Utopia or dystopia: Agricultural robots are the future of farming [21.07.21]
Agriculture at the crossroads: Agricultural economist at the University of Hohenheim discusses scenarios that could result from Agriculture 4.0 in the future / current publication
Agricultural robots are no longer science fiction, but are increasingly used in practice. In the future, they have the potential to do outstanding things for agriculture and its impact on the environment - or the exact opposite. Dr. Thomas Daum, an agricultural economist at the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, describes both scenarios in a recent paper in the journal Trends in Ecology & Evolution (Cell Press): The utopia in which fleets of small, intelligent robots produce diverse crops in harmony with nature in an agroecological way, helping to close yield gaps. And the dystopia in which large, tractor-like robots subjugate the landscape with heavy equipment and chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Both scenarios are conceivable, Dr. Daum said: "We as a society can decide what direction we want to go in and set regulatory guardrails for that future."
Agriculture at the crossroads: Agricultural economist at the University of Hohenheim discusses scenarios that could result from Agriculture 4.0 in the future. | Image source: University of Hohenheim / Max Kovalenko
Detailed press release in English: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-07/cp-fra070821.php
Publication
T. Daum: Farm robots: Ecological utopia or dystopia? Trends in Ecology and Evolution. https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/fulltext/S0169-5347(21)00175-0
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2021.06.002
Text: Leonhardmair
Contact for press:
Dr. Thomas Daum, University of Hohenheim, Department of Social and Institutional Change in Agricultural Development
T +49 711 459 23630, E Thomas.Daum@uni-hohenheim.de
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