Student: Blake Slattengren
Graduation date: May 2018
Type: Concentration (single major)
Date approved: November 2015
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Summary
A common perception is that, somehow, agriculture should be pure, traditional, and natural. Yet, agriculture has always been a force of change and disruption. From the moment it developed from horticulture, agriculture has been a major motivating force for economic and political structures in a modern society. In an agricultural settlement, people generally had to work longer and harder, but specialization and a larger population became possible (Wallerstein 1974). More recently, the Green Revolution in the mid 20th century completely transformed traditional agricultural methods around the world for what is now considered modern agriculture (McCann 2005). It introduced and popularized pesticides and herbicides while also developing high-yield variant crops (Evenson et al. 2003). In the time since, the population has doubled, the food supply has tripled, and there has only been a 12% increase in arable land (Dutia 2014). Recently however, the limits of the Green Revolution have been felt, and there are growing concerns about increasing agricultural production in a climate changing society where land, water, and nitrogen resources are dwindling (Rosegrant 2014).
Agricultural Technology, or AgTech, is a growing economic sector for technological innovation in the field of agriculture. Just in 2014, AgTech startups gained $2.36 billion in investments, surpassing the popular fields of Financial Tech and Clean Tech (Tilley 2015.) Technological advances are important for the future agriculture because they help produce healthier and greater quantity food, but technology is absolutely critical because it allows for more efficient use of limited resources (Roy 1990.) This means that AgTech is an essential development towards agricultural sustainability and food equity. The exact implications of this can be debated, but this concentration will focus on how to increase resource efficiency in high-yield, industrial agriculture through technological innovation. Specifically, I am interested in technological innovations in the high-tech fields of biotechnology and information systems. This includes the two of the most prominent and controversial areas in agriculture technologies, genetically modified crops and precision agriculture. Both of these are specifically aimed at reducing water use, fertilizer use, and maintaining productive soil on industrial farms (Rosegrant 2014). I will be examining the methods used to implement technologies such as these in order to disrupt the agricultural status quo.
The huge variety of AgTech innovations, from drones to nitrogen efficient crops, is exciting, but no end-all solution exists. For example, depending on geography, farmers have to deal with climates and ecosystems that are vastly different and always changing. There are also different political institutions and social standards designating what can and cannot be implemented. Farms will have to determine the best technologies to implement for their own specific needs (Rosegrant 2014). This means that AgTech innovations will need to be easily identifiable to fit specific needs, easily applied, and easily managed (Aubert 2012). This is especially important in the field of agriculture because it is often steeped in traditional methods and values, particularly in smaller and older farms (National 2002). Many current researchers are accomplishing this by stating companies and embracing entrepreneurial methods such as venture capital funding, crowd funding, and extensive marketing (Tilley 2015).
Agricultural innovations can be implemented in a variety of contexts. First, AgTech innovations can be discussed in the Western United States where there is a huge influx of AgTech startups being funded, particularly in the California, looking to expand their business and make big agricultural changes (Tilley 2015). Some of the biggest innovations here include robotics and food distribution methods. Then, I can discuss AgTech in India, which has the world’s largest starving population while also being one of the largest agricultural producers (Larkins 2008). India also has an interesting history of backlash when it comes to agricultural technology (Roy 1990). Finally, I can look into the uses of AgTech in Sub-Saharan Africa to show how AgTech may be used to build agricultural systems from the ground up in an area with the largest projected population growth and some of the most limited resources (Juma 2010). Despite their differences, all three of these places are similar in that, soil and water management technologies are among the most important innovations, and they all face challenges with implementation (Larkins 2008).
References
Aubert, Benoit A., Andreas Schroeder, and Jonathan Grimaudo. “IT as Enabler of Sustainable Farming: An Empirical Analysis of Farmers’ Adoption Decision of Precision Agriculture Technology.” Decision Support Systems 54, no. 1 (December 2012): 510–20.
Dutia, Suren G. “AgTech: Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Growth.” Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization 9, no. 1–2 (January 1, 2014): 161–93.
Evenson, R. E., and D. Gollin. “Assessing the Impact of the Green Revolution, 1960 to 2000.” Science 300, no. 5620 (May 2, 2003): 758–62.
Juma, Calestous. The New Harvest: Agricultural Innovation in Africa. Oxford University Press, 2010.
Larkins, Brian. 2008. “Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.” National Academy of Sciences.
McCann, James. 2005. Maize and Grace: Africa’s Encounter with a New World Crop 1500-2000. Harvard University.
National Research Council. Publicly Funded Agricultural Research and the Changing Structure of U.S. Agriculture. Washington, DC: The National Academic Press, 2002.
Rosegrant, Mark, Jawoo Koo, Nicola Cenacchi, Claudia Ringler, Richard Robertson, Myles Fisher, Cindy Cox, Karen Garrett, Nicostrato Perez, and Pascale Sabbagh. 2014. Food Security in a World of Natural Resource Scarcity. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.
Roy, Sumit. 1990. Agriculture and Technology in Developing Countries: India and Nigeria. New Delhi: Sage.
Tilley, Aaron. “Forbes AgTech Summit: The ‘Connected Farm’ Is Still In The Pre-Internet Age.” Forbes, July 9, 2015.
Wallerstein, Immanuel. 1974. Modern World-System I : Capitalist Agriculture and the Origins of the European World-Economy in the Sixteenth Century, with a New Prologue. Berkeley, CA, USA: University of California Press.
Questions
- Descriptive: How do past trends in agriculture inform future innovations? What does successful implementation of AgTech look like? What are the best ways to market AgTech innovations? What are the social and political drawbacks to many current innovations?
- Explanatory: Why is there tension between agriculture, society, and technology? What barriers arise from this?
- Evaluative: What role should technology play in creating the food we consume? Is there an ethical, political, or economic point where AgTech fails to garner support or useful application?
- Instrumental: How can entrepreneurship, policy making, or other methods be used to better foster and implement AgTech innovation?
Concentration courses
- EINV 290 (Technologies of the Future, 5 credits), spring 2016. Demonstrates how new technologies are developed and distributed in a entrepreneurial setting.
- HIST 297 (Science, Technology, and Culture, 4 credits), spring 2016. Explores the complex historical relationship between technology and society that continues to play a role in agricultural technology.
- SOAN 390 (Cyborg Anthropology, 4 credits), fall 2016. Develops a deeper understanding of how technology is consumed and the political economy behind it.
- CHEM 330 (Structural Biochemistry, 4 credits), fall 2016. Provides a scientific foundation that grounds the study of technology in a field related to agriculture.
- ENVS 460 (Topics in Environmental Law and Policy, 4 credits), fall 2017. Provides a look at environmental laws and policies as a method of change, many of which have encouraged technological innovation.
- HIST 388 (What's For Dinner, 4 credits), spring 2015. Gives an essential historical background on how agriculture has shaped the world and continues to innovate.
Arts and humanities courses
- HIST 261 (Global Environmental History, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.
- PHIL 215 (Philosophy and the Environment, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.