OPEC Fund Quarterly - 2023 Q2

SPECIAL FEATURE

Precision farming Roughly a billion people are employed in the agriculture industry worldwide, most of which are found on “pint- sized, fragmented lands” in developing countries, according to the International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). These smallholder farmers are susceptible to climate- related variables that can change quite quickly. Enter the practice of precision farming. The days of being able to reliably plant the same crops year after year and expecting similar results are well in the past. A resilient farmer is a well-prepared farmer who can quickly adapt when things change. “Precision farming leverages advanced digital tools and breakthroughs in agricultural big data analytics, machine

learning and artificial intelligence to fast-track value creation for farmers by saving on input costs,” writes Vinay Nangia, ICARDA Research Team Leader in Soil, Water and Agronomy in a blog post for the institute. Data from satellites, drones and other sensors can tell farmers exactly how much water and fertilizer to use depending on the conditions. For smallholder farmers, saving essential time and money can mean the difference between being able to grow for another season and seeing the collapse of a livelihood. One of ICARDA’s current pilot projects involves implementing precision farming tools in the agricultural-rich central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh in order to increase farmers’ incomes. In the first OPEC Fund Quarterly issue of 2022 we reported on several

organizations that are implementing precision techniques that farmers in developing countries can use, e.g. via apps containing information on weather data, satellite imagery, the ability to create yield forecasts and what seed varieties work best for a given region and climate. These apps are a perfect example of the potential technology transfer holds for smallholder farmers in helping them navigate a changing environment. Innovations often promise a bright future, but the real change depends on the democratization of skills, tools and information. The ease and openness of technology transfer to the developing world will be the litmus test for smallholder farmers – and the vulnerable communities that depend on them for survival.