Genetics and robotics, two optics to visualize the agriculture of the future

"The world famine has grown for the third year in a row." This is perhaps the most alarming statement that stands out from the last report of the United Nations (UN) presented last week.

The institution even goes further and highlights the fact that in 2017 over 800 millions of people had some kind of inability to access an optimal diet, making it clear that the problem is far from being solved.

Another point that calls more attention, and that at the same time contrasts with the previous, are the numbers that have to do with food waste, which exceed 1.300 million tons just last year.

Of that amount, 127 million tons corresponded to Latin American countries, a region that for years has been hit by the vestiges of governmental actions marked by corruption, social inequality and even natural catastrophes.

But in the midst of a panorama that looks bleak, a group of Dutch scientists has raised a series of challenges to look at the agriculture of the future from two perspectives: One that has to do with genetic changes and the other with the use of robotics .

According to Spanish media such as eldiario.es, it is an ambitious project that takes place in the city of Wageningen with the participation of public and private entities, farmers, scientists and new researchers from areas associated with agriculture.

Arthur Mol, rector of the University of Wageningen, house of higher studies recognized for his contributions in the field of agriculture and nutrition worldwide, explained that the work is based on the need to boost production in remote areas and to obtain better crops.

He added that, with the appropriate genetic modifications, in the future there would be no crops with the presence of diseases. Likewise, he argued that they seek to follow a line of crops that promote sustainable consumption.

According to Mol, the loss of crops is much more common in low-income regions because they do not have the storage and distribution technology needed to keep them in good condition for longer.

On the other hand, he questioned the fact that it is precisely the "richest" nations in the world that are responsible for the greatest waste of food. "That is why we are concerned about presenting contributions in this matter," he explained.

On that point, he said that the lines to follow have to do with sustainable consumption, healthy nutrition, supply chains and climate-smart production systems to combat these problems, aspects where genetics and robotics would play great roles.

Technological focus

Arthur Mol spoke of the "Zero Hunger" plan, a work in which partners from more than 100 countries will participate, and whose objective will focus on "obtaining twice as much with twice less", although it does not establish the time for action.

But what is a fact in the technological approach it will have. Daniel Koppel, a member of the Israeli company Prospera, specializing in "big data", explained that they want to take these resources to any part of the world.

“Farmers in very remote areas are used to making decisions based on instinct, but now they can consult information, even from a simple mobile phone, and look at the interaction of variables, such as weather, soil quality, threats from pests," Koppel said.

He said that for this plan will be considered space robotic techniques to be used in regions of difficult access and where crops rarely grow because of difficult conditions. He also spoke about the use of genetics to control pests.

Even the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will participate in the project. This was announced by Connor Kiselchuk, a specialist in crops of that American organization.

"The project has the potential to produce food under extreme conditions. Some tests have been done in Antarctica, where simulated how plants could grow on the moon or on Mars, "said Kiselchuck.

He spoke that, in parallel, the German Aerospace Center works on a project based on growing plants in water, with which they obtained lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and radishes in very hostile conditions, practically sterile and without light.

Genetics prevails

The Dutchman John van der Oost, who is a microbiologist, said he sees as "promising" how you can merge technology and genetic editing to have a more hopeful future in agriculture.

He spoke of the CRISPR-Cas9 technique, a form that serves to "edit" the genome of any cedula. "This works like scissors, which cut segments of DNA in a very precise and controlled manner, which in the end allows the product to be modified," the expert added.

The scientist said that, if agriculture works more in this way, it would be possible to even choose the characteristics of crops, such as heat, quality, size, while their resistance to pests could be modified and produced in greater quantity.

The group of scientists working from the University of Wageningen see some potentialities in Latin America, where they already work in digital conservation in a marsh of Brazil, the management of marine protected areas in Ecuador and the digital mapping of Pampa soils, in Argentina.

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