Farming robots may be Brexit solution
SMALL SMART robots could be used for precision delivery of pesticides and harvesting of crops to make farming more efficient in the future, experts have said.
Technology could cut down on use of chemicals and selectively harvest food such as lettuces only when they are ready, to prevent crops being wasted in the fields – and even replace cheap farm labour which could be lost to the UK post-Brexit.
With the use of broad-spectrum toxic pesticides said to be “already broken” because of their impact on wildlife, there is a need to find resilient new crop varieties and biological ways of controlling pesticides, the scientists suggested.
But they say artificial meat may still not be making the grade decades from now, because livestock are more resource-efficient and can be reared on land that cannot be used for agricultural crops, although “insect protein” could be on the rise.
The panel of scientists were discussing how big data, new technologies and advanced methods could drive a step-change in how food is produced sustainably while still feeding the world.
Professor Simon Blackmore, head of agricultural robotics at Harper Adams University in Shropshire and director of the National Centre for Precision Farming, said he wanted to see small robots, around the size of motorbikes, in the fields as early as 2020.
The robots, which could retail at around £20,000, would help farmers to look after crops more efficiently, reduce the use of chemicals and boost yields by allowing more cost-effective production in smaller fields.
He said: “There will be significant changes, so we’re developing things like laser weeding, we’re developing droplet application where 100 per cent of the chemical goes on to the target leaf.”