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Artificial intelligence behind major transitions in agriculture sector
The agriculture sector is innovating fast. Today there are drones that fly over fields to measure crop growth and robots that can detect and remove weeds. Big data and Artificial Intelligence are helping to make this sector more efficient and sustainable. But there are challenges too.
Just picture it: in a tomato greenhouse, sensors are independently monitoring the growth of the plants. The temperature is carefully managed and vents open by themselves if it gets too hot. The plants are automatically given exactly the right amount of water and fertiliser. A robot measures the size, quantity and ripeness of the tomatoes, and monitors photosynthesis and evaporation. This may sound like the farm of the future, but in fact farmers, horticulturists and researchers are already pioneering with autonomous production systems. They need to meet the major challenges the agriculture and horticulture sector is facing.
By 2050, the world’s population is expected to have reached almost 10 billion. The demand for food is rising. At the same time, climate change will make farming more difficult, making it all the more urgent to switch to innovative methods. Researchers, farmers and horticulturists are increasingly looking to Artificial Intelligence–the ability of machines to learn, reason and make decisions based on data and algorithms–for solutions. AI helps farmers and gardeners make complex decisions so they can produce fruit and vegetables closer to their customers, more sustainably and using fewer resources.
But how exactly can AI and big data help? And what are possible hurdles to overcome? In this article you can read about three examples where big data and/or AI play an important role in sustainable solutions for the horticulture and agriculture sector.
