Farming innovation
Question # 1 What social media are you using?
Example http://www.juckerfarm.ch/
https://www.instagram.com/jucker_farm/
https://www.facebook.com/juckerfarm
https://twitter.com/JuckerFarm
Question # 2 Are you selling your products on the Internet?
Sources https://www.aarstiderne.com/ https://www.farmdrop.com/ https://www.farmy.ch/ http://landmad.dk/
The organization of small coffee producers in Colombia – including marketing services – propelled Colombian coffee to the top of the global market.
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_IP_NVA_Roadmap_Report.pdf
Question # 3 What about inviting people to use your farm?
What about using www.airbnb.com to invite people to stay at your farm and/or using www.margr.it to invite people for lunch or dinner?
Adapted from https://medium.com/@sarah_k_mock/the-future-of-farming-is-not-farming-10f250b0ee23#.fuj8p0bkl
Question # 4 What about doing farming directly in supermarkets?
Organic herbs growing in a METRO supermarket in Berlin
http://popupcity.net/the-next-farm-is-in-your-local-supermarket/
Vegetables growing in a Zona Sul supermarket in Brazil
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3061399/at-this-brazilian-supermarket-customers-pick-their-produce-from-a-garden
http://inhabitat.com/the-worlds-largest-indoor-farm-produces-10000-heads-of-lettuce-a-day-in-japan
Lettuce being produced at an indoor farm. Miyagi, Japan.
http://qz.com/295936/toshibas-high-tech-grow-rooms-are-churning-out-lettuce-that-never-needs-washing/
What can happen when a greenhouse is added to the roof of a supermarket? http://urbanfarmers.com/productsservices/uf-globe/
Why is local production important for people? Perception of more fresh products. Reduced costs for transportation. Small scale production. Perception of community. http://smartblogs.com/food-and-beverage/2014/11/17/farmers-markets-as-ground-zero-for-local-the-new-organic/
Further inspiration http://edenworks.org/ http://urbanfarmers.com/
Question # 5 Are you making the right products at your farm?
A new generation of highly productive crops are part of the solution to address global hunger - seeds that
are drought-resistant, disease-resistant, productive, and nutritious could benefit farmers. http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/18/8056163/bill-gates-gmo-farming-world-hunger-africa-poverty
At the coast of Kenya, the vegetable called “mchicha” was the only vegetable that survived a drought.
In Ethiopia, farmers are increasingly turning to a cousin of the banana tree called “enset” to diversify their crops.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/05/this-is-why-african-farmers-need-to-think-local
Question # 6 How do you transport animals and products?
Delivery of a product using a drone
http://youtu.be/cRTNvWcx9Oo
Product
To waste less tomatoes in Kenya, farmers could
use crates instead of burlap bags to transport tomatoes to the market. http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/09/28/444188475/even-poor-countries-end-up-wasting-tons-of-food
Could drones help guide sheep to other fields?
https://youtu.be/yD9KUB7QqZI
Question # 7 How can educators help farmers?
To improve farming, governments have sent hundreds of thousands of agriculture agents to visit farmers around the world and teach them up-to-date methods for increasing their crop yields. Such programs have been extraordinarily effective. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/07/29/slow-ideas
In Bangladesh, http://www.hki.org/ delivered nutrition training to female-headed households – thereby helping families grow better food.
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_IP_NVA_Roadmap_Report.pdf
By the end of 2013, https://www.growafrica.com/ had helped secure more than USD 7 billion in private-sector commitments for agricultural investments across ten African countries. These commitments have come from more than 120 companies, which in 2013 alone invested USD 976 million, reaching nearly three million smallholders through new services, sourcing, contracts, or training and creating 35,000 new jobs. http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/Food_Agriculture/From_liability_to_opportunity_How_to_build_food_security_and_nourish_growth
http://www.ata.gov.et/, founded by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in 2010, put together a plan to raise the productivity of smallholder farmers and pastoralists, strengthen market systems, engage the private sector, expand irrigation, and reduce the number of chronically food-insecure households.
http://www.ata.gov.et/ works with more than 120 public- and private-sector partners, as well as 50,000 public-sector extension workers. Many crops, especially wheat and teff, have seen double-digit yield growth rates. http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/Food_Agriculture/From_liability_to_opportunity_How_to_build_food_security_and_nourish_growth
Question # 8 How can you include more women to help out at your farm?
Agricultural yields would increase by almost a third if women had the same access to resources as men. As a result, there would be up to 150 million fewer hungry people in the world. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-farming-women-idUSKBN1452AS
There is a need to create technology that help women, who work in agriculture. That can contribute to reducing the gender gap in the industry.
http://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/gender/news/gender-tech-empower-women-in-agriculture.html
Example # 1: Rona Uitentuis, Netherlands
http://modernfarmer.com/2014/11/picturing-women-farmers-euro-edition/
Example # 2: Alice Holden, UK.
http://modernfarmer.com/2014/11/picturing-women-farmers-euro-edition/
Further inspiration https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/What-differences-are-there-between-women-and-men-1430429
Question # 9 How can we transform unused land?
In Vietnam, the Doi Moi reforms dismantled collective farms, assigned land rights to farmers and liberalized trade. These policy changes drove GDP growth to 7.6% annually in the 1990s and yielded sharp declines in rural poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_IP_NVA_Roadmap_Report.pdf
The https://www.embrapa.br/ program transformed unused land in Brazil through research and investment. The initiative helped more than double exports between 1982 and 1997. http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/Food_Agriculture/From_liability_to_opportunity_How_to_build_food_security_and_nourish_growth
Question # 10 How is the soil?
Gurmail Singh grows rice in Punjab.
http://www.pepsico.com/ introduced Gurmail Singh to the direct seeding technique for rice, allowing him to sow seeds directly in the main field without water at the crop base. Singh realized water savings of 30-40% in addition to decreased labour and increased yields. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_IP_NVA_Roadmap_Report.pdf
Sources http://www.airwood.in/ http://cropin.co.in/ http://www.stellapps.com/
http://www.arable.com/ created PulsePod, an IoT device that can measure, for example, rain, crop water demand, air pollution. http://readwrite.com/2016/06/07/can-arables-iot-device-end-world-hunger-vl1/
Question # 11 What animals do you have?
Scientists at http://www.kvasu.ac.in/ breed small cows that fart 1/10 of the methane produced by regular cattle. can withstand very hot weather. produce less manure.
https://www.springwise.com/indian-scientists-breeding-small-cows-fart-less/
Rural African farmers put up simple and cheap beehive fences around their fields to discourage elephants from trampling on crops. http://elephantsandbees.com/beehive-fence/
With the monitoring and alerting system included with www.tambero.com you will know when your animals require dietary changes or produce below the expected level. http://www.fastcompany.com/3041655/most-innovative-companies-2015/the-worlds-top-10-most-innovative-companies-of-2015-in-latin-
Further inspiration http://quantifiedag.com/ http://www.silentherdsman.com/ http://www.vitalherd.com/
Question # 12 Are your machines connected to the Internet?
https://www.deere.com/ and http://www.agcocorp.com/ connect farm machinery, irrigation systems, soil, and nutrient sources with information on weather, crop prices, and commodity futures to optimize overall farm performance. https://hbr.org/2014/11/how-smart-connected-products-are-transforming-competition
Managing the internet of things. HBR webinar, November 20th, 2014.
Further inspiration https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Internet-of-Things-2056421
Question # 13 Do you rent machines you use?
4 advantages of http://rowbot.com/ 1. The machine is self driving. 2. It is small enough to get between the rows of corn. 3. It drops fertilizer in small doses when the crop needs it. 4. It can be rented – not purchased. https://medium.com/food-is-the-new-internet/the-rise-of-small-farm-robots-365e76dbdac1#.gyo0ktl6m
Sources https://ravgo.com/ http://farmart.co/ http://www.goldfarm.in/ http://www.oxenindia.com/
Sources http://www.hellotractor.com/ http://rtoafrica.com/
Question # 14 How useful is the infrastructure around your farm?
The introduction of roads in 15 rural villages in Ethiopia increased consumption by households by about 16% while lowering poverty about 7%.
http://www.ifpri.org/publication/impact-agricultural-extension-and-roads-poverty-and-consumption-growth-fifteen-ethiopian http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/18/8056163/bill-gates-gmo-farming-world-hunger-africa-poverty
Question # 15 How can you better spot problems?
This 3D scanner can measure the size of leaves
http://fortune.com/2015/06/03/3d-crop-scanner/
Drones can spot which parts of a field are dry and track changes in plants.
http://www.businessinsider.com/drones-could-be-farmings-next-gen-tool-2015-9?IR=T https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601935/six-ways-drones-are-revolutionizing-agriculture/
Additional sources http://www.farm2050.com http://farmerline.co/ https://floatingfarm.nl/ https://hbr.org/2014/02/transforming-rural-india-through-agricultural-innovation https://hbr.org/2013/04/using-the-crowd-as-an-innovation-partner http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/Food_Agriculture/Pursuing_the_global_opportunity_in_food_and_agribusiness http://ponix.co http://sciencewatch.com/articles/food-shortages-and-food-price-fluctuations-are-things-past http://www.stadtmilch.ch http://www.swiimsystem.com https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-do-you-coach-a-person-1995199 http://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/invest-soil-sustain-life http://youtu.be/P8mitOebMag