Influence And Benefits Of Technology On Farming

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You will agree with me that this era has been remarkable for outstanding technological advancements. In almost every field of human endeavour, technology is rapidly being represented, and farming is not an exception. With the incorporation of technology into farming, a lot of ease have arrived in the agricultural sector and crop production has become a whole lot easier, better, more efficient and effective. Here, we shall take a look at the benefits that technology has brought into farming.

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Image from Pixabay

I remember when I was very young, during my primary education, we normally travelled to the village to spend the vacation with our grandparents. On one of the occasions, I followed my grandpa to his farm and I saw how he undertook his farming activities, and how everything was done with manual input from human labourers. After putting in hours of manual labour, the result will not be up to par. Imagine using a manual digger and a hoe to make ridges on an acre of farmland. No wonder farming, at that time was seen as labour-intensive occupation.

Now fast forward to this present era; the same farm that took my grandpa and his labourers days to making ridges can be finished in just a few minutes with tractor-driven mechanical cultivator. That means the work will be easier, and of course, less laborious and will produce better results. This shows how powerful technology has become to effect changes in almost every aspect of our lives. The speed of accomplishment that technology has delivered to us is a great advantage, especially in this world that speed matters a great deal.

Before the advent of genetic engineering, hybridoma technology, etc, seeds were planted without genetically enhancing them for optimal production. In this era, technology has helped us to produce hybrid seeds, viable and enhance seeds that will grow faster and better, and even resistant to diseases. For example; While growing up, the coconut trees that we had around were so tall and will require so many years to grow and start producing fruits. But now, the coconut tree in the place were I stay is just about my height, and produces so much at a go. In fact, you will just stand unaided and pluck the coconut with your hands. This is because the seed that was planted was genetically modified - this is the power of technology.

Apart from seeds and crop production, there are other remote aspects of farming that technology has helped to improve. Take irrigation for example. I was reading about a particular desert country that has a very limited rainfall, so low to support farming. Amazingly, this country; which is situated in a desert and harsh environment now exports farm produce, and are among the top exporters. This is because they devised a way to farm with irrigation. Their irrigation is so high-end that it provides the farmers with as much water they will need for their crops and they produce even more than some regions with regular rainfall. Power of technology.

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Image from Pixabay

Another area I want to talk about that has been influenced positively by technology is in the processing of farm produce. In the olden days, when certain technologies were nonexistent or limited, processing of food crops was limited to sun-drying, airing, smoking, and other crude methods of processing. In this era, food processing can be done at an industrial scale and with an incredible speed and still achieve the same result. For example, instead of using the heat of the sun to process foods, it can be passed through an industrial oven or kiln and the job will be done.

Also, technology can help to turn raw materials (farm produce) into finished good with ease. Like turning sugarcane into sugar, turning cocoa seeds into chocolate, etc. All these, and more, are possible or enhanced through the help of technology. In this era, farming work is no longer regarded as an occupation for the lower class like it used to been seen in the past because of the influence of technology.

You will be surprised that in the not-so-distant future, technology will make farming so easy, efficient, effective, and admirable. I once saw a video of robotic bees artificially pollinating a farm field. Talk about using Artificial Intelligence and smart farm machines in the farm. You see, there are infinite ways that technology is already assisting farmers and we are yet to see more.

Thanks for reading

Peace on y'all



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