Transforming agricultural systems and rural economies is the need of the hour if we want to ensure a food-secure future. With the global population expected to touch 9.7 billion by 2050, there will be increasing pressure on our limited natural resources to produce more food. A new Food and Agriculture Organization report warns that the projected growth in world population is likely to be concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This will pose immense problems, as expanding agriculture in these regions will be difficult because of scarcity of land and water resources.[1]

Figure 1. The agriculture in 2050

Figure 1 shows he current global population is 7.6 billion. It is expected to be 9.2 billion in 2050 (Fig 1). By 2050, the population in the developing countries will be roughly 8 billion. The population in the developed countries would be 1.2 billion. This 1.2 billion will remain relatively constant only because population growth in the United States offsets decreases in Europe and Japan. It is apparent that all of the population growth is taking place in the developing countries. In particular, Asia will contribute a staggering 41 percent and Africa 47 percent towards this growth in 2050 (Fig. 2).

The general consensus is that global agriculture production has to be increased by about 60-70 percent from the current levels to meet the increased food demand in 2050. This takes into account several factors. First, the changes in dietary habits. Increased economic growth and income levels in the developing countries are leading drivers for people to eat more animal proteins and dairy products. This implies producing more food to feed animals under intensive- feeding systems—animals are not efficient feed converters. For example, beef cattle generally need 8-10 kg of feed to produce 1 kg of meat. In terms of calories, for every 100 calories fed to animals in the form of edible crops, the return is only about 25 calories in the form of meat and dairy products.[2]

High-Tech Solutions Evolve

Farm consolidation will drive the need for more outside labour. Expect high-tech solutions like robotics to come to the rescue.

“If you have a robot, it can help manage labour issues,” Widmer says. Already, dairy farmers use robotic milkers as a substitute for labour. And farm equipment manufacturers are testing prototypes of robotic tractors and sprayers to handle fieldwork without human drivers.

The leap from prototype to commercial operation of robotic machinery may be short. Many new machines are currently equipped with the electronics to control operations with very little human interaction. However, the legal and regulatory issues surrounding robots must be bridged first.

With its regulations already in place, drone technology is poised for a boom in farm usage. In the next 10 years, the agricultural drone industry will generate 100,000 jobs in the U.S. and $82 billion in economic activity, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research report. Potential use of on-farm drones by 2050 is huge, from imagery and product application to transporting supplies and jobs not yet imagined.

As farming relies more on complex equipment with lots of electronics, data collection will play an increasingly larger role in farm management. Programs like Agri Edge Excelsior® from Syngenta help growers learn to use data for whole-farm management. In the future, farms will have an increased need for data and information technology specialists.[3]

References:

1. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/agriculture/agricultural-transformation-vital-to-produce-50-more-food-in-2050-57185
2. https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/feeding-the-world-in-2050-and-beyond-part-1
3. https://www.syngenta-us.com/thrive/research/future-of-farming.html

Cite this article:

Thanusri swetha J (2021), Agricultural in 2050, AnaTechmaz, pp. 19