It is very important to note that the field of food production has experienced a lot of changes in the centuries of production from crude farming methods to the modern technological methods. In the present society there is a consistent increase in the population of people throughout the world and thus the need to feed the increasing population and the need to do that in an efficient and sustainable manner cannot be overemphasized and most importantly, technology takes an upper most part in driving change to the traditional methods of producing foods. These include precision farming to enhanced techniques of processing food and everything in between, this has seen the food supply chain enhanced through the incorporation of innovation technologies.
Precision Agriculture: Effective Resource Utilization for Efficiency and Sustainability
Precision agriculture similarly referred to as smart farming involves the use of sophisticated technologies to improve the farming processes, production rate and its impact on the environment. Data related to crop management can be captured using GPS, IoT sensors, drones, and big data analysis to inform farmer’s decisions.
GPS and IoT Sensors
With the help of GPS technology farmers are able to build various maps that show differences in soil type, moisture content and crop status in the field. Smart IoT sensors, which are aimed at the various fields, monitor soil moisture, temperature as well as nutrient content of the fields in real-time manner. This data enables the farmer to use water, fertilizers and pesticides at the right place in right quantization in order to minimize wastage on the ground and hence lessen the effect on the environment.
Drones and Satellite Imaging
These consist of drones mounted with multispectral cameras together with satellite images offer a detailed aerial view of the crops. These images assist the farmer to locate the areas that have been affected by pests, diseases or even nutrient deficiencies for correction to be made. Moreover, the robotics can be useful for targeted application of the fertilizers and pesticides without the need of involving many people and spraying dangerous chemicals.
Robotics and Automation: Redefining Labor in Agriculture
Robotics as well as automation in agriculture is solving the problem of labor scarcity or being used to boost production. Unmanned tractors, harvesters and robot weeders are new trends in the traditional agricultural practices.
Harvesters and Autonomous Tractors
Self-driving tractors having GPS and AI technology work in the fields that include ploughing, seeding, and harvesting on their own. These machines run for more hours than human beings and hence do not require much personnel to operate them.
Robotic Weed Control
Some of the characteristics of robotic weeders include the capability in distinguishing weeds using computer vision and AI algorithms as well as selective removal of weeds. Since these robots selectively control weed without having to spray chemicals on crops, they play a great role in smart farming. This technology also maximizes on the output obtained in the farming of crops while at the same time reducing the effects of its impact on the environment.
Biotechnology: Progressing the Selection of Crops and Their Resistance
Traditional crop improvement is being upgraded by use of modern technology in biotechnology to produce crops that are high yielding, resistant to pests, and areas of the country/regions affected by persistent climate changes. Always leading these advances is genetic engineering and the CRISPR-Cas9 technology.
Genetic Engineering
The GMO crops have been designed in such a way that they portray specific characteristics such as resistance to attack from pests and diseases and environmental stresses. For instance Bt cotton were genetically modified to produce a toxin that is poisonous to certain pest thus decreasing the use of chemical pest control.
CRISPR-Cas9 Technology
CRISPR-Cas9 system makes it possible to change plant genomes and since the method has been developed, it only takes a short time to introduce beneficial characteristics in the plants. It involves generating plants that are immune to diseases, endure dry spell and has enhanced nutritional value. The CRISPR-Cas9 tool is also used to speed up the breeding and certainly, farmers due to changes in the environment and increased food demand.
Food Processing Innovations: Enhancing Quality and Safety
There has been a significant change as to how food products are processed that increases more safety and shelf life of the food products. Indeed, the advancements in the conventional food processing methods have been achieved through the prominent techniques including high-pressure processing, Pulsed Electric Fields, and food 3D printing.
High-Pressure Processing (HPP)
HPP is a pressure shift food processing method in which pressure is applied to eliminate and reduce, microorganisms that can cause pathogen and spoilage. Compared to thermal processing HPP does not affect the nutritional and sensory properties of food products. This technology is mostly applied in the processing of juices, RTM, and deli meats to enhance food safety as well as quality.
Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF)
PEF technology is a method that deals with a short application of high voltage to food related products, which results in the breakdown of cell membranes, thus leading to enhanced extraction of Juices, oils and bio active compounds. PEF has been applied in the processing of fruit juices, dairy products, and plant-based drinks and helps to improve the quality and the shelf life of the final products.
3D Food Printing
3D food printing is an innovative technology of producing food products that are built in a layered way. It also offers considerable control over ingredients that can be used in the making of these foods, and thus efficient in making balanced and individual meals. Several fields have been considered for 3D food printing such as personalized nutrition for patients, new texture of foods, source of protein from insects and algae.
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Blockchain and Traceability: Ensuring Food Safety and Transparency
Blockchain technology is a disruptor for how supply chains operate making them more efficient, improving supply chain traceability, and food safety. This has the capability to enhance the trust and accountability in the food chain by creating a decentralized ledger that offers clarity and accountability of each transaction that takes place in the chain.
Supply Chain Transparency
It also allows consumers to track the story of the food factors in consumption from the source through the chain. Every stage, from growth and milling to shipping and selling, is imprinted on the distributed-ledger, giving consumers an unobstructed window into the product’s provenance. This leads to the formation of consumer trust and finally the truth in the designation of organic and fair-trade products.
Food Safety and Recall Management
In the case of food safety problem, through the application of blockchain, all participants of the supply chain can quickly and accurately identify which products contain unsafe food. Through fast identification of the origin of contamination, the specific products can be pulled off the market quickly and this helps to prevent harm to the health of the public and costs in terms of money.
Vertical Farming: Maximizing Urban Food Production
Vertical farming is basically a system of farming where crops are grown in many layers of plants or layers of soil in controlled environment. It also consists of efficient use of space, minimum water requirement, and open access to create controlled environment growing space for crops all year round in metropolitan regions.
Hydroponics and Aeroponics
Vertical farms do not use the traditional ways of growing plants through soil, instead, the plants are grown under hydroponic and aeroponic systems. Hydroponics is the process of cultivating plant in nutrient-enriched water while aeroponics is the one in which the roots of the plant are held in the air and then sprayed with nutrient solution from time to time. Such systems consume 70-90% less water than conventional soil-based farming and they do not require the use of pesticides and herbicides.
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA)
CEA is essentially the process of providing the right environment for crop growth by the application of artificial lighting and controlled climate and use of automation technology. Thereby the temperature, humidity and light intensity within vertical farms are regulated to ensure constant yields are produced irrespective of the weather prevailing on the outside world. Ideally used in urban areas where the available land for cultivation is scarce this technology will prove of immense benefits.
Conclusion
The adoption of IT in traditional food production systems is exhibited as a transformation of the current farming practices towards efficient, sustainable and resilient systems. Genetically modified food, drones and sensors, Artificial Intelligence, big data analytics, Food Delivery Robot, and Automated Greenhouse Farming are changing the overall traditional farming practices. They however pose the future as a bright one with technologies in food production opening up tools to defeats food insecurity, and environmental destruction, high incidences of diseases among others.
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