The future of smart farming in South Africa
Standard Bank is finding innovative ways of funding agriculture.
In the South African context, a dualistic agricultural economy exists with highly developed commercial players on the one side and those that practise farming for subsistence on the other. Technology has already been successfully applied in the commercial sector. The implementation of smart-farming technologies has helped farmers and growers to achieve the highest potential. Take South African maize production. Back in the 1970s, the country was producing an average of two tons of maize per hectare. Fast forward to today and South Africa produces more than four tons per hectare. South African farmers now apply everything from regenerative agriculture, which relates to the use of smart technologies to improve efficiency, right through to gene technology. Genetically-modified maize now makes up about 80% to 90% of the total. Meanwhile, GPS technology is making an impact in livestock farming by making it possible to identify, track and trace an animal through the value chain. Standard Bank recently financed a citrus producer that is now using robotics in its packhouse. There
are also technologies being applied to make sure the quality and quantity of what is to be produced for a specific market is at the correct standards. Climate-monitoring technology is also being used to ensure that produce for export markets meets the relevant standards. The application of technology across South Africa’s agriculture sector is at significant levels. The challenge is to extract the data and integrate it into other areas of the economy such as financial services. Technology and data in finance Standard Bank is currently assessing the extent to which we can better track and trace the development of a crop. If treatment needs to be given, we then know about it and can finance it. Affordability is a barrier for emerging farmers, but the cost factor could be addressed with greater collaboration. The bank could find value in data generated out of satellite technology. The same would be the case for an insurance provider or a pesticides provider. Joining forces can make those technologies more affordable. Standard Bank is currently enabling financing for appropriate farming technologies while working with its enterprise development unit to make specialists available to small-scale farmers to prepare farmers for a digital future. ■
Image by Jan Kopřiva on Unsplash
T
echnology has completely transformed agriculture. These days, farmers are integrating everything from drones and satellite sensing to genetic modification and Artificial Intelligence to reduce costs and enhance yield.
