The world is facing the worst food crisis driven by compounded effects of the pandemic, the Ukraine war leading to spike in fertilizer and energy prices and the climate change. Food systems are extremely complex and unsustainable. In spite of enough food being produced, 811 million people still go to sleep hungry each night. The global food system is also one of the world’s largest source of greenhouse gases and it is linked to 70% biodiversity loss.
In order to nourish the global population of 9.7 billion by 2050 and meet the Sustainable Development Goals, food systems need to be sustainable, inclusive, nutritious and healthy. In order to combat the disruptions in food supply chains, there should be an increased preparedness to tackle risks and identify opportunities to strengthen collaboration among stakeholders. The global community must identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities in the agriculture and food systems and transform them with innovative solutions. The global food supply chains need to become climate resilient.
Technology and Innovation pave way for Digital Solutions
The adoption of new technologies and innovations can transform the way we produce, distribute and consume our food. Increasing investments in agriculture technologies and integration of initiatives aimed at providing food security and leveraging emerging technologies can make our food systems more sustainable and resilient.
Food supply chains have undergone transformation with digital solutions. Production, distribution, ESG and Platforms are areas where innovations have taken place. Smart Farm management and Input supplies management are few of the areas focussed in production. Distribution covers transport and storage. ESG is related to solutions that align with the emission reduction goals and the platforms provide data aggregation, analysis and data driven insights.
End to end digitization of the supply chain and collaboration among stakeholders is critical to leverage the full potential of the available technology. Agriculture sector demands greater digitization in terms of assets, especially with data collection and aggregation. Data driven digital platforms enable these attributes and also ensure transparency in the supply chain. Blockchain traceability solutions provide the right edge in solving these challenges. Blockchain together with IoT and sensors can improve production, distribution and consumption of food , ushering in the fourth industrial revolution.
Digital support for the farmers
Small holder farmers produce 80% of the food but lack access to inputs, finance and information. Technology can improve agriculture yields and reduce environmental impact but there is a lack of digital infrastructure and funding. The mobile connectivity networks need to be robust to enable the farmers utilize the technology solutions. Farmers need to have access to fair and reliable finance to achieve food sustainability. A combination of innovation, investment and policy is necessary to harness the power of Industry 4.0 revolution to benefit these farmers. Traceability across food supply chains helps producers and consumers understand the quality of products needed for food safety. Farm Management systems help farmers to manage their farms and crops along with sustainable practices. The pre-harvest management helps them to build a crop calendar with best practices and generate harvest dashboards for reporting and analytics. It gives them informed insights and better linkage to market and finance.
Technology will disrupt Food Systems
Technological innovations are set to shape global food systems, improving value chain linkages and creating effective production systems. Innovations have attracted more than $14 billion in investments. The vision for food systems in 2030 should meet both the human and planetary needs. Sustainable, Inclusive, Efficient and Healthy should be the basis for this inevitable transformation to build a resilient food system.
Smallholder farmers produce 80% of Africa’s food supplies, but they have limited access to finance, inputs, markets,
information and other services. Technology innovations can overcome all these challenges — but it won’t happen
automatically. We need to combine innovation, investment and policy to harness the power of the Fourth Industrial
Revolution to benefit smallholder farmers
