Agritech in the Anthropocene: This talk will discuss the current state of climate breakdown and the implications for the use of technology in agriculture and food production. Rapid climate change including collapse of usual weather patterns is resulting in extreme drought and floods across many food producing regions including within Europe. We will discuss how priorities need to change in this context to help ensure human survival. This also may necessitate a rethink of the nature and form of innovation. Data driven climate smart agriculture is one such approach where we take the priorities of agroecology and agroforestry as primary, and seek to identify what role a range of agritech technologies can play to support environmentally sustainable agricultural production. A range of existing and emerging technologies will be discussed from this perspective. We expect our approach to provoke a debate on the prioritisation of investment choices in specific technologies, as well forcing a rethink of our approach to ICT in the agrifood sector.

1. AGRITECH IN THE
ANTHROPOCENE:
A question of survival | Dr. C.A.W. Brewster
July 2019 heatwave

2. THE ANTHROPOCENE
Human impact is so great that it is visible in the geological
record. A new geological epoch has been proposed.
Order of magnitude greater erosion due to urbanisation and
agriculture.
Major changes in element cycles such as nitrogen,
phosphorous, and carbon.
On course for 75% extinction of species
New “minerals” e.g. plastic, concrete and fly ash. Plastic
particles in our oceans, waterways and soil.
Black carbon particulate due to fossil fuel burning
Humans drive biological, chemical and environmental
changes. And this affects our capacity to grow food.
2 | Agritech in the Anthropocene:

3. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SYSTEM CAUSING A CRISIS
Agriculture produces >24% of Greenhouse gasses
(GHGs). Food system about 37% of GHGs.
70% of global fresh water used in agriculture
1% of global soil lost every year – leaving 40-60
crop cycles left
80% of insect biomass has been lost, general major
loss of biodiversity e.g. countryside devoid of
hedgehogs. Ecosystems are collapsing.
Land use change causes combined effects of
GHGs, climate change, biodiversity loss, and water
loss
30-50% of food produced is wasted/thrown away
900M people undernourished, 2B overweight/obese
Current challenges for agrifood system
Soil Depth in Iowa Has Halved
Since Intensive Cultivation
Began

4. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SUFFERING FROM CRISIS
Global population (= demand) increasing especially for meat
and dairy. BUT huge environmental problems with
livestock and dairy.
Soil is disappearing.
Water shortages globally + drought, while sudden storms
destroying soil.
Long term shortage of phosphate.
Fishing – 90% of stocks are fully exploited or overfished.
Loss of crop biodiversity + crop epidemics due to climate
change.
Current challenges for agrifood system
World population projections

5. CLIMATE BREAKDOWN ACCELERATION:
2030 IS THE NEW 2100
Scope Strategy Agrifood
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/201907

6. NEW EEA REPORT – 4 SEPT 2019
Extreme weather is affecting many parts of Europe.
Floods, droughts, heat waves.
Crop and livestock production is projected to decrease
and may even have to be abandoned in parts of
Europe’s southern and Mediterranean regions. Land
values will decrease and some land will have to be
abandoned.
Focus of the report is on adaptation, no longer on
mitigation. So this acknowledges the inevitability of
climate breakdown. Member states still focus on
mitigation in policy and funding.

7. THE SCIENCE SAYS ….
We cannot continue with “business as usual”
We cannot continue to lose 70+% of insects (due to habitat
loss and pesticides)
We cannot continue to lose 1% of top soil annually
We cannot continue to destroy our crop biodiversity and
wider biodiversity
We cannot continue to produce the same quantities of meat
and dairy products
….

8. DATA DRIVEN CLIMATE SMART AGRICULTURE
Prioritising climate and biodiversity before
technology. Precision agriculture with bells and whistles
Combining models of crops and environment, streams of
data from remote and proximate sensors,
Help guide agricultural decisions that are environmentally
sustainable.
Simple starting point: How to grow multiple crops in
the same time and space?
Return to basics: Crop rotation, multicropping
Providing a technological support of agroecological
methods ……

9. THE CHALLENGE: IDENTIFYING AN APPROPRIATE
ROLE FOR AGRITECH INNOVATION
For every idea, every invention, every
innovation in agritech, we need to ask:
How does your agritech innovation
affect climate breakdown or
biodiversity collapse?
If it does not help, think again.
Think about the unintended
consequences … 2 or 3 steps away

10. THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION
Take a look:
https://www.tno.nl/feedthefuture