Why Farming Is The Future For Our Kids

The future of food security will be a challenge our children need to solve. Image licenced via Pexels.

Over the last couple of decades, the jobs market has changed beyond all recognition. Not only have jobs at one company for life and dreams of the corner office mutated into hopping from tech start-up to start-up and digital nomadism, but the types of jobs have changed too. Our grandparents could not have dreamed of vacancies for social media managers and UX designers filling up the want ads and business going global. And so what will become of our children and their vocations? With the rise of Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things, it’s a safe bet to assume some of the jobs we recognise now will be all but obsolete when they are old enough to enter the workplace. One sector where significant challenges will need to be met is funnily enough one of the oldest – agriculture. Food security in a time of climate change and an expansive population will continue to be a growing problem- one that will require keen minds and innovative solutions to solve.

Learning to Smart Farm

Technology is being applied to the ancient art of agriculture to help solve some of these pressing problems, and one area that is especially important is applying some of the biggest tech advancements of recent time to the challenges of farming, with the aim of increasing both the nutritional quality and the volume of farming output. Over the last few years, ancient occupations such as agronomy (or ‘crop doctoring’) have changed beyond recognition thanks to the application of things such as GPS, soil testing, data management and advanced chemicals. Now, agriculturalist can precisely map out small variations of soil quality, water tables and other features within the sea field and take a strategy-led approach to farm the land. This also greatly increases the efficacy of pesticides and fertilising chemicals, which can be used more precisely and selectively to achieve better results.

Going Up, Growing Up

Similarly, a new concept called vertical farming has been revolutionising agricultural practice. To solve the problem of increasing urbanisation and the resulting pressures on arable land, farming has responded by rising up – literally. Instead of spreading out over hectares, vertical climate and light controlled cylinders are used for growing crops and vegetables. Using less water as well as less land mass the cylinders also create their own digitally-controlled microclimate, eliminating some of the traditional problems of extreme weather. The cylinders are also packed with a multitude of sensors and cameras to provide a constant stream of data which is used to optimise conditions and plant growth. A company called Plenty has pioneered this technology and has been backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who recently acquired upmarket supermarket chain Whole Foods. Other companies too, such as Sweden’s Plantagon are realising this concept of ‘agritecture’, weaving together technology, architecture and agriculture for a more joined-up approach to growing good which also limits the impact on the environment of preserving and transporting organic matter.

This vital work will literally ensure our children’s future as well as providing a host of jobs in this emerging sectors. So tell your children to get growing – their economic and physical future needs it.