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From artificial intelligence, to precision agriculture, to the internet of things, emerging technologies have the potential to revolutionize the way food is consumed, handled and produced. But which technologies could most powerfully transform the lives of smallholder farmers? These, after all, are the people who produce as much as 80% of the food consumed in some parts of the developing world, yet make up a majority of the world’s undernourished population.
As CEO of the Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU), I endeavour to give voice particularly to smallholder farmers, who produce food on less than two hectares of land with limited assets. Here in Africa, over 80% of our farmers are smallholders and they produce 70% of the continent’s food.
These five technologies have the potential to connect smallholder farmers to new resources, information, knowledge and markets. The good news is that many of these innovations already exist; the challenge lies in scaling them up in ways that are inclusive, while navigating the inevitable challenges that will accompany their uptake.
1. Improved access to electricity to increase efficiency and reduce food loss
Electricity is hardly a new innovation, but there are still many people – almost two-thirds of sub-Saharan Africa, for example – who lack access. Even where energy infrastructure exists, cost can often be a barrier.
Access to affordable, reliable and sustainable energy enables smallholders to improve efficiencies in land preparation, planting, irrigation and harvesting. It also allows them to use certain methods for storing, cooling and preserving goods. The ability of smallholder farmers to participate in global food systems depends on their access to electricity.
2. Increased internet connectivity to access information and knowledge to improve productivity on their farms
The vast majority of smallholder farmers live in remote areas, where good, fast internet connectivity reaches less than 30% of the population. Women constitute almost half of the agricultural labour force in developing countries, yet they are less likely to access the internet than men in the same communities.
If this “digital divide” were closed, smallholder farmers could access information and knowledge-related to weather, rainfall or market demand, allowing them to grow and harvest food more efficiently. Timing has increasingly become a key source of competitiveness, and access to real-time information is crucial. To be truly transformational, internet access must be reliable, affordable and secure.
3. Mobile devices and platforms connect smallholder farmers to markets
Connectivity is not only about access to information – it is also about access to services. For example, mobile banking can give smallholder farmers access to formal financial services such as banking and loans, which they all too often lack. Take the example of Trringo: this smartphone app is being hailed the Uber for tractors thanks to how it has disrupted India’s farm equipment renting process.
Another example comes from my own organization, SACAU, where we have successfully piloted a digital aggregation platform akin to a “virtual cooperative”. Farmers can use the mobile platform for aggregation, and then leverage the volume to negotiate better prices with suppliers. This platform, designed by farmers and for farmers, also includes a host of other features. It has since been transformed into a digital highway through which services and products will flow between suppliers and farmers.
I know from the smallholder farmers we work with how important this is to them. Investing in a mobile phone as an agricultural tool has perhaps become the single most strategic decision by a smallholder farmer, and we need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to facilitate such smart investments.
4. Unique identifiers improve data about farmers, for farmers
Unique identifiers are commonly used in the developed world. When you log on to Amazon or Netflix, the site knows who you are and makes personalized recommendations based on what you have purchased or viewed before. But data about smallholder farmers in developing economies is largely based on samples and extrapolations, and is thus unreliable or incomplete.
With unique identifiers, businesses could offer tailored services, policy-makers could make more informed decisions, and knowledge institutions could make better assessments of farmers’ circumstances.
For example, the eWallet system in Nigeria has allowed the government to identify and deliver input subsidies directly to farmers based on personal and biometric information provided by smallholder farmers. As with all innovations, this technology is not a silver bullet. For unique identifiers to improve farmers’ lives, data systems must be able to guarantee that data remains anonymous for the privacy and security of individuals.
5. Geospatial analysis to help farmers make informed decisions
Geospatial technologies can help both policy-makers and individual farmers assess, monitor and plan the use of their natural resources. If smallholder farmers had access to foundational technologies – like electricity, the internet and mobile phones – then they too could use geospatial analysis to make decisions about the management of their farms and other assets. In this realm, FAO and Google are partnering to make geospatial tracking and mapping products more accessible.
If geospatial technologies were easy to download and use, a smallholder in Colombia could discover the distance to the nearest river, or a farmer in Malawi could use sensors to more efficiently manage their farm.
Some of the technologies we’ve discussed here are hardly new, so it might seem odd to see them on a list of innovations that could transform the lives of smallholders. But for these farmers, access and adoption of technology is not automatic.
It is therefore our duty to ensure smallholder farmers are not left behind in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Strong digital infrastructure is crucial for smallholders to access and create tools that empower them to make decisions about their farms and businesses. As innovation evolves, let’s continue to question how the benefits of technology are being shared and how these benefits can nurture the smallholder farmers who feed the world.
Only a couple of centuries ago, farming was very different and used very little technology. See how the agricultural revolution and inventions changed farming so that far less manual labor is needed to feed the world today than in previous eras.
Art Media / Print Collector / Getty Images This period featured the use and emergence of such farm equipment as oxen and horses for power, crude wooden plows, hay and grain cutting with a sickle, and threshing with a flail. All sowing was done by hand and cultivating by hoe.
ThoughtCo / Hilary Allison The farm technology revolution began in this period. Notable agricultural inventions and new farm technology included:
The agricultural revolution picked up steam during these years, with notable agricultural developments including:
In 1830, about 250 to 300 labor-hours were required to produce 100 bushels (5 acres) of wheat with a walking plow, brush harrow, hand broadcast of seed, sickle, and flail. Inventions included:
The growing use of factory-made agricultural machinery increased farmers' need for cash and encouraged commercial farming. Developments included:
In 1850, about 75 to 90 labor-hours were required to produce 100 bushels of corn (2 1/2 acres) with walking a plow, harrow, and hand planting. Other agricultural developments included:
The period from1862 to 1875 signaled a change from hand power to horses, characterizing the first American agricultural revolution. Farm inventions included:
Ephraim Muller Photography / Getty Images Silos came into use throughout the 1870s, and other developments included:
Underwood Archives / Archive Photos / Getty Images In 1890, 35–40 labor-hours were required to produce 100 bushels (2 1/2 acres) of corn with a 2-bottom gang plow, disk and peg-tooth harrow, and 2-row planter. Also in 1890, 40–50 labor-hours were required to produce 100 bushels (5 acres) of wheat with a gang plow, seeder, harrow, binder, thresher, wagons, and horses. Other developments included:
Throughout the decade, George Washington Carver, director of agricultural research at Tuskegee Institute, pioneered in finding new uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans, thus helping to diversify Southern agriculture. Additionally, the average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer was 3,738,300 tons.
Big open-geared gas tractors came into use in areas of extensive farming during the first half of the decade. Additionally:
Archive Photos / Getty Images
Edmund Garman / Flickr / CC BY 2.0 In the 1930s, the all-purpose, rubber-tired tractor with complementary machinery came into wide use. Additionally:
During this decade and through 1970, farms experienced a sea change from horses to tractors, including the adoption of a group of technological practices, which broadly characterized the second American agriculture agricultural revolution. One farmer could supply enough food for almost 11 people in the United States and abroad by 1940, and throughout the decade, the average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer was 13,590,466 tons. Additional agricultural developments included:
Throughout the decade, the average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer was 22,340,666 tons, and as early as 1950, one farmer could produce enough food for 15.5 people in the United States and abroad. Other agricultural developments included:
Throughout the decade, the average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer was 32,373,713 tons, and as early as 1960, one farmer could supply food to nearly 26 people in the United States and abroad. Additional developments included:
By 1970, one farmer could supply nearly 76 people in the United States and abroad with food. And throughout the decade, no-tillage agriculture was popularized. Additionally:
By the 1980s, many farmers began using no-till or low-till methods to curb erosion. Additionally, by the late 1980s, just one-and-one-half to two labor-hours were required to produce 100 pounds (1/5 acre) of lint cotton with a tractor, 4-row stalk cutter, 20-foot disk, 6-row bedder and planter, a 6-row cultivator with herbicide applicator, and 4-row harvester. Other developments from this period included:
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