La proyección de que la población mundial alcanzará los 10 mil millones para el año 2050 plantea un desafío significativo: se estima que la necesidad de productos agrícolas aumentará en un 70 por ciento. Este crecimiento exponencial en la demanda de alimentos requiere la implementación de tecnologías innovadoras en el sector agrícola. Según Vandana Shiva, reconocida ecologista y directora de la Fundación de Investigación para la Ciencia y la Ecología en India, las nuevas tecnologías no solo facilitarán la producción agrícola, sino que también permitirán a los agricultores hacerlo de manera más sostenible y eficiente, consumiendo menos energía y respetando el medio ambiente.
Las máquinas autónomas y los drones desempeñarán un papel fundamental en esta transformación. Estas herramientas tecnológicas avanzadas están diseñadas para llevar a cabo tareas agrícolas esenciales, desde la siembra hasta la cosecha, optimizando procesos y aumentando la productividad. La automatización en la agricultura no solo promete mejorar la eficiencia, sino que también ayuda a reducir la huella ecológica del sector, haciendo que la producción de alimentos sea más responsable y consciente. En un mundo donde la seguridad alimentaria es crucial, estas innovaciones pueden ser la clave para alimentar a una población en crecimiento sin comprometer la salud del planeta.
A medida que avanzamos hacia un futuro donde la tecnología y la agricultura se entrelazan, es vital considerar cómo estas herramientas pueden impactar positivamente en nuestras comunidades y en el medio ambiente. La combinación de conocimiento tradicional y tecnologías de vanguardia es el camino hacia una agricultura sostenible y productiva.
**Hashtags:** #AgriculturaSostenible, #InnovaciónTecnológica, #FuturoAgrícola
**Keywords:** población mundial, productos agrícolas, aumento 70%, nuevas tecnologías, Vandana Shiva, ecología, máquinas autónomas, drones, sostenibilidad, producción eficiente.
Las máquinas autónomas y los drones desempeñarán un papel fundamental en esta transformación. Estas herramientas tecnológicas avanzadas están diseñadas para llevar a cabo tareas agrícolas esenciales, desde la siembra hasta la cosecha, optimizando procesos y aumentando la productividad. La automatización en la agricultura no solo promete mejorar la eficiencia, sino que también ayuda a reducir la huella ecológica del sector, haciendo que la producción de alimentos sea más responsable y consciente. En un mundo donde la seguridad alimentaria es crucial, estas innovaciones pueden ser la clave para alimentar a una población en crecimiento sin comprometer la salud del planeta.
A medida que avanzamos hacia un futuro donde la tecnología y la agricultura se entrelazan, es vital considerar cómo estas herramientas pueden impactar positivamente en nuestras comunidades y en el medio ambiente. La combinación de conocimiento tradicional y tecnologías de vanguardia es el camino hacia una agricultura sostenible y productiva.
**Hashtags:** #AgriculturaSostenible, #InnovaciónTecnológica, #FuturoAgrícola
**Keywords:** población mundial, productos agrícolas, aumento 70%, nuevas tecnologías, Vandana Shiva, ecología, máquinas autónomas, drones, sostenibilidad, producción eficiente.
Categoría
📺
TVTranscripción
00:00In the course of thousands of years, in order to be able to cultivate the plants that we have domesticated,
00:15we have been occupying more and more space, reconfiguring the surface of our planet over and over again.
00:21Currently, world agriculture is at a crucial moment.
00:25Our food production system is a fragile ecosystem that has reached its limit.
00:30The world population is growing continuously and in 2050 we will have to produce 70% more food.
00:36A huge challenge.
00:40The main issue we are facing is how we are going to ensure the supply of food to an increasingly large population,
00:48with fewer fertilizers, in the same amount of land and in view of climate change.
00:54We will have to find new sustainable agricultural practices and conserve biodiversity
00:59while ensuring food security to avoid the worst-case scenario.
01:05When the food ran out, most of the people in the world died, but not the people in this place,
01:12where seeds were stored underground, kept safe for a better day.
01:19There will be many ways to focus agriculture in the future.
01:23There will be more means available for people to be able to grow their own food,
01:28and that's going to be important, especially in developing countries,
01:33while at the same time there will also be a large-scale automated agriculture
01:38in which not a single person will be seen.
01:42I am convinced that urban agriculture, vertical agriculture,
01:46will play a key role in feeding the world population in the future.
01:52One of the things I believe that's unique about our robots is that they reduce agriculture
01:58from a scale of a whole field to a single plant.
02:05Many of the solutions to the problems we are facing today are in nature.
02:10We have to find a way to take them to commercial reality.
02:16It's not enough to leave seeds or plants in their natural habitat.
02:20They pose many dangers.
02:22Reinventing traditions, finding new ways of growing crops to improve production,
02:27today, tomorrow and yesterday, that's the history of agriculture.
02:3210,000 years before Christ, our distant ancestors began to grow plants and raise animals,
02:38first in the Middle East, where 4,000 years before Christ,
02:41the oscillating plow appeared, an anticipation of the traditional plow,
02:45and a great invention that changed the lives of the first farmers.
02:49This also happened in northern China, in Papua New Guinea, in Peru and even in Mexico.
02:54To have larger cultivable areas, we began to modify our environment.
02:58Irrigation began and we colonized new land.
03:03We have constantly improved our techniques,
03:06and in this sense, the Gauls were precursors with their plow and their harvesters.
03:11In the Middle Ages, a whole series of inventions arrived,
03:14the plows, the carts, the stands and the rollers,
03:17as well as the stables for livestock and the use of natural fertilizers from animals,
03:23which revolutionized agricultural production in Europe.
03:26The needs of a growing population increased exponentially.
03:30From the 16th century to the 19th century, practices were optimized.
03:34Crops sprung up and the rhythm of harvests accelerated.
03:37The result was more pastures, more cattle, more fertilizers and larger harvests.
03:42The system worked and continued to improve.
03:45In 1804, the Swiss chemist Nicolas de Saussure
03:49proved that plants attracted nitrogen and mineral salts from the earth.
03:53The industry of fertilizers had been strengthened.
03:56In 1884, the reproducer of Henry de Vilmouran seeds
04:01had the idea of crossing two varieties of wheat
04:03to combine their best characteristics in just one.
04:09At the same time, mechanization was an important help for farmers.
04:13The mechanical harvester designed by the American Cyrus McCormick
04:17brought agricultural tools to a new dimension.
04:20In developed countries, motorization transformed agriculture of the 20th century,
04:25marking the beginning of the era of large-scale production
04:28and the rapid development of mechanical and chemical industrialization.
04:34It was also the era of genetic selection to maximize crops.
04:38Throughout the century, productivity was the slogan,
04:41reflecting the need to feed more and more people.
04:45Both economy and ecology come from the same word,
04:49oikos, which is the Greek word for home.
04:52Understanding the land we live on,
04:55of which we are part,
04:57science is the science of ecology.
05:00Ecological agriculture is the only way
05:03not only to mitigate the impact of the climate,
05:06but also to adapt to it.
05:12This return to the land begins in the city,
05:15where in 2050 three-quarters of the population will live.
05:19With billions of mouths to feed,
05:21agriculture will have to approach people.
05:24The agriculture of the future is in the city.
05:27Architects like Jacques Ferrier or Wardell E. Boscuti
05:30have accepted the challenge and dream of green cities
05:33where nature is predominant.
05:36But beyond these visions,
05:38to produce our food,
05:40we will have to optimize our cultivable areas
05:43and sow everywhere in our cities.
05:48You don't have to consider the American Midwest
05:52as the breadbasket of the world.
05:54Roofs, terraces, urban parks,
05:57school yards or church yards
06:00become potential food suppliers.
06:04The scale can be minimal, a very small scale.
06:07When we adopt it,
06:09there will be no place where we can't grow food.
06:15Their projects consist of occupying urban space,
06:18supporting urban agriculture
06:20and following the locavore trend,
06:22local production for local consumption,
06:24regaining control of the vegetables we eat and its cultivation,
06:27a phenomenon already in motion
06:29in the main Western cities.
06:35If we think about the development
06:37of this urban agriculture trend,
06:40we often see that it is a minority initiative.
06:46There are small-scale community gardens in the neighborhoods,
06:50mainly with a social purpose.
06:54At the other end of the spectrum,
06:58there are also very sophisticated technical solutions,
07:02such as greenhouses on the rooftops.
07:06Just by comparing these two examples,
07:09you can see the big difference.
07:13But external urban crops are not enough
07:16to meet our needs.
07:18We have to get more space.
07:21Imagine that in the future,
07:23our vegetables could be grown inside,
07:25without the need for sunlight.
07:27Is that just science fiction?
07:34The world capital of urban agriculture, Berlin,
07:37has become the center of creativity
07:40and has attracted talented young people
07:42from all over the world.
07:44This is where the founders of Infarm
07:46decided to plant their seeds to change the world.
07:50We see ourselves as the new farmers,
07:53and the city is our farm.
07:57My name is Osnat Nikaeli.
08:00I believe we are entering the era
08:03of a new agricultural revolution.
08:06People want to know where their food comes from.
08:09Who has grown it?
08:11How has it been done?
08:13And what does it contain?
08:15I think that people are looking for a personal contact
08:18with the food suppliers,
08:20with the growers.
08:23Our mission is to make cities
08:26self-sufficient in food production.
08:30We want to make cities self-sufficient
08:33in food production.
08:48When we started,
08:50we were three people in our living room,
08:53experimenting with hydroponics,
08:56watching YouTube tutorials
08:58to know what to do.
09:04We just did it for ourselves.
09:07We didn't have the idea to change the world yet.
09:10And it just worked out.
09:12Suddenly, we had a jungle in our living room.
09:20My name is Ered Galonska.
09:23And I believe that technology
09:25is just a tool in the hands of evolution.
09:34Then we started to see
09:36the magic of these crops
09:38and what it gives to us.
09:40And we thought it would be a good idea
09:43to create a company
09:45that facilitates that magic to the whole world.
09:48The advantage we had then
09:50is that we were on the edge of this profession
09:53and we could think with initiative
09:56and thus provide solutions
09:58that people who come from an academic education
10:01did not see.
10:07Our office is basically a research center.
10:18We like to observe nature.
10:20And we like to investigate
10:22within this huge world
10:24what are the perfect conditions
10:26for each type of plant.
10:29And then we take that piece of nature
10:32and we start to reproduce it.
10:40And this led us to actually
10:42do a lot of research
10:44on different kinds of light
10:46and different kinds of nutrients,
10:49different kinds of environments
10:51that can change during the day.
10:54Within one big farm
10:56we can create many microclimates
11:00and grow thousands of different varieties.
11:09The food that we produce
11:11with these systems
11:13has to be highly nutritious
11:15and we measure this with taste.
11:17So it's a kind of parameter
11:19to say, this plant yes, this plant no.
11:22Taste is very important
11:24because at the end of the day
11:26it's to eat.
11:29This one is actually very tasty
11:31because it's crystallized.
11:33So when you look at it up close
11:35you can see the crystals.
11:37We're introducing new varieties
11:39that don't exist in the market
11:41and we're trying to figure out
11:43what to do with these new varieties,
11:45new tastes, new textures
11:47and maybe new ways of serving.
11:50And we're working hand in hand
11:52with the cooks who are trying
11:54to bring these new varieties
11:56to our dishes.
11:57It's very good.
11:58Do you want to taste it?
12:07In 2015 we had the crazy idea
12:10that if we were growing inside the city
12:13why not grow inside a supermarket
12:15where people come to buy their food.
12:23If we can bring production
12:25directly where people live
12:27and where they consume food
12:29we are saving more than 99%
12:32of energy on transportation
12:35and refrigeration and logistics
12:38and eliminating the huge waste
12:41that generates the current food system.
12:52Now the big question is
12:54how can we scale it?
12:56How can we bring it to each and every supermarket
13:00hotels, restaurants, offices
13:02and potentially even to our homes?
13:05We launched the first urban agriculture network.
13:09All of our crops
13:11are managed through a central platform
13:15that is constantly optimizing operations
13:18coordinating results
13:20and anticipating market demand.
13:22Currently we are developing
13:24a larger scale agriculture
13:26in a distributive way.
13:28We could say that we are decentralizing agriculture.
13:33If we introduce more tools
13:35to the possible new farmers
13:37they will come because people want to grow.
13:39People want to do this.
13:41We carry it in our blood.
13:44In 2050 in the heart of our cities
13:46turned into farms
13:48the line between the city's inhabitants
13:50and the farmer is blurred.
13:52Helped by ultraconnected tools
13:54with our smart phones
13:56like unique shovels
13:58we will grow fresh, healthy
14:00and seasonal vegetables
14:02in our own homes
14:04to feed our families.
14:06But can these micro-crops
14:08satisfy all the needs
14:10and needs of the inhabitants of a city?
14:15With a population of 5 million
14:17enclosed in 715 square kilometers
14:20the island country of Singapore
14:22barely has space for agriculture.
14:2492% of its food is imported.
14:27In Singapore they are growing up.
14:30In its search for self-sufficiency
14:32in recent years
14:34the island has become a real nursery
14:36of large-scale urban vertical farms.
14:41This adventure attracts people from all over
14:43including electronics giants
14:45like Panasonic.
14:47In this futuristic farm
14:49set up with a modern,
14:51modern and innovative
14:53environment
14:55the island's population
14:57is growing exponentially.
14:59The average daily income
15:01of a family of six
15:03is equivalent to
15:05the income of a family of five.
15:07The average daily income
15:09of a family of five
15:11is equivalent to
15:13the income of a family of five.
15:15In this futuristic farm
15:17set up with classical music
15:19the sun never shines.
15:21Everything here is controlled
15:23with great precision.
15:25Sensors measure in real time
15:27the brightness, humidity
15:29and the amount of air.
15:31An aseptic laboratory
15:33where the parameters
15:35for the growth of the plants
15:37are perfect.
15:39All our plants in here
15:41don't have to worry
15:43about the weather conditions.
15:45They just need to focus on growing.
15:51My name is Alfred Tam.
15:53I'm 40 years old
15:55and I believe that indoor crops
15:57are the future of agriculture.
16:05Here the plants
16:07grow in less time
16:09than in traditional
16:11open farm.
16:13Those outdoor crops
16:15only receive sunlight
16:17seven or eight hours in a row.
16:19We use LEDs
16:21and we can control the duration
16:23of the light.
16:25That's why we have an advantage
16:27in crops and in reducing
16:29the growth cycle.
16:33During germination
16:35the plant only needs
16:37white light to grow.
16:39During the third week
16:41of germination
16:43the plant only needs
16:45blue and red light
16:47for photosynthesis.
16:49With natural light
16:51the energy efficiency
16:53of photosynthesis
16:55rarely exceeds 9%.
16:57Thanks to the spectrum
16:59of red and blue light
17:01of the LEDs
17:03adapted to each plant
17:05it is possible to increase
17:07the amount of photosynthesis
17:09during the whole year.
17:11In these facilities
17:13we grow more than 40 types
17:15of different crops.
17:17Our annual production
17:19is about 81 tons.
17:21The performance
17:23of a traditional crop
17:25is around 60 or 70%.
17:27In indoor farming
17:29we can reach
17:31a success rate of 95%.
17:33Taking advantage
17:35of the climate
17:37we can avoid
17:39transporting the crop
17:41to large distances
17:43by growing plants everywhere
17:45including areas with low sunlight
17:47or hostile areas
17:49such as deserts and polar regions.
17:51But the infrastructure
17:53is still expensive.
17:55They depend too much on energy
17:57and occupy a lot of space.
17:59To reduce costs
18:01and offer vegetables
18:03we have developed
18:05a much simpler system
18:07that makes use
18:09of the third dimension.
18:11The cost of the infrastructure
18:13has to be low.
18:15If you make it very sophisticated
18:17then the costs are very high.
18:21I am Dr. Niamh Tontao
18:23and I believe
18:25that our crop system
18:27will help feed the world
18:29in the future.
18:33In this system
18:35we use very little energy
18:37and very little water.
18:39So we call it
18:41a low carbon footprint system.
18:47It is 9 meters high
18:49and 16 levels
18:51of cultivable boxes
18:53and the amount
18:55of vegetables
18:57that grow here
18:59is 10 times
19:01higher than
19:03the amount of crops
19:05on Earth.
19:11Our plant boxes
19:13rotate up and down.
19:15A cycle lasts 16 hours.
19:17When they go up
19:19they get more sunlight.
19:21When they go down
19:23they get water.
19:25Everything is automated
19:27and the excess water
19:29goes back to the tank.
19:33It is a hydraulic system
19:35and the energy
19:37that we use to run
19:39this whole section
19:41is only that of a pump
19:43that uses 60 watts of energy
19:45which per kilo of vegetables
19:47is equivalent to only
19:495 cents of Singapore,
19:51that is, 3 cents of euro.
19:55The crops of traditional agriculture
19:57use a lot more energy.
20:01It can be about 6 dollars per kilo.
20:05That's why they grow expensive vegetables.
20:09We try
20:11to make our system
20:13produce food at an affordable price
20:15for the Singaporean population
20:17and we have done it.
20:19We have demonstrated
20:21within this 3.5 hectares
20:23that we can produce
20:253,000 tonnes of vegetables
20:27per year.
20:29Singapore needs
20:31100,000 tonnes
20:33of vegetables
20:35per year.
20:37It means that
20:39if we allocate
20:41100,000 hectares of land
20:43to our system
20:45we could produce
20:47all the vegetables
20:49necessary in Singapore
20:51and we would be more or less
20:53self-sufficient.
20:55I don't think
20:57that urban agriculture
20:59alone can feed
21:01the entire urban population
21:03in the future.
21:05There are too many restrictions
21:07to increase it enough
21:09to be able to produce
21:11that amount.
21:13It is very difficult
21:15and if we talk about cattle
21:17it is much more difficult
21:19to bring them into the cities.
21:23Cattle represents
21:2540% of the world's agriculture.
21:27It is responsible
21:29for almost 15%
21:31of the greenhouse emissions
21:33more than transport.
21:35A third of the cultivated land
21:37is used exclusively
21:39to intensively produce
21:41millions of tonnes of food
21:43of the animals we raise.
21:45Three quarters of the leaves
21:47are sent to industrial farms.
21:49With the intensive use of fertilisers
21:51cattle breeding contributes
21:53to the degradation of the land
21:55and to the pollution of the atmosphere
21:57and of the water.
21:59It also generates a massive deforestation
22:01that damages biodiversity.
22:03We have to leave these intensive practices
22:05and find more ecological methods.
22:07We need experience
22:09in care,
22:11knowledge of ecological systems,
22:13knowledge of agricultural ecosystems,
22:15knowledge of biodiversity,
22:17of how the land-food network works,
22:19knowledge of how insects
22:21work in harmony.
22:23Those are the sophisticated knowledge
22:25that we need
22:27and that has been lost.
22:29What if we could combine
22:31livestock and agriculture
22:33respecting the fertility of the land?
22:35Aquaponics is an organic cycle
22:37in which fish breeding
22:39is carried out.
22:41The residues of the first
22:43feed the second,
22:45which in turn purifies the water.
22:47Could aquaponics be
22:49considered commercially
22:51pesticide-free,
22:53fertiliser-free
22:55and closer to consumers?
22:57This ideal model
22:59of agriculture of the future
23:01is already underway in Australia.
23:03On the outskirts of Sydney
23:05Green Camel Farm
23:07Fish and most plants
23:09did not evolve together.
23:11You never go fishing
23:13and throw the hook
23:15under a tomato plant
23:17floating in the water.
23:19They have not evolved like that.
23:21My name is Levi Nuponen
23:23and I am 35 years old.
23:25We believe in the support
23:27of nature through technology.
23:37We said to ourselves,
23:39let's try to make sure
23:41that the fish breeding system
23:43that generates waste
23:45full of nutrients
23:47serves to produce plants.
23:49Let's try not to throw
23:51traditional agricultural fertilisers
23:53into the water
23:55so that productivity works.
23:57We have forgotten all that
23:59and we try to make sure
24:01that our fish breeding system
24:03is productive,
24:05so we take 100% of the water
24:07that comes out of this system
24:09and we introduce it
24:11into the bioreactor.
24:13This bioreactor converts
24:15the organic elements,
24:17the fish waste,
24:19into nutrients for the plants
24:21in the right proportion
24:23and the right biochemistry
24:25and thus does not compromise
24:27the growth of the plant.
24:29It is a linear system
24:31that allows all elements
24:33of liquid and solid waste
24:35generated by fish breeding.
24:37A secret technological recipe
24:39in which several millions
24:41of dollars have been invested.
24:43Each drop of water
24:45to breed fish
24:47is then used to produce plants
24:49or what is the same,
24:51each drop of water
24:53to produce plants
24:55was used to breed fish.
24:57This increases the productivity
24:59and efficiency of water use,
25:01the abundance of fossil fertilizers
25:03and agrochemical products
25:05that are used in traditional
25:07industrial agriculture.
25:09It is a way of producing organic food
25:11at an equal or higher production rate
25:13than conventional agriculture
25:15and without losing any quality.
25:17This Australian technological farm
25:19produces 15 tons of fish
25:21and more than 130 tons
25:23of organic vegetables per year.
25:25Green Camel carries out
25:27a production that generates
25:29and recycles.
25:31Fishes are an important part
25:33of this system,
25:35but I think they are also
25:37an important part
25:39of what is happening
25:41in the world today.
25:53The population is not only
25:55going to eat lettuce
25:57or carrots,
25:59it's a combination of everything.
26:01Proteins are the largest source
26:03of food the world will need
26:05and naturally
26:07there are not enough fish
26:09in the oceans
26:11or enough animals in the world.
26:13The cultivated land
26:15is disappearing rapidly.
26:17We have to think about
26:19how to make it
26:21perform better
26:23per square meter.
26:26With the production
26:28that we have here
26:30we get efficient growth rates
26:32and a very good conversion rate.
26:34We can get 0.6,
26:36which means we need
26:38600 grams of ocean fish
26:40to produce a kilo for the consumer,
26:42which is a great net guarantee
26:44of fish protein.
26:46Is it perfect? No,
26:48but we are going in the right direction
26:50and we are always investigating
26:52new technologies
26:54in the world.
27:01Now we can help
27:03many other producers
27:05to convert their products
27:07into organic
27:09and we will see little by little
27:11an increase in organic production.
27:13It's already happening all over the world
27:15because people are worried
27:17about what they are feeding their children
27:19and that's one of the reasons
27:21I got involved in this.
27:23Now we understand better
27:25the biological interactions
27:27that occur in agriculture.
27:29Soon we will see that the waste
27:31from the breeding of animals,
27:33both cows, pigs or chickens,
27:35as well as fish,
27:37become fertilizers
27:39in real time,
27:41full of nutrients
27:43for agricultural production.
27:45And when we get it,
27:47we will be able to eliminate
27:49the dependence we have
27:51on limited resources
27:53from the earth.
27:55We will create a circular economy
27:57and the only way to exist
27:59will be having a cleaner
28:01and more ecological life.
28:03Part of the consumers
28:05want the perfect harvest
28:07and that puts a lot of pressure
28:09on the farmers
28:11because they need to get
28:13the perfect harvest
28:15with the demands of the other
28:17part of the consumers
28:19The farmer is worried
28:21about climate change,
28:23about the company's economy,
28:25he has to get an apple,
28:27a lettuce or a tomato
28:29that looks perfect
28:31without chemicals.
28:33And that's a very,
28:35very difficult thing to do.
28:43To be competitive
28:45and at the same time
28:47you have to become
28:49something more specific
28:51to respond to this challenge.
29:01Agriculture has always
29:03followed the technological process
29:05to reinvent itself.
29:07Another idea of agricultural
29:09mechanization is currently emerging.
29:11Very soon tractors
29:13will become robots.
29:15They have come to agriculture
29:17to revolutionize the lives
29:19of farmers.
29:23Completely autonomous
29:25and equipped with smart sensors,
29:27robots optimize agricultural tasks
29:29thanks to a better understanding
29:31of the needs of the earth
29:33and of the plants.
29:35The possibilities of a respectful
29:37agriculture with a more precise
29:39environment, more competitive
29:41and more manageable are immense.
29:43It will not be difficult to buy
29:45a robot that is able to grow
29:47the best lettuce, the best carrots
29:49and the best tomatoes in your garden.
29:51And it will be cheap and we will be able
29:53to have a piece of land in our garden
29:55in which to grow for our own consumption
29:57or for the neighbors or maybe
29:59for the whole town.
30:01And this robot will do it for you.
30:03And you won't have to know much
30:05about agronomy or agricultural practices.
30:07You won't have to worry about anything
30:09and everything will come out of your mouth.
30:11The Australian Center for Robotics
30:13is one of the most famous laboratories
30:15in the world in this discipline.
30:17It has been developing agricultural robots
30:19for more than 20 years.
30:21I sincerely believe that we have
30:23to make a more efficient use
30:25of our land.
30:27We have to be more efficient
30:29not wasting as much product
30:31as we produce.
30:35My name is Asher Bender
30:37and I believe that agricultural robotics
30:39is the only way to be more productive.
30:53The objective of our research
30:55is to help farmers
30:57to use the land better
30:59by eliminating tasks
31:01that are difficult and heavy
31:03for them and providing them
31:05with data that helps them
31:07to identify problematic areas
31:09which contributes to being productive.
31:19These agricultural robots,
31:21the type of robots that we design
31:23in this laboratory,
31:25have to face unpredictable scenarios.
31:27Land that they haven't seen before,
31:29free areas where there are people
31:31and in which they have to operate
31:33safely for the farmers
31:35who live in that environment
31:37which means that we have to design
31:39a software that can face
31:41the uncertainty
31:43and that is one of the main problems
31:45when developing agricultural robots.
31:49Most of the time
31:51we spend developing
31:53the brain of these robots
31:55so that they think in a more intelligent way
31:57and learn part of the knowledge
31:59that farmers apply
32:01when they go through their crops
32:03by identifying problems
32:05that may arise.
32:07It's quite a fun task
32:09to develop the algorithms
32:11that help the robots
32:13to identify things.
32:15It's very easy for a person
32:17to identify an apple.
32:19You pick an apple
32:21and you put it in the basket
32:23in a safe way.
32:25Converting all that knowledge
32:27into a robot
32:29is a difficult task.
32:31You have to do a lot of research
32:33in what in robotics
32:35is known as perception.
32:37We have a high-resolution
32:39data feeding system,
32:41hyperspectral cameras
32:43and normal RGB cameras.
32:45How do you take all that information
32:47to say this is an apple,
32:49this is a branch
32:51and this is a leaf?
32:53Once you can do that
32:55you can start working
32:57on the process of performance.
32:59It's still a challenge
33:01to find the optimal path
33:03from where the robot is
33:05to pick the apple.
33:09We can now locate
33:11a bad herb
33:13and apply the herbicide directly.
33:15This not only has the benefit
33:17of reducing the amount
33:19of herbicide we apply,
33:21which is a savings for the farmer,
33:23it also has a great benefit
33:25for the environment
33:27because we minimize
33:29the amount of chemical products
33:31we apply to the plant.
33:33With all this we reduce
33:35agriculture from a scale
33:37of a whole field
33:39to a single plant.
33:41The robots we have been developing
33:43contain high-resolution sensors
33:45capable of showing
33:47an image of each individual plant
33:49and perhaps in the future
33:51they can show a leaf in particular
33:53or a small part of the plant.
33:55In the future I imagine
33:57many machines in the farms.
33:59The machines can work
34:0124 hours a day,
34:03they are very precise,
34:05they do not get tired and do not forget anything
34:07while they are in the crops
34:09and I think they will be able
34:11to identify what happens
34:13in their crops with great precision.
34:19We will gather an unprecedented amount
34:21of data in modern agriculture.
34:23We have a lot of data,
34:25for example, about corn and wheat,
34:27but if you talk to me about lettuce,
34:29spinach, sprouts,
34:31beetroot or carrots,
34:33we do not have a lot of data
34:35and what fascinates me the most
34:37is that robotics is going to change all that.
34:39It is going to change our perception
34:41of how plants grow,
34:43it is going to change our perception
34:45of the right time to do certain agricultural activities.
34:53For the air,
34:55drones also play
34:57an important role
34:59in the digital revolution.
35:01Created by the American company
35:03Winfield,
35:05this animation gives us a vision
35:07of this ultra-technological
35:09agriculture 3.0.
35:19The flight to a more reasonable
35:21and coherent agriculture
35:23has begun.
35:25Hundreds of drones are already
35:27hovering in the skies.
35:29Their sensors and infrared cameras
35:31accurately map the vegetation
35:33of a land in different wavelengths.
35:35Once processed,
35:37these images provide farmers
35:39information about the health
35:41of their plants,
35:43which allows them to determine
35:45what nutrients they need
35:47in each case.
35:49Thanks to drones,
35:51farmers can now treat their fields
35:53area by area and thus reduce
35:55the consumption of water, fertilizers
35:57and other contributions.
35:59All these new combined technologies
36:01will allow farmers to respect
36:03the quality of the soil and optimize
36:05their production and use of resources.
36:07It is also a way to attract
36:09younger generations back to the rural regions
36:11that they abandoned a long time ago,
36:13making the profession of farmer
36:15again attractive.
36:17Suddenly, with robots,
36:19we can collect spectral data
36:2124 hours a day,
36:237 days a week.
36:25In a few years,
36:27there will be a confrontation
36:29between data scientists
36:31and agricultural scientists,
36:33because we know that their models
36:35will collide with each other.
36:37What model is the right one?
36:39And not only that,
36:41the model we have created
36:43in agricultural science
36:45is based on the fact
36:47that the lettuce of this region
36:49grows differently in this other region.
36:51Now agronomy is much more specific
36:53for each particular meadow
36:55and for each particular farm.
37:03In the future decades,
37:05global warming will destabilize
37:07agricultural practices.
37:09Irregular seasons,
37:11excessive heat and water shortage
37:13will deeply affect the cycles
37:15of crops.
37:19Our food security
37:21lies in a few crops.
37:25If a catastrophe were to occur,
37:29or a plague that eliminated
37:31all rice, wheat
37:33or bananas from all over the world,
37:37we would lose an important pillar
37:39in the availability of food.
37:43The connection between the crop
37:45and the plague is always there.
37:47How do we adapt our plants
37:49to the climate and parasite attacks
37:51while we improve the crops?
37:53Agroecological techniques
37:55propose integrating natural resources
37:57and mechanisms
37:59to improve production.
38:01The idea is to stimulate the crops
38:03while we relieve the pressure
38:05on nature and preserve
38:07its ability to renew.
38:13To achieve this,
38:15we have to understand
38:17how the plants respond
38:19in their environment
38:21and therefore we have to observe
38:23many varieties to identify
38:25the strongest one.
38:27French scientists
38:29from the National Institute
38:31for Agronomic Research
38:33have developed a phenotypic
38:35high-performance platform,
38:37computerized facilities
38:39for studying the growth
38:41I want that to change
38:43and I think agroecology
38:45could be a solution.
38:49My name is Christophe Salon
38:51and I am 56 years old.
38:53What fascinates me most about plants
38:55is their ability to adapt
38:57to restrictive environments.
39:05Agroecology aims
39:07to produce better
39:09both in quality and quantity
39:11without degrading the environment
39:13with herbicides and pesticides
39:15that harm biodiversity
39:17and us
39:19since we eat what we grow.
39:25For 10,000 years,
39:27man has chosen more or less
39:29intuitively the plants
39:31that best fit his needs,
39:33which can be
39:35higher production,
39:37more seeds,
39:39more beautiful flowers
39:41to give fruits that are
39:43larger or know better.
39:45Currently we have methods
39:47that allow us to accelerate
39:49this selection process
39:51and know in what best way
39:53the plants respond
39:55to be able to adapt
39:57the agriculture of the future
39:59to climate change.
40:03What we can do
40:05is to look at different environments
40:07and vary the supply of water
40:09to see which one survives
40:11with lack of water
40:13and which one produces
40:15quality seeds and fruits
40:17in greater quantity.
40:19Subjected to different scenarios,
40:21thousands of plants
40:23involuntarily participate
40:25in a gigantic casting.
40:27They are photographed daily.
40:29Those whose genetic heritage
40:31is more interesting
40:34We have robotic systems,
40:36image systems that allow us
40:38to see the passage of time
40:40in a dynamic way
40:42during the growth of the plant
40:44and take photos and extract
40:46phenotypic features,
40:48that is, the characteristics
40:50that interest us,
40:52shape of the leaf,
40:54height of the plant,
40:56number of branches,
40:58size of the vine,
41:00automatically and safely
41:03This platform has another
41:05unique feature.
41:07It allows you to observe
41:09the roots of the plant.
41:11With a high-resolution camera,
41:13researchers can access
41:15the smallest details of the root.
41:17Their studies clarify the relationship
41:19between plants and soil microorganisms
41:21and help us better understand
41:23the complex characteristics
41:25such as drought resistance
41:27and nitrogen absorption.
41:32We know that farmers
41:34are today under a lot of pressure
41:36to feed the billions of inhabitants
41:38that will be in 2050.
41:40If we can find out
41:42which plant is doing better
41:44in which environment
41:46and increase performance
41:48and quality by cultivating
41:50more resistant plants
41:52and adapt better,
41:54everything should go well.
41:56After identifying the champions
41:58of adaptation,
42:00it is important to know
42:02which plants are better
42:04adapted to our agriculture
42:06and which seeds are better
42:08adapted to climate change.
42:10But the solution of this adaptation
42:12is also based on preserving
42:14the genetic biodiversity
42:16of the current seeds.
42:18After thousands of years
42:20of selection and cross-breeding,
42:22our seeds have unified
42:24and impoverished.
42:26On the contrary,
42:28they have brought our eyes
42:30to an alarming rhythm
42:32just when we were showing
42:34interest in them.
42:36How far will it go?
42:38When the food ran out,
42:40most of the people in the world died.
42:42But not the people in this place,
42:44where seeds were stored underground,
42:46kept safe for a better day.
42:58The crisis of climate change
43:00was linked to the extinction
43:02of species.
43:04There is only one place
43:06from which the problem
43:08can be solved,
43:10resorting again to the earth.
43:12At the heart of the English countryside,
43:14the largest seed bank in the world
43:16is dedicated to preserving
43:18the plant biodiversity
43:20for the entire planet.
43:22In this place,
43:24there is only one place
43:26dedicated to preserving
43:28the plant biodiversity
43:30for the entire planet.
43:32We know that 20% of the plants
43:34are in danger in nature.
43:36So if we don't preserve
43:38these fundamental pieces now,
43:40we're not going to have
43:42the possibility
43:44to use them in the future.
43:46My name is Ruth Eastwood.
43:48I really believe that seeds
43:50are very important
43:52for the plants
43:54and for the environment.
44:04About 80% of the calories
44:06that we ingest
44:08come from just 12 crops.
44:10If we think about diversity
44:12and adaptation,
44:14that's something impressive
44:16considering that more than
44:1830,000 species of plants
44:20are edible.
44:22Maybe we should diversify
44:24the type of food we eat,
44:26but just thinking about those 12,
44:28everything that includes
44:30potatoes, wheat,
44:32corn, rice,
44:34the amount of genetic diversity
44:36that remains in each of those crops
44:38is very small.
44:40If you compare it to your wild relatives,
44:42there is very little potential
44:44for that crop to improve.
44:46That's why we have to look
44:48at those wild species
44:50that have evolved
44:52over time.
44:54The diversity of wild plants
44:56gives us a lot of potential
44:58to improve crops
45:00and to improve
45:02their genetic diversity.
45:04That means that,
45:06ultimately,
45:08we can eat potatoes
45:10for much longer
45:12than we could do
45:14if it wasn't like that.
45:16The Millennium Seed Bank
45:18is located in a network
45:20of more than 80 countries
45:22and receives wild seeds
45:24from the most diverse
45:26environments in the world.
45:28Part of the samples collected
45:30are kept in the country of origin
45:32and the rest are sent
45:34to the United Kingdom.
45:36When we receive samples
45:38in the Millennium Seed Bank,
45:40it's a collection of samples
45:42that come in a cloth bag
45:44and it's a dry plant sample
45:46that we then send to the United Kingdom.
45:52It's always nice
45:54to see parts of the plant
45:56and of the seed.
45:58Especially if it's a fruit
46:00or if it's a plant
46:02that you've never seen before.
46:04You see the details of the vine
46:06and the leaves
46:08and you immediately see
46:10why that plant is so important.
46:12When they arrive, the seeds follow a strict protocol.
46:17They are carefully registered and cleaned and classified manually.
46:26They go through X-rays to check their viability
46:29and only then are they dried and packaged before being stored.
46:33Once we've got the seeds clean and we're confident that they're in perfect condition,
46:46we'll put them in containers and they're ready to be placed on benches at less than 20 degrees.
46:56The idea behind the seeds is that they are a kind of natural time capsule.
47:02Many experiments have shown that many seeds can be preserved for hundreds of years.
47:12Maybe one of the seeds that we have today in hibernation
47:16might be a solution to feed the future population.
47:22But the story doesn't end when we put them on the bench.
47:25We want those seeds to be available so that people can use them in the future.
47:29So we do viability tests every 10 years.
47:36The germination tests are very important for us,
47:40not just to evaluate the viability of the samples and see how they've been able to survive the passage of time,
47:46but to know that we can get plants from those seeds.
47:50They're not good if we don't know how to grow them and how to make them grow.
47:55So we spend a lot of time actively working on improving the germination protocols
48:00and often that reproduces what happens in the natural environment.
48:09The seeds are fascinating, they have all kinds of shapes and sizes and they're very intelligent.
48:13Well, intelligent might not be the right word,
48:16but they've been flexing over time with different strategies to adapt to the environment they're in.
48:26Each time we see something new or exciting that you haven't seen before,
48:30you say, wow, they can do that?
48:33Yes, it's fascinating.
48:39We've got about 36,000 species.
48:42Without a doubt, we can say it's the place with the most biodiversity in the world
48:46because we're getting plants from all over the world.
48:49Right now, we have about 2,000 species.
48:53Right now, we have about 2,000 million seeds.
48:59Our aim for 2020 is to have 25% of all seeds in the world.
49:14Well, each of us is a seed.
49:16When you look at this seed, it looks insignificant,
49:19but when you put it in the soil and you let it grow,
49:23you realize how much it can create and how much potential it has.
49:27Each one of us has the potential to change.
49:31Each one of us can create a future that is better for all the people around us,
49:37better for us and better for the planet.
49:40Those three aren't antagonistic, they don't compete with each other.
49:49NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology