Business of Agriculture March April 2019 Edition | Page 18

rotations of soybeans and corn. This means once
corn is harvest, the cash crop can be planted before
soybeans are planted. Planting the cash crop prevents
soil erosion and removes polluting nitrogen from the
soil. In addition to preserving the soil’s quality, the cash
crop can also be sold at a handsome profit.
Start-ups
are using
technology
to drive
innovation.
A start-ups
backed by
leaders from
Silicon Valley
are studying
food at a
molecular level
Innovative Hemp Strains Prevent Seizers: The
world is rediscovering hemp. The crop on which the
American Declaration of Independence is written is
versatile and from it, much that is of use to humanity
can be extracted. Innovative companies are creating
strains of hemp that are high in Cannabidiol (CBD)
and have negligible Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
These strains when cultivated produce high volumes
of biomass that has uses in many industries. Another
advantage of these strains is that they flower for a
shorter time than older strains allowing them to be
harvested sooner. Also, high quantity CBD strains
supply ingredients essential to an FDA approved a
drug called Epidiolex which is used to manage seizers.
A Database of Foods to Combat Food-Borne
Illnesses: Start-ups are using technology to drive
innovation. A start-ups backed by leaders from Silicon
Valley are studying food at a molecular level. It is
creating a database of food to help retailers identify
the best suppliers and help prevent the spread of
food-borne illness in the future. Consumers will
benefit because they will be able to judge food at a
molecular level thereby eliminating ambiguity about
the quality of food sold by the retailers. Retailers who
stock food will be able to advertise the quality of food
sold by them. In the end, consumers, retailers, and
society all will get benefit from this.
Irrigation has entered the 21 st Century
Today nearly 70 percent of fresh water is being used
in agriculture. There is an urgent need to utilise water
resources as effectively as possible. Israel pioneered
drip irrigation by which the right quantity of water is
supplied to each plant where it is needed the most
i.e. at the roots. A new Israeli start-up is developing
cloud-based software that uses in-field sensors to
deliver the optimum amount of water to each plant.
This means farmers can inject the optimum quantity
of water required by each plant rather than watering
the entire field.
A Bird’s Eye View of Farming
Farmers today must visit every corner of their fields
18 Business of Agriculture | March-April 2019 • Vol. V • Issue 2
to ensure that corps are attended to and resources
are used as best as possible. This not only takes
considerable time but is also inefficient and prevents
resources from being used as best as possible. The
unique software allows farmers to instantly see
their entire field. A farmer managing hundreds or
thousands of acres of land can instantly see where
more resources need to be deployed and learn how
corps are growing.
The technologies mentioned above are new age
agricultural technologies for increasing productivity
and these technologies will play an essential part
in feeding 9.8 billion people in just three decades.
History shows that there is a correlation between
improvement in farming techniques and human
living standards. As living standards across the
world are improving, particularly in India, China
and later Sub Saharan Africa, people living there
are demanding richer and more varied diets. These
increasing demands could be fulfilled by continuous
improvements in the farming techniques and by using
resources like water as efficiently as possible.
* Mr Rohitt Sharrma is a Founder and President of
the Indian Industrial Hemp Association (IIHA). He
is working for over 7 years in the field of Industrial
hemp-based Economy development in India and
across borders. This includes Industrial Hemp Fibre,
Nutrients, Oil, Medicines, biomass feedstock,
Insulation, Eco- Construction material, bio-based
plastics, and composites.