Digital technology is used in agriculture to collect and analyse data, automate tasks, and manage agricultural resources precisely. In IB Digital Society, this is shared SL and HL content in the environmental context, particularly agriculture (4.3D).
Digital agriculture combines digital systems such as sensors, GPS, drones, algorithms, artificial intelligence, and autonomous machinery.
| Use | How it works | Potential effect |
|---|---|---|
| Precision farming | GPS and field sensors measure soil moisture and crop health. | Water, fertilizer, or pesticides can be applied only where needed. |
| Remote monitoring | Drones, satellites, and connected sensors collect data across large areas. | Problems may be identified earlier. |
| Automated machinery | Robots and autonomous tractors plant, weed, spray, or harvest. | Productivity may rise, but workers may be displaced. |
| Predictive analysis | Algorithms process weather, soil, and historical yield data. | Poor data may produce unreliable predictions. |
System: John Deere's See & Spray uses cameras, computer vision, and machine-learning models to distinguish crops from weeds. It sprays selected plants instead of treating the entire area.
Example specifics: Deployed through John Deere machinery, it is a specific real-world example of precision farming, not merely "AI in agriculture."
Impacts and implications: Impacts include reduced herbicide use and input costs. Future implications include more efficient resource use, but also high equipment costs, dependence on proprietary platforms, disputes over data ownership, and unequal access between large and small farms.
The example demonstrates systems because data, algorithms, machinery, farmers, and agricultural businesses interact and can create intended and unintended consequences. It also raises questions of power and values and ethics over who controls agricultural data and benefits from automation.
In an exam response, explain the mechanism and connect it to affected people and communities. Avoid the misconception that digital technology automatically makes agriculture sustainable. For AO3, evaluate both opportunities and risks using a specific example.
