Technology takes on magical proportions

A shepherd tending his sheep using a drone that makes barking noises. It makes me smile. It shows how wonderful technological solutions can be in the agricultural sector. At the same time, this project already sounds almost dated, because I recently read that researchers saddle insects with electronic backpacks the size of a grain of rice.

We know the drones (including GPS and built-in cameras) that map fields and spray pesticides. However, these drones do have one major drawback: the battery runs out quickly. This gave researchers at the American Draper Laboratory the idea of ​​developing new technology that targets insects: the tireless flying machines in nature.

Backpack for dragonflies
Draper Laboratory manufactured a tiny backpack for dragonflies. Thanks to the electronics in the backpack, which is a few grains in size, the dragonflies can be controlled remotely. This electronics is foldable and is powered by 1 small solar cell. This backpack also contains a navigation module, so that the dragonfly can follow a pre-programmed route.

The aim is to be able to make such backpacks for other insects (such as bees and mosquitoes). This makes various applications possible, such as the controlled pollination of crops and plant inspections at ground level.

Vertical Farming
I immediately thought of the combination with vertical farming. No large fields outside, but stacked cultivation in high-rise buildings with artificial LED light. The insects cannot find their way here unless they are sent. The 'high-tech bumblebees' (with a backpack) offer a solution for this.

It may take a while before this invention finds its way, but technological development is progressing rapidly in the agricultural sector. See what China's 'Alibaba', the world's largest online B2B trading platform, is doing to bring artificial intelligence (AI) into Chinese pig farming.

A 'multi-million dollar agreement' was recently signed for a colossal and complicated IT project to fully automatically track, process and interpret data from approximately 700 million pigs. The self-thinking monitoring and registration system will better monitor and record the health, behavior and whereabouts of these pigs.

Trots
I often hear that we as the Netherlands can be proud of our high-quality agricultural sector and the associated technological knowledge. However, we will have to fight to stay in the top. We are in danger of falling behind in the field of artificial intelligence. Recently, the interest group for startups, StartupDelta, that the development of artificial intelligence elsewhere in Europe and elsewhere in the world is faster than in the Netherlands.

By way of comparison, approximately €100 million has been invested in 'artificial intelligence startups' in the Netherlands, compared to €1,2 billion in the United Kingdom. Nils Beers, the director of StartupDelta, therefore advocates a national 'AI strategy'. "If we don't start investing soon, we'll miss the boat." And that is the last thing the leading Dutch agricultural sector wants to experience.

Johan Geroms

Johan Geeroms is Risk Director at Euler Hermes, the world market leader in credit insurance and corporate debt collection. In his blogs, Geeroms often focuses on developments in the agricultural sector.

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