Zoilo “Bingo” P. Dejaresco III l November 16, 2022 l Manila Bulletin
World population is exploding. There are now 8 billion humans on earth today. Almost every 50 years our population doubles, from 2 billion (1928) to 4 billion (1974) and 8 billion (2022). And according to the United Nations, the world will need 50-70% more food than we have today in the year 2050.
The next question is where will we get enough food and water to feed the populace? Floods and droughts always threaten food security. About 40% of the food for human consumption woefully goes to waste.
Man has little choice but to try new-fangled technologies in agriculture to address these concerns.
For instance, a company in Kentucky using AppHarvest, learning from the Netherlands (small but the largest agriculture product exporter in the world), is finding the solutions by growing agri products in a tall building in a “controlled environment” and using less land and water through new technologies.
“Innovate or die” has been their motto for years. They reportedly use (a) recycled rainwater (b) sunlight to give heat and lighting (c) make materials from diffused glass (d) bees to pollinate the plants and “integrated ” pests to kill the bad pests. The aim is to produce the most cost-effective and better agri-output.
Thailand, likewise, one of the two countries that our scientists in UP Los Banos taught proper rice-planting decades ago (along with Vietnam), now exports rice to the Philippines, ironically now one of the world’s biggest importers of rice. Some Thai farmers we saw on Youtube now use the so-called “hydroponic” method of growing rice using a pond of water (instead of land) to grow rice.
Meters of the plastic mat with holes are used where the rice pots held together by coconut fiber are put in and made to float on the “engineered” water. The water gives nutrients to the rice and to the fish that is grown inside the pond as well. The fish waste also fertilizes the rice. The water is regularly aerated and “refurbished” with nutrients after the harvest which is mechanized.
To underscore, meanwhile, how far behind we are (a Pacific archipelago of islands) in fishing technology, the largest “industrialized” inland farm for tilapia growing is reportedly found in largely land-locked Europe. And that the largest indoor aquaculture salmon factory will soon rise in Canada. The traditional way of fishing is over with so much overfished seawater and oceans all over the globe.
But if there is a nation that had developed tremendous agri-technology it has to be the small but technically-savvy country of Israel which was once but a barren desert that Israel had made “green”. Consider the things the Israelites do and help propagate to the world.
The “Drip method” of watering plants consumes infinitely less amount of water as it is calibrated straight to the roots and thus produces better crops. It revolutionized the plant industry worldwide.
They use solar electric drying and disinfecting modes to keep off pests and flies. A “Biofeed” mango fluid attracts tiny flies and reduces the mango plantation infestation by 95%. “Biobee” beneficial insects are used for pest control and bumblebees are used for pollination as applied in over 50 nations.
They have an integrated App to create one platform that guides farmers in imaging weather conditions, field sensors, soil content, plant tissue, water levels, and leaf/insect ratio for better farming. More breakthroughs.
They have a single dashboard that tallies all the ever-changing regulations (safety and content) of countries to help manage a nation’s export program. A technologically advanced plastic tray collects dew from the air to lessen the plants’ dependence on water from the ground and a dairy management system is in place that includes robotics to insure a cost-effective and uniform milking process.
Half of the world’s supply of fish and seafood is produced inside crowded tanks dumped with antibiotics, hormones, and pesticides. Israel, on the other hand, is developing the same content-rich water and oxygen but in open ponds and lakes- but sans antibiotics.
Lastly, it has developed state-of-the-art packaging to preserve food at a maximum level (and avoid pre-market losses) and produces “harder” seeds that lead to better crops- in that they are more nutritious, of higher yield, more flavorful, and more disease-resistant.
Come to think of it, man’s current ambitions to secure more land and resources in (perhaps) the moon and Mars appear grandiose imaginings when there is pioneering engineering being done on earth to more efficiently feed the teeming billions. Is there hope for food security via newfangled food technology?
*** (Bingo Dejaresco, a former banker, is a financial consultant and media practitioner. He is a Lifetime and Media member of Finex. His views here, however, are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of Finex. Dejarescobingo@yahoo.com)