When humans began to farm 10,000 years ago, it was an agricultural revolution that changed the way we live and eat. Today, we’re in the midst of another agricultural revolution, a more sustainable one that can incorporate Indigenous planting practices, consider local ecosystems, leverage modern technologies, all while factoring in food scarcity and climate challenges.
Can We Create the “Perfect Farm?, a TED-Ed lesson written by Brent Loken and directed by Hype CG, summarizes some of the ways that farmers around the globe are upgrading their methods and increasing their yields.
…moving among the crops, teams of field robots apply fertilizer in targeted doses. Inside the soil, hundreds of sensors gather data on nutrients and water levels. This information reduces unnecessary water use and tells farmers where they should apply more and less fertilizer instead of causing pollution by showering it across the whole farm.
But the farms of the future won’t be all sensors and robots. These technologies are designed to help us produce food in a way that works with the environment rather than against it, taking into account the nuances of local ecosystems. Lower-cost agricultural practices can also serve those same goals are much more accessible to many farmers. In fact, many such practices are already in use today and stand to have an increasingly large impact as more farmers adopt them.
Watch these related farm and agriculture videos next:
• Growing 500 edible plants in a forest
• How Can Farms and Forests Coexist?
• The Secret History of Dirt, a smart soil explainer for all ages
• Aeroponic vertical farming: No soil and 90% less water
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