Agritech Article Haaretz
- 1. 4/12/2015 Haaretz.Com http://www.haaretz.com/misc/article?print?page/.premium?1.650436?trailingPath=2.169%2C2.199%2C 1/2 How?Israeli?technology?could?solve?the?next?food?crisis From?robotic?tractors?to?satellite?photographs,?technology?is?changing?the?world?of?agriculture.?With?greater?investment,?Israel can?lead?the?field. By?Ron?Maron?and?Victor?Alchanati?Apr.?4,?2015?|?4:05?AM?|? ?2 Tweet 0 StumbleUpon Many?researchers?and?professionals?around?the?world?warn?of?worldwide?starvation?by?2050.?Less?and?less?cultivated?land?will?have?to?supply more?food?for?the?population,?which?is?expected?to?grow?two??or?threefold?by?then.?Farm?lands?are?being?sold?as?real?estate?for?the?expansion?of cities.?The?average?age?of?farmers?in?the?United?States?in?2007?was?57,?with?the?younger?generation?abandoning?agriculture?for?more?modern?and lucrative?professions.?If?solutions?are?not?found?for?producing?an?adequate?amount?of?food,?wars?will?be?waged?over?water?and?edibles. Everyone?looks?to?the?world?of?technology,?with?the?understanding?that?only?a?true?technological?revolution?can?enable?human?society?to?deal with?this?great?challenge.?In?fact,?the?last?great?revolution?in?agriculture?took?place?in?the?1940s?and?¡¯50s?¨C?the?revolution?in?agricultural machinery.?After?this?came?genetic?engineering,?which?encountered?fierce?public?resistance?and?has?therefore?failed?to?realize?its?potential. The?time?has?now?come?for?the?technological?revolution?to?trickle?down?to?agriculture.?The?beginnings?of?this?move?have?been?seen?over?the?past decade,?and?it?is?steadily?gaining?momentum.?The?various?technological?developments?that?have?taken?place?may?now?be?fused?together?for?the benefit?of?other,?heretofore?unexpected?uses?in?agriculture. The?advent?of?the?smartphone,?GPS,?satellite?photographs,?robotics?and?other?sophisticated?technologies,?combined?with?a?reduction?in?their prices?and?the?simplicity?of?operation?of?these?technologies?¨C?as?well?as?the?ability?to?use?them?in?additional?areas?¨C?open?up?new?possibilities?for the?agricultural?world.?As?J.?Robert?Oppenheimer?once?said,?¡°The?history?of?science?is?rich?in?the?example?of?the?fruitfulness?of?bringing?two?sets of?techniques,?two?sets?of?ideas,?developed?in?separate?contexts?for?the?pursuit?of?new?truth,?into?touch?with?one?another.¡± The?immense?progress?made?in?computerized?vision?and?image?processing?is?of?critical?significance?to?the?success?of?the?new?technological revolution,?called?¡°precision?agriculture.¡±?It?is?so?called?because?it?enables?precision?in?the?spatial?performance?of?agricultural?tasks,?enhancing crops?and,?at?the?same?time,?economizing?the?resources?needed?to?produce?them. Precision?agriculture?involves?flexible?thinking,?which?may?be?manifested?in?simpler?forms?of?solutions?¨C?such?as?that?adopted?by?Nigerian farmers?in?increasing?the?fertility?of?their?parched?fields.?They?use?Coca?Cola?caps?for?the?precise?measurement?and?placement?of?the?proper amount?of?fertilizer,?adjacent?to?the?plant.?This?solution?was?developed?by?researchers?from?the?global?partnership?CGIAR,?which?strives?to eradicate?hunger?and?poverty?in?distressed?regions?of?the?world. At?the?other?extreme,?we?see?also?the?smart?technologies?of?computerized?vision?and?image?processing?enabling?the?production?of?maps?of?an individual?field?by?means?of?satellites,?airplanes?and?UAVs,?thus?providing?a?complete?picture?of?the?land,?including?topographical?variance, differences?in?the?type?of?soil,?as?well?as?other?local?conditions?such?as?feed?materials?and?water.?Photographs?such?as?these?enable?the?farmer?to discern?whether?a?particular?field?or?plot?lacks?water?or?nitrogen,?or?to?identify?outbreaks?of?pests?or?disease?in?the?field. The?ability?to?utilize?local?meteorological?forecasts?and?update?the?farmer?with?a?micro?forecast?relevant?for?his?own?private?fields,?as?well?as?the ability?to?adapt?the?field¡¯s?cultivation?to?this?forecast,?pushed?Monsanto?¨C?a?giant?multinational?dealing?in?agricultural?sustainability?¨C?to?acquire The?Climate?Corporation?for?$1?billion?in?2013. Getting?the?most?out?of?man?and?machine These?capabilities?fit?in?well?with?the?area?of?robotics,?the?development?of?which?now?enables?machines?to?see,?diagnose?and?respond?to?needs?in the?field.?As?a?result,?autonomous?or?semiautonomous?tractors?have?been?developed,?which?can?be?operated?by?the?farmer.?They?perform?their tasks?while?adhering?to?predetermined?routes,?or?follow?the?crop?rows?by?camera,?adjusting?the?implements?so?as?to?avoid?damage?to?crops,?etc. The?application?map?is?fed?to?the?technological?systems?of?the?tractor,?which?operates?automatically?or?semiautomatically?in?the?fields?¨C?knowing where,?when?and?what?amount?to?irrigate,?fertilize?and?spray?pesticide?in?various?dosages. Blue?River?Technology?of?California?has?developed?a?robotic?tractor?that?traverses?lettuce?fields,?identifying?defective?lettuce?heads,?spraying them?with?a?substance?that?causes?them?to?wither,?thus?enabling?the?healthy?lettuce?to?grow.?California,?where?90%?of?the?lettuce?consumed?in American?households?is?grown,?is?suffering?from?a?shortage?of?skilled?manpower,?which,?until?now,?has?performed?this?work?manually. As?with?the?lettuce,?human?robotic?systems?can?be?developed?for?more?complicated?tasks,?such?as?automatic?orange?picking,?pruning?of?fruit trees,?and?more.?Robotic?systems?with?computerized?vision?guidance?may?perform?difficult,?repetitive?tasks?faster?and?with?greater?precision, where?the?farmer?is?fed?information?from?the?robotic?system?and?is?integrated?in?decision?making?processes.?As?a?result,?both?elements?¨C?man and?machine?¨C?may?be?utilized?to?their?maximum?effectiveness. One?of?the?main?directions?in?which?innovative?technologies?in?agriculture?are?now?being?implemented?is?the?reduction?of?loss,?which?currently diminishes?world?harvests?by?up?to?30%.?Computerized?vision?technologies?discover?weeds,?diseases?and?pests?as?early?as?possible,?in?order?to prevent?serious?damage?to?crops?in?fields?and?groves?¨C?from?the?sorting?of?seeds,?to?identification?and?treatment?of?pests?in?cultivated?areas,?and to?the?harvesting?and?treatment?of?produce?in?packing?houses,?cold?storage?of?fresh?produce?and?processed?foods. In?packing?houses?after?harvesting,?cameras?inspect?all?produce?and?divide?it?into?groups?according?to?the?required?storage?conditions?and quality.?This?extends?storage?time?and?keeps?the?produce?from?spoiling.?Vision?systems?are?integrated?into?various?stages?of?treatment?of?fresh produce?and?processed?foods,?such?as?sorting?the?good?peas?from?the?pod?or?the?best?carrot?cubes?or?peanuts?at?a?rate?of?hundreds?of?pieces?per second.?Fish?in?ponds?may?be?sorted?by?means?of?camera?as?well. An?opportunity?to?join?the?revolution In?Israel,?several?companies?have?developed?innovative?systems?for?the?sorting?of?agricultural?produce,?such?as?the?Crystal?Vision?date?sorting system?developed?at?Kibbutz?Samar?in?the?Arava?Valley,?or?the?Eshet?Eilon?sorting?systems?made?on?Kibbutz?Eilon. However,?all?of?this?is?nothing?compared?to?the?great?potential?of?technological?development?in?agriculture,?and?the?current?acute?shortage?of such?technologies.?Israel?now?has?the?opportunity?to?join?the?revolution,?which?is?currently?being?led?by?the?major?U.S.?corporations.?The?most acute?shortage?of?development?of?technologies?lies?in?Europe,?especially?the?Netherlands?and?Italy,?with?their?vast?farmlands. Home ? Business