Handing agricultural data to tech giants: a gravedigger for small farmers?
Big Brother (the symbol of surveillance power) says nothing, yet nothing we do on Google escapes his scrutiny; he also knows our habits of liking, posting and making friends on Facebook inside out. Fed day and night by massive big data, Big Brother follows us everywhere, changing the way we communicate (mysterious algorithms, for instance, decide whether you will see this report) and influencing how we think, luring our desire to consume. He has upended many industries, such as the news business, which is still groping for a way forward.
In the novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four," Big Brother monitored everything through the "telescreen," but Big Brother in the data age has it easier: he just waits for massive data to flow in automatically. Even the oldest industry - agriculture - cannot escape the influence of data Big Brother. He has come to the countryside and entered the pastures, bringing smartphones, apps, sensors, drones, robots and satellites along with him.
The datafication of agriculture is full of potential and allure, but technology is also like a beast let out of its cage; without careful planning, it may be swallowed by its side effects. With artificial intelligence and robots coming on strong, Theo de Jager, president of the World Farmers' Organisation (WFO), is deeply worried: "In the future, we may not need farmers at all."
The datafication of agriculture will rewrite the rules of the game
"The datafication of agriculture will rewrite the rules of the game." De Jager said the pace of change will accelerate over the next five years.
In mid-October this year, a small meeting room at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome was packed with government officials, representatives of international organisations, researchers and civil society groups from around the world, all concerned about how datafication will reshape the face of agriculture and rural areas and affect farmers' livelihoods and consumers' dinner tables.
With the rapid advance of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and high-speed networks, Big Brother has moved from the virtual to physical surveillance, striding boldly through the countryside. Sensors record the temperature and humidity of soil and plants, measure wind direction and strength, and transmit data at any time; drones photograph changes in vineyards in meticulous detail, making the use of pesticides and fertilisers more precise. The types of crops planted in the fields, their growth stages, soil conditions and water distribution cannot escape the observation of satellites. Pigs wear chips, and computers control how much feed they get; in fully monitored farms, the physiological state of chickens can be precisely tracked and revenue estimated.
