magine a new era of Fourth Generation agricultural practices—4G-Ag—where digital innovations along the entire agrifood vertical lead to feeding all people with nutritious food, in a way that is consistent with stewardship of land and our planet and helps address climate risks. This is possible because ag-tech is climate tech. It affords us both food for all and a sustainable environment. Here are but a few examples of how we are already on this path:
- AI-operated autonomous machines killing weeds with a laser beam and applying fertilizer precisely into the crop. (Verdant Robotics)
- Omega 3 oils made from algae fed on by-products of industrial emissions, reducing demand for salmon. (Lanza Tech)
- A low-cost, small-scale machine that can transform crop residues into biofuel, fertilizer, and activated carbon. (Takachar)
- Microbes that inhabit corn roots to trap nitrogen from the air as fertilizer leading to reduction in inputs. (Pivot Bio)
- Decentralized insurance protocols on blockchain. (Etherisc)
- Accurate, actionable, and affordable weather forecasts for smallholder farmers. (Ignitia)
- Seaweed ingredients in cow feed that reduce methane emissions by 90%. (CH4)
- Digitized farm-to-fork supply chains that ensure product quality and enable fair pay for small-holder farmers. (Decapolis)
- Technology that connects producers directly to underserved communities and leverages food rescue and community buying to lower costs for low-income families. (Nilus)
To achieve the SDGs, we face an immediate task of doubling protein production by 2030 to satisfy demands from an expanding middle class in Asia and Africa. Beyond this, to create and maintain resilient food systems we must ratchet up ag-tech applications—from farm to fork—through means that are consistent with global climate risks. In pursuit of sustainability and social impact all stakeholders—large and small, global or local, corporate or nonprofit—must apply a relentless focus on innovation. This matters even more for NGOs which must achieve their mandate despite chronically limited resources. With great need for continued and accelerated innovation, we also need to broaden the discourse to encourage people into action.
In the last decade or so there has been much talk of sustainable food systems, including at global Food Systems Summits to activate governments, companies, UN entities, NGOs, and civil society. There have already been some significant breakthroughs. Yet the challenges and opportunities remaining are greater still. Current conversations surrounding the pressing issues of hunger and climate change do not sufficiently consider ag-tech, even though nearly one-third of all man-made GHG emissions come from agriculture and food production. Furthermore, crop production’s share of emissions is nearly the same as emissions from farm animals. Similarly, between 30-40% of global food supply goes to waste—either as post-harvest loss that never enters the food system, or as food waste at the consumer level.
Without impactful ag-tech innovation, there will never be sustainable, resilient food systems. Innovation in upstream ag-tech (before farm gate, storage, distributions, and biotech) are prerequisite for secure and resilient food systems. While downstream (consumer-facing) innovation is desired and necessary for lasting and consequential outcomes, it is the upstream that will ultimately determine the level of our continued success both in alleviating hunger and addressing climate change. Significantly, the investment and financial worlds consider allocated dollars to ag-tech as allocation to climate tech, accelerating achievement of desired goals.
We will not be able to achieve food security and climate goals by only engaging people who are already convinced. One way to do better is by highlighting, supporting, and celebrating the positive impact that many of companies including the above mentioned are moving the innovation needle.
A fundamental shift in mindset is needed, away from the emotional and political, toward an on-the-ground, real-life assessment of human needs, in balance with stewardship of our planet. The way forward will require collaborations of all sorts, especially new models in public-private partnerships. Private companies can leverage the expertise and global infrastructure of NGOs, and NGOs can benefit from a myriad of proven innovation models to stay current and relevant. Rethinking what is possible in public-private collaboration requires openness on all sides, as well as new strategies for businesses to approach profit-making ventures and the public sector to double down on innovation and adapting new ways to operate.
An innovation mindset is an essential tool for creating resilient food systems and greater social impact. It is urgent because people demand it, and the environment needs it. Key to achieving such a goal is greater investments by the private sector and establishment by NGOs of innovation accelerators and pilot projects of various kinds, encouraging walks off the beaten path. The mentality of “we have always done it this way” is neither viable, nor acceptable. 4G agriculture will pave the way.
Editors’ Note: This article was included in our COP 28 special edition, which was published on November 21, 2023, and which you can find here. All articles were written with that publication time frame in mind.
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4G Agriculture in Pursuit of Resilient Food Systems
Photo courtesy of the World Food Programme.
November 30, 2023
Today, agricultural tech is also climate tech. Fourth generation agricultural practices utilizes digital innovation along the entire agrifood vertical, in turn making it possible to supply nutritious food in a manner consistent with stewardship of our planet, write Bernhard Kowatsch and Jaleh Daie.
I
magine a new era of Fourth Generation agricultural practices—4G-Ag—where digital innovations along the entire agrifood vertical lead to feeding all people with nutritious food, in a way that is consistent with stewardship of land and our planet and helps address climate risks. This is possible because ag-tech is climate tech. It affords us both food for all and a sustainable environment. Here are but a few examples of how we are already on this path:
- AI-operated autonomous machines killing weeds with a laser beam and applying fertilizer precisely into the crop. (Verdant Robotics)
- Omega 3 oils made from algae fed on by-products of industrial emissions, reducing demand for salmon. (Lanza Tech)
- A low-cost, small-scale machine that can transform crop residues into biofuel, fertilizer, and activated carbon. (Takachar)
- Microbes that inhabit corn roots to trap nitrogen from the air as fertilizer leading to reduction in inputs. (Pivot Bio)
- Decentralized insurance protocols on blockchain. (Etherisc)
- Accurate, actionable, and affordable weather forecasts for smallholder farmers. (Ignitia)
- Seaweed ingredients in cow feed that reduce methane emissions by 90%. (CH4)
- Digitized farm-to-fork supply chains that ensure product quality and enable fair pay for small-holder farmers. (Decapolis)
- Technology that connects producers directly to underserved communities and leverages food rescue and community buying to lower costs for low-income families. (Nilus)
To achieve the SDGs, we face an immediate task of doubling protein production by 2030 to satisfy demands from an expanding middle class in Asia and Africa. Beyond this, to create and maintain resilient food systems we must ratchet up ag-tech applications—from farm to fork—through means that are consistent with global climate risks. In pursuit of sustainability and social impact all stakeholders—large and small, global or local, corporate or nonprofit—must apply a relentless focus on innovation. This matters even more for NGOs which must achieve their mandate despite chronically limited resources. With great need for continued and accelerated innovation, we also need to broaden the discourse to encourage people into action.
In the last decade or so there has been much talk of sustainable food systems, including at global Food Systems Summits to activate governments, companies, UN entities, NGOs, and civil society. There have already been some significant breakthroughs. Yet the challenges and opportunities remaining are greater still. Current conversations surrounding the pressing issues of hunger and climate change do not sufficiently consider ag-tech, even though nearly one-third of all man-made GHG emissions come from agriculture and food production. Furthermore, crop production’s share of emissions is nearly the same as emissions from farm animals. Similarly, between 30-40% of global food supply goes to waste—either as post-harvest loss that never enters the food system, or as food waste at the consumer level.
Without impactful ag-tech innovation, there will never be sustainable, resilient food systems. Innovation in upstream ag-tech (before farm gate, storage, distributions, and biotech) are prerequisite for secure and resilient food systems. While downstream (consumer-facing) innovation is desired and necessary for lasting and consequential outcomes, it is the upstream that will ultimately determine the level of our continued success both in alleviating hunger and addressing climate change. Significantly, the investment and financial worlds consider allocated dollars to ag-tech as allocation to climate tech, accelerating achievement of desired goals.
We will not be able to achieve food security and climate goals by only engaging people who are already convinced. One way to do better is by highlighting, supporting, and celebrating the positive impact that many of companies including the above mentioned are moving the innovation needle.
A fundamental shift in mindset is needed, away from the emotional and political, toward an on-the-ground, real-life assessment of human needs, in balance with stewardship of our planet. The way forward will require collaborations of all sorts, especially new models in public-private partnerships. Private companies can leverage the expertise and global infrastructure of NGOs, and NGOs can benefit from a myriad of proven innovation models to stay current and relevant. Rethinking what is possible in public-private collaboration requires openness on all sides, as well as new strategies for businesses to approach profit-making ventures and the public sector to double down on innovation and adapting new ways to operate.
An innovation mindset is an essential tool for creating resilient food systems and greater social impact. It is urgent because people demand it, and the environment needs it. Key to achieving such a goal is greater investments by the private sector and establishment by NGOs of innovation accelerators and pilot projects of various kinds, encouraging walks off the beaten path. The mentality of “we have always done it this way” is neither viable, nor acceptable. 4G agriculture will pave the way.
Editors’ Note: This article was included in our COP 28 special edition, which was published on November 21, 2023, and which you can find here. All articles were written with that publication time frame in mind.
