farming's tech revolution to have losers as well as winners - smart technologies

ROME (
Thomson Reuters Foundation-
Intelligent technology like robots can completely change agriculture and even solve the problem.
The researchers said on Friday that there is a labor shortage in Britain's exit from the EU, but there is a potential for negative social impact unless handled properly.
From weeding to milking, machines can complete more and more daily agricultural work.
According to a study by researchers at East Anglia University in the UK, this trend is changing agriculture "unrecognizable.
Robots can be used for fruit picking to alleviate the expected labor shortage after Britain leaves the EU, while robots and artificial intelligence can save farmers money and protect the environment, they said.
However, according to the paper published in the journal Frontier of sustainable food systems, the social impact of these changes, particularly on rural communities, has not been fully considered.
"Robots and artificial intelligence can lead to unemployment, or change the nature of agriculture in a way that some farmers don't want," co-
Author David Ross, Lecturer in Human Geography.
"Others may be left behind by technological advances, and the wider society may not like the way food is produced," he said in a statement . ". Decision-
The study says production may be concentrated in the hands of private companies, and there may be a similar rebound against GM crops.
At present, there has been resistance to all aspects of gene editing in order to make crops more ideal or flexible for changing weather patterns.
The researchers said that innovation in smart agriculture should not only increase productivity, but also provide social benefits, meet human needs and be responsible to society.
John Ruane of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said: "innovations involving the use of new and existing technologies are crucial for farmers to increase agricultural production in the future (FAO).
But Lu en, FAO's senior advisor on agricultural innovation, said the key is that technology "will not widen the gap between rich and poor farmers ".
He told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone that FAO estimates that there are at least 0. 55 billion farms in the world, about 90% of whom are family farmers.
"So, if you don't think about small farmers, you ignore hundreds of millions of people and their families around the world, which obviously has huge social challenges," he added . ".