Presently, one of the greatest challenges to agriculture is climate change. This means that unlike in the past, farmers are not able to accurately predict weather patterns. This has been detrimental especially to farmers in the sub-Saharan Africa who have relied on rain fed agriculture over the years, to feed a growing population and as an economic lifeline. The problem is further exacerbated by the degradation of natural resources.
With these challenges weighing heavily on available
resources both at the household and governmental levels, it has become essential
to explore methods that will increase food yields. This has ultimately
accelerated conversation and implementation of AgTech as a key tool for
sustainable agriculture in a future that is predicted to have more
unpredictable climate, higher population and shrinking natural resources especially
agriculture land.
AgTech is an emerging
economic sector that has the potential to completely reshape global
agriculture, dramatically increasing the productivity of the agriculture system
while reducing the environmental and social costs of current ag production
practices. It is playing an important role in sustainability.
Countries and organisations at
the frontier of AgTech innovation are already utilising technologies like harvesting
robots. Other new techniques involve vertical farming and diversifying crops. This
is promoting the use of precision farming to produce higher yields with less
space and resources, and in other cases reducing water and resources to grow
livestock feed.
Among the countries leading on
this front is the Netherlands which is proving that it will be possible to
achieve a sustainable food system and feed our ever-growing world. Almost two decades ago, the country made a
national commitment to sustainable agriculture under the rallying cry “Twice
as much food using half as many resources.”
The country’s farmers now operate
some of the largest climate-controlled farms which has enabled the Dutch nation
to be a global leader exports of a fair-weather fruit: the tomato. The Dutch
are also the world’s top exporter of potatoes and onions and the second largest
exporter of vegetables overall in terms of value. More than a third of all
global trade in vegetable seeds originates in the Netherlands.
Outstanding practices by the
Dutch include techniques to grow bananas in Dutch greenhouses using soil composed
of coco peat and rock wool that prevents fungus from harming the crops. The
Netherlands also houses the Dairy Campus to
research new grazing patterns and develop metrics for dairy farmers in the
Netherlands and beyond.
Furthermore, Dutch Company, Nijsen/Granico (Veulen)
has been innovating livestock feed, developing these feeds from 100% waste
products, including by-products from the baking industry. This has enabled the country
to export a large number of eggs and dairy products.
In Africa, Agriculture
technologies have been triggering significant development over the years, with
many tech start-ups innovating information and communications technologies to support
agriculture at multiple levels. While some technologies have been successfully
launched, some are in initial stages of becoming a success with this being driven
by private sector investments.
According to EOS Intelligence, in
the adoption of Agritech solutions, Kenya and Nigeria have been leading. The organisation
has noted that Kenya has played a pioneering role in bringing Agritech in
Africa since 2010-2011, when the first wave of Agritech start-ups began to
bring new niche innovations. Currently, Kenya accounts for 25% of all the Agritech
start-ups in Africa, and the development is increasing which is attributable to
the country’s advancement in technology, high smartphone penetration, and widespread
internet access.
While there are clear strides
made by most developing nations across Africa towards Agritech, unlimited
resources have stood in the way of full blown success. In addition, advancement
of tech penetration in the farming sector is low among women who have limited access
to digital services, yet they form more than 40% of the labour force.
To reach the level of Agtech advanced
countries like the Netherlands, states in sub-Saharan Africa will need to emulate
practices such as offering competitive research incentives to
fuel future agrifood development. They will also need to fosters unique public-private partnerships and dedicate a bigger percentage
of resources towards Agritech funding.
