Robotics for agriculture

In the past, agriculture was known for its inefficiency and notoriety as one of the most corrupt departments. Today, with the president taking it by the horns, could it be the right prescription? Well, that remains to be seen. Sadly, however, while we appreciate the concern shown by this current administration, it is still a fact that we are so much behind in terms of technology and infrastructure. 

Historical numbers do not lie. The agriculture sector contributed an estimated 8.9 percent of GDP in 2022. While this is too small a contribution, it employed 24 percent of the local workforce. Imagine, a single digit contribution to our economy for a double-digit local workforce. Clearly, therefore, this sector is so inefficient. That is why it is a no-brainer that while our economy grew by 7.6% last year, agriculture just went up by a measly 2%.

Moving forward, the future maybe bleak. The country has one of the oldest farmers in the ASEAN with an average age of 57. To put it bluntly, this is a sector whose labor force has substantial number of senior citizens. And with most farm activities done manually, efficiency will just further dip as those in their 40s and 50s join their more senior farmers down the road.  That younger generation is shying away from it, will only make the future austere.   

It is fact that we’ve always blamed the weather for our woes. Well, yes, it is fact that we are one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. Therefore, we don’t have to dwell with that. Instead, we must mechanize and consider a shift to high-value and high-yielding crops to boost the sector in totality. Simply put, if a farm is situated in a typhoon path, find high value crops that can be planted and harvested in typhoon-free months. Moreover, while it is necessary that the yields must be improved, storages that shall prevent wastages must also be considered.

More importantly, with an aging workforce and the younger generation’s disinterest in farming, the government should consider supporting initiatives in robotic process automation (RPA). Surely, most techies are very much aware that RPAs or, simply, robotics, are so prevalent nowadays in all sectors of the economy of the developed countries in the world. And that includes agriculture.

The truth is, several startups have sprouted and some of them are looking intently on agriculture. Notably, Agtonomy (USA), a hybrid autonomy and tele-assist service platform built to address the growing labor and sustainability challenges facing agriculture, “works with established farming equipment manufacturers to turn tractors and agricultural machines into autonomous tools that can be controlled remotely by farmers.” They aim to combat food and labor shortages in the farming industry by “providing farmers low-cost, technology-enabled labor force to manage such equipment.” Simply put, with mechanization and this technology in place, we can encourage younger generation to become operators. Thus, join in the agriculture sector.

Complementing Agtonomy is Augury. This is a startup that uses RPA to “perform diagnostics on machines to predict and prevent them from failure.” Its product is necessary for “companies looking to decrease machine downtime and increase productivity.”

To most of us, wage earners, there could be some perceived downside, employment.  This is so as human pickers or farmworkers, among others, will be rendered useless. However, this kind of a system does not come in cheap. So, probably, in the country we can take a sigh of relief.

But wait, automation and AI experts are not just good in developing systems, they are even better in finance. Rapid Robotics (USA), for one, recognized that. This robotics company is helping manufacturers in these difficult times and isn’t selling its robots. It offered its robots based on use at either hourly, monthly or annual rate. Therefore, without huge capital outlay, their robots come very handy. So that, if this scheme shall be made available in the country, most businesses (including those in agriculture) may just use them. 

And, we, (wage earners of a developing nation), can find some solace on the fact that (as IT experts stressed) “this doesn’t mean that jobs are being eliminated and humans are being replaced with robots.”  Rather, “RPA is designed to enhance the workplace by eliminating menial tasks, simplifying processes, and countering the possibility of human error.”