such as high investment costs and energy shortages, if they are to live up to their existential promises.
In 2022 BC C., farmers grew plants that were adapted to their location. It could be said that the climate determines the crop.
In A.D. 2022, with agricultural technology, the crop determines the weather.
Indoor farms are protected from rain, sunlight, and heat. That gives humans what our ancestors might have seen as divine control over water levels, light, and temperatures used to nurture their chosen crops.
Chinese company Kaisheng Haofeng runs one of the largest greenhouses on the planet in a country with the most mouths to feed. It spans an area of 30 football fields in rural Shandong province, where tomatoes are the star of the show.
Kaisheng deploys an arsenal of Dutch machines that automate the fruit’s water and fertilizer diet, calibrate light and ventilation, and kill bacteria with ultraviolet rays.
The company deploys an arsenal of Dutch machines that automate the fruit’s water and fertilizer diet, calibrate light and ventilation, and kill bacteria with ultraviolet rays. Modern man-made microclimates allow year-round horticulture in the vast landscape of the nation of 1.4 billion people.
Kaisheng’s smart technology has increased yields sixfold.
Old-school greenhouses, by contrast, don’t “withstand harsh environments” very well, deputy general manager Li Ju-hai told Nikkei Asia, adding that they can’t produce the quality of food consumers demand.
“My country is ushering in a new era of greater understanding of consumption,” Li said.
That’s also the idea with Japan’s Mebiol, which claims it can grow food in arid places. Former Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi once took his flagship technology into space and managed to grow herbs in zero gravity.
Mebiol’s invention looks like hairy grass sprouting from a huge plastic sheet. It is a mixture of nutrients and water in a hydrogel, which is then flattened into sheets fertile enough to support plants.
As with the Orlar rocks in Vietnam, cherry tomatoes and mizuna leaves sprout from the transparent film, using no soil and a minimal amount of water.
The global agricultural technology market will see $22.5 billion in revenue by 2025, up from $9 billion in 2020, according to UK-based Juniper Research.
The numbers are attracting investment in agritech, which hit record levels last year when venture capitalists put up nearly $12.2 billion in 632 deals, according to international trade association CropLife. In the first quarter of this year alone, investors made 224 deals worth $3.9 billion.
“Agritech 1.0 focused on areas like genetics, pesticides and fertilization,” said Sanjeev Krishnan, founder and managing director of S2G Ventures, which invests in food and agriculture. “Agritech 2.0 focuses much more on digitization, data science and alternative agriculture, which has helped respond to COVID-19 and the problems it has caused with supply disruptions and access to the workforce.”
“Something like digitization has become important because people need supply chain visibility; they want to know the yield of the crops,” said Krishnan.
Agritech is enabling agriculture to move from scarce land to buildings and rooftops.
This is particularly useful in rich but densely populated countries like Singapore, which is about half the size of London and has less space for traditional agriculture.
Singapore, which imports 90% of its food, sees urban farming as a way to produce more at home and bolster security of supply. It has designated more than ten rooftops to grow more than 2,000 tons of vegetables each year.
ComCrop, one of the city-state’s first rooftop farms, has been growing mint and lettuce using hydroponics since 2011. It requires no pesticides or land in this tiny 724-square-kilometer island nation.
The government aims to increase the island’s nutritional needs to 30% by 2030. The Singapore Food Agency has earmarked more than $40 million to create an agricultural industry that is climate-resilient and can use resources efficiently .
The agency supports seafood businesses like Blue Ocean Aquaculture Technology, which raises jade perch and red tilapia in oxygen-rich tanks at a factory.
Shrimp farmers from Thailand to Vietnam are taking a similar approach, shifting their crustaceans from outdoor ponds to indoor tanks.
The controlled environment protects against plankton blooms and water pollution.
Climate control can protect farms against mercurial weather, but it can come at a high cost to the biosphere as a whole.
Skeptics say that not all change in agriculture is progress. For indoor farms, a big problem is the “phenomenal” amount of energy consumed, reckons Orlar founder Lyndal Hugo. She argues that the rocks her company uses act like thermal batteries, storing heat and reducing the need for external power.
But vertical farms can be notoriously electricity intensive. In one stark example, strawberries consumed 3,000 percent more energy in a Russian vertical farm than in a conventional Chilean one, academics Paul Teng and Steve Kim wrote in an analysis for Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University blog last year. .
“Unless we remove energy from the system, we are never going to fight climate change, we are never going to fight food insecurity,” said Hugo, who is licensing his invention to partners in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. .
As Asia’s middle class expands, the region is expected to account for 50% of global growth in poultry and beef consumption, and 75% of seafood demand by 2030, report says of the Asian Development Bank. By then, more than 60% of cereal demand in the developing world will come from South and East Asia, according to the report.
To keep pace, food production will have to increase by 60% to 70% compared to a decade ago, the ADB research showed.
Today’s costs are already setting records. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, both major exporters of wheat and corn, pushed prices of staples including vegetable oils and cereals, which had risen earlier, to record levels this year, according to the annual food price index. of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The Index, which tracks monthly price changes in a basket of commonly traded food products, is up 23% in the past 12 months alone, hovering around an all-time high hit in March.
That has added to other contemporary obstacles to obtaining food. These include COVID-damaged supply chains made more strained by China’s pandemic lockdowns; extreme weather events exacerbated by climate change; and aging and urbanized societies in which people are less likely to work in the fields.
This is an urgent problem in Japan, where 29% of people are 65 or older, the highest rate in the world. The archipelago had 1.74 million farming households in 2020, 44% less than in 2000, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said.
The scarcity of human hands suggests a possible answer: introduce more mechanical hands.
Japanese company Yanmar Agribusiness has developed a fleet of autonomous tractors that bring precision to plowing and hilling. Their human overlords use tablets to plot planned vehicle routes, which stop when their sensors detect nearby people or objects.
This is an example of the significant impact that information and communication technology (ICT) can have on time-honored agricultural practices, said Yanmar’s executive director of engineering, Shigemi Hidaka. “Our agricultural industry needs to become a smart industry by utilizing technologies such as ICT and data linkage,” he told Nikkei Asia.
A thousand miles to the west, China’s 21st-century farmhands include the company’s Sananbio conveyor system that automates planting and transplanting. Meanwhile, Kaisheng Haofeng plans to populate its greenhouses with robots for harvesting and packaging in 2023.
And in the country with the world’s biggest appetite for pork, Beijing-based Nxin is developing machine learning to monitor pigs. Voice recognition, for example, can determine if a sow is crushing a piglet. Pig walk-in rooms increase production by using software to assess weight, pregnancy and signs of disease.
In other parts of Asia, devices do what humans can’t or augment what they can. Drones in India drop pesticides on locusts. Sensors collect field data across the continent, from soil moisture to salinity in rice paddies.
Other methods are being implemented to improve the yield and quality of rice, Asia’s water-intensive staple carbohydrate. Nepal and the Philippines are investing millions of dollars in hybrid rice, which scientists are modifying for a number of traits, including resistance to disease and drought. Selective breeding is also used on animals, such as dairy cows in Bangladesh.
Genetic modification of rice is particularly useful for saving water. A kilo of rice needs between 3,000 and 5,000 liters of water, compared to 900 liters per kilo of wheat and 500 liters of the same weight of potato.
Some hybrid rice varieties require up to 30% less water.
Declining water use is crucial in vast swathes of South and East Asia, where humanity is headed for a water crisis due to shrinking glaciers, groundwater depletion and severe droughts.
The Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute said Manila is the first government to approve its Golden Rice, a strain loaded with vitamins to feed more people for less. Ali, the institute’s head of hybrid rice technology research, said obstacles include years of development and a public wary of genetic modification. Filipino farmers who oppose Golden Rice said the modified plant would “poison our land” and increase reliance on pesticides and herbicides.
Elsewhere, the technology is being used to alter the farm fields themselves. India and Thailand, the world’s largest rice exporters, use zap lasers on dry land to measure bumps that need to be flattened. This type of leveling reduces water and fertilizer use by spreading them evenly, boosting rice yields by 7-10%, according to the German aid agency GIZ.
Supporters of the new agricultural revolution say they urgently need more investment and efforts to cut costs. For example, Yanmar acknowledges that the more than US$72,000 price tag of its self-driving tractor puts it out of reach for small farmers. The International Rice Research Institute has an annual budget of nearly $62 million, and Ali says that increasing the hybrid rice program’s budget by even $1 million would generate multiples of that amount.
Despite all its potential, agricultural technology is in its infancy. Additionally, countries with younger populations will take longer to scale to digital operations as they reap their “demographic dividend.” India, for example, will add another 183 million people to the 15-64 working age group over the next three decades, according to UN data.
To succeed, the new agricultural revolution will need to demonstrate that its innovations can reinvent ancient classic agriculture to meet the urgent needs of the food crisis profitably.
Back in Vietnam, Orlar’s efforts to make berries sprout from rocks are a sign of the potentially transformative quality of the new agricultural revolution. Its founder, Hugo, clearly expresses the equation: “It is only a valid technology if it improves people’s lives”.
This article first appeared in Nikkei Asia. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with the Nikkei.
When did the agriculture start?
The first agriculture seems to have developed at the end of the last glacial period of the Pleistocene, or Ice Age (about 11,700 years ago). On the same subject : As the city begins to re-enforce the food waste law, businesses are wondering what to do.
When and where did agriculture begin? The Zagros mountain range, which sits on the border between Iran and Iraq, was home to some of the world’s earliest farmers. About 12,000 years ago, our hunter-gatherer ancestors began to try their hand at farming.
When did the agriculture start and end?
Overview. Agriculture probably began during the Neolithic era before about 9,000 BC. This may interest you : Local nonprofits team up to give away free food. C., when polished stone tools were developed and the last ice age ended.
When did the agricultural start?
Agricultural communities developed about 10,000 years ago when humans began to domesticate plants and animals. By establishing domesticity, families and larger groups were able to build communities and transition from a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle that relied on foraging and hunting for survival.
When did agriculture begin what was this period called?
Agriculture probably began during the Neolithic Age before about 9,000 BC. C. when polished stone tools were developed and the last ice age ended.
Who did agriculture start?
The Egyptians were among the first peoples to practice large-scale agriculture, beginning in the Predynastic period from the end of the Paleolithic to the Neolithic, between around 10,000 B. On the same subject : Where to find the best food at Arts Fest 2022 | Check.C. C. and 4000 a. This was made possible with the development of basin irrigation.
Where did agriculture first begin?
Agriculture originated in a few small centers around the world, but probably first in the Fertile Crescent, a region of the Near East that includes parts of present-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan.
Where did agriculture start?
Agriculture originated in a few small centers around the world, but probably first in the Fertile Crescent, a region of the Near East that includes parts of present-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan.
Where did the agriculture begin?
The wild progenitors of crops such as wheat, barley, and peas can be traced back to the Near East region. Cereals have been cultivated in Syria for 9,000 years, while figs were cultivated even earlier; Prehistoric seedless fruits discovered in the Jordan Valley suggest that fig trees were planted about 11,300 years ago.
When and where was agriculture invented?
Until now, researchers believed that agriculture was “invented” about 12,000 years ago in the Cradle of Civilization: Iraq, the Levant, parts of Turkey and Iran, an area that was home to some of the oldest known human civilizations. .
What technology caused the agricultural revolution to be successful?
The Third Agricultural Revolution, or Green Revolution, took place during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Innovations in irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides, and plant breeding led to higher crop yields.
What new technology was introduced during the agricultural revolution? An important factor in the agricultural revolution was the invention of new tools and the advancement of old ones, including the plow, seeder, and thresher, to improve the efficiency of agricultural operations.
What inventions contributed to the agricultural revolution?
The plow was made of wrought iron and had a steel share that could cut through sticky soil without clogging. By 1855, the John Deere factory was selling more than 10,000 steel plows a year. Tractors: The arrival of tractors revolutionized the agricultural industry, freeing agriculture from the use of oxen, horses, and manual labor.
What are 3 important inventions that improved agriculture?
7 INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED THE WAY FARMERS PRODUCE FOOD
- Reaper. For several centuries, the small grains were harvested by hand. …
- Thresher. At one time, to remove the grain from the chaff, the grain had to be scattered on a threshing floor where it was beaten by hand. …
- Steam machine. …
- Combine. …
- Car. …
- Tractor. …
- Hydraulics.
What were two inventions of the agricultural revolution?
It involved the mechanization of agricultural production, advances in transportation, the development of large-scale irrigation, and changes in patterns of consumption of agricultural goods. Innovations such as the steel plow and mechanized harvesting greatly increased food production.
Why was the agricultural revolution successful?
The Agricultural Revolution of the 18th century paved the way for the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain. New farming techniques and improved livestock husbandry led to increased food production. This allowed for an increase in population and better health. New farming techniques also gave rise to an enclosure movement.
How was the Agricultural Revolution positive?
The Agricultural Revolution brought with it experimentation with new crops and new methods of crop rotation. These new agricultural techniques gave the soil time to replenish nutrients, leading to stronger crops and better agricultural production. Advances in irrigation and drainage further increased productivity.
When did agriculture become successful?
Taking root some 12,000 years ago, agriculture triggered such a change in society and in the way people lived that its development has been dubbed the “Neolithic Revolution.” The traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyles followed by humans since their evolution were swept aside in favor of permanent settlements and…
How did technology affect the agricultural revolution?
Advances in machinery have expanded the scale, speed, and productivity of farm equipment, leading to more efficient cultivation of more land. Seeds, irrigation, and fertilizers have also vastly improved, helping farmers increase yields.
What changes in technology happened during the agricultural revolution?
It involved the mechanization of agricultural production, advances in transportation, the development of large-scale irrigation, and changes in patterns of consumption of agricultural goods. Innovations such as the steel plow and mechanized harvesting greatly increased food production.
What technology has had the biggest impact on agriculture?
Labor and mechanization. Improved farm equipment has probably had the most significant impact on the way farmers farm and care for livestock. Tractors, seeders and harvesters are much larger and more efficient. The cattle barns have automatic feeders.
How did machines change farming?
With the introduction of machinery in all sectors, agriculture was one of the first industries to benefit from the rapid advances made after the industrial revolution. The economic, demographic and technological boom meant that more food could be produced with the help of innovative machinery.
How did technology change agriculture? Advances in machinery have expanded the scale, speed, and productivity of farm equipment, leading to more efficient cultivation of more land. Seeds, irrigation, and fertilizers have also vastly improved, helping farmers increase yields.
How did Machinery affect farmers?
Technological innovations have generally increased mechanization by integrating functional processes into a crop production machine or system and by making it possible for a farmer to manage larger and larger areas of land.
How did Machines impact agriculture?
The level of mechanization has a significant positive impact on the cost, value of production, income and rate of return of all types of crops. For every 1% increase in the level of mechanization, the yields of all crops, cereals, and cash crops increase by 1.2151, 1.5941, and 0.4351%, respectively.
What are the advantages of using machines in agriculture?
These are some of the many benefits that agricultural mechanization has brought and will continue to bring throughout the 21st century.
- Improved techniques. …
- Commercialization. …
- Nullifies the effects of labor shortages. …
- Makes more room for crops. …
- Increases farm income.
What inventions changed farming?
7 INVENTIONS THAT CHANGED THE WAY FARMERS PRODUCE FOOD
- Reaper. For several centuries, the small grains were harvested by hand. …
- Thresher. At one time, to remove the grain from the chaff, the grain had to be scattered on a threshing floor where it was beaten by hand. …
- Steam machine. …
- Combine. …
- Car. …
- Tractor. …
- Hydraulics.
What invention changed farming?
In 1831, at the age of 22, Cyrus McCormick created the first grain harvesting machine in the United States. The reaper made it possible to harvest large fields in one day and allowed farmers to have larger harvests.
How did inventions help farmers?
Reapers allowed large amounts of grain to be harvested, while threshers made sure the grain fell off the stalks, reducing waste. The expansion of railroads and trains helped make farming more profitable during the Industrial Revolution.
How technology has helped in farming?
Higher crop productivity. Decreased use of water, fertilizers and pesticides, which in turn keeps food prices low. Reduced impact on natural ecosystems. Less runoff of chemicals into rivers and groundwater.
What are new innovations in agriculture?
Farmers now use automated harvesters, drones, autonomous tractors, seeding and weeding to transform the way they grow their crops. Technology takes care of minor, recurring tasks, allowing them to focus on more critical functions.
What is the latest technology in agriculture?
The agriculture of the future will use sophisticated technologies such as robots, temperature and humidity sensors, aerial imagery and GPS technology. These advanced devices and precision farming and robotic systems will enable farms to be more profitable, efficient, safe and environmentally friendly.
When did China’s Industrial Revolution start?
1988-1998: first industrial revolution. This phase featured the mass production of labor-intensive light consumer goods in China’s rural and urban areas, relying primarily on imported machinery.
When did the industrial revolution start and when? Most historians place the origin of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain in the mid-18th century.
Why was China late to the industrial revolution?
This column argues that the industrial revolution occurred in Europe and not China because European businessmen were eager to adopt machines to reduce high labor costs. China did not “miss” the industrial revolution, it did not need it.
Why did China industrialize late?
The lack of potential customers for products made by machines rather than craftsmen was due to the absence of a “middle class” in Song China, which was the reason for the failure of industrialization.
How was China before the industrial revolution?
Before the Industrial Revolution, China was the world leader in inventions and the largest manufacturer in the world. Despite its strengths, it failed to become a major exporter. Exports could have helped it spark a quality evolution and further expand its economy.
When did industrialization start in China?
China was entirely an agrarian society before the 20th century, with 90 percent of its population living in rural areas (King 2013). China began its industrialization process at the beginning of the 20th century.
Why did China industrialize so late?
Summary. That China failed to industrialize and Britain did, could essentially be summed up as a consequence of accidents of geography, climate and history. European geography and climate, and in particular British geography and climate, were much more favorable to the processes leading to industrialization that were taking place there.
What did China do to try and industrialize?
China’s first attempt at industrialization began in 1861 under the Qing monarchy. Wen wrote that China “embarked on a series of ambitious programs to modernize its backward agrarian economy, including the establishment of a modern naval and industrial system.”
What are the 3 main agricultural revolutions?
Key Takeaways: Agriculture, Food Production, and Rural Land Use
- There were three agricultural revolutions that changed history. …
- There are two main farming methods in the world. …
- Von Thunen’s agricultural land use model focuses on transportation.
What were the 3 main results of the agricultural revolution? This transition included moving from manual to machine production methods, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, increased efficiency of water power, the increasing use of steam power, the development of machine tools, and the rise of the system. of fabric.
Where was the 3rd agricultural revolution?
Why did the third agricultural revolution occur?
The Third Agricultural Revolution is a shift from conventional agriculture to the use of sustainable innovation to increase agricultural productivity and profitability. The revolution began with the introduction of modern technologies, such as chemical fertilizers, irrigation, and livestock management.
When did the third agricultural revolution occur?
Third Agricultural Revolution (1930s–1960s), an increase in agricultural production, especially in the developing world (also known as the Green Revolution)
