Futuristic fields, how robotics and automation are slowly revolutionising agriculture [Ad
Source: Euractiv
From oxen and horses to tractors, high-yield crop varieties and synthetic fertilisers, agriculture has always showcased human creativity and ingenuity in the pursuit of food production and security. Today, agriculture is no longer simply about producing food.
Modern agriculture is all about efficiency and sustainably while meeting the complex demands of a rapidly expanding global population.
Agriculture increasingly incorporates advanced technologies into its more traditional methods, including includes genetic engineering, precision farming, robotics and drones.
The global agricultural robotics market is expected to grow from $13.4 billion in 2023 to approximately $86.5 billion by 2033.
The robot revolution
Much can be achieved with machines and robots. Improving farming precision from planting to harvesting consistently and predictably minimises waste. Precision fertilisation reduces costs and protects ecosystems, while precision seeding and harvesting lower labour expenses.
There’s no denying that machines also complete tasks faster than humans, don’t tire, and don’t get ill, increasing productivity and turnaround times. In a sector where farmers struggle to harvest crops because of a declining labour force, accomplishing the job without an overreliance on labour is crucial.
Several types of robots are currently being tested in agricultural settings.
Field robots include autonomous tractors and self-driving machines. Weeding robots use advanced imaging techniques and machine learning to identify and remove weeds. Seeding and planting robots sow crops precisely, ensuring proper depth and spacing. Harvesting robots pick fruits and vegetables and gather crops in a fraction of the time it takes a person.
Monitoring and data collection robots include drones for aerial imaging, crop monitoring, and livestock tracking. Ground-based monitoring robots collect data on soil conditions, crop health, and other critical parameters.
Investing in innovation
According to a report by the European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF), for each farmer under 35 in Europe, there are nine farmers over 55. Across Europe, around two-thirds of farmers have no successors to take over their farms. Spain, France, Germany, Italy, and the UK face hundreds of thousands of farmworker shortages during key harvest seasons.
To address this and several other challenges faced by Europe’s farmers, the European Union’s primary research funding programme, Horizon Europe, invests in projects that bolster rural digitalisation and technologies in the agri-food business.
One such project is Robs4Crops, which concluded on 31 December 2024. Coordinated by Wageningen University & Research. It brought together a consortium of 16 partners from seven European countries. Launched in 2021, it had a budget of €7.9 million and ran for four years.
The project conducted extensive commercial robot trials alongside farms and businesses in France, Greece, Spain, and the Netherlands. Its key objectives included tackling agricultural labour shortages, improving productivity and sustainability, and showcasing the precision of robotics in agriculture.
Another EU-funded project was Robotics for Microfarms (ROMI). ROMI developed an open and lightweight robotics platform, proposing a weeding robot, a farmer’s dashboard with a ‘cablebot’ – a camera that moves automatically along a cable to capture images of crops – and a 3D plant imager. These devices assist small farms in reducing weeds and monitoring crops.
Like Robs4Crops, the aim is to reduce manual labour, increase productivity, and improve crop monitoring in small-scale organic and polyculture farms.
Other robotics companies include the French startup Naio Technologies, which manufactures weeding robots for vineyards and an autonomous robot for repetitive farm tasks. Smart Farm Robotix from Bulgaria develops robotic weeding machines suited to land typically found in southern Europe.
Robot fields forever?
With the enormous potential and the significant investments in agricultural robots, it is easy to envision a future where robots are the sole occupants of the fields we drive past, but the reality is more complex.
The conclusion penned by The European Circular Bioeconomy Fund (ECBF) report best addresses whether farms will ever achieve full autonomy.
It states, “Terrestrial farms are incredibly complex operations that necessitate expertise at various levels regarding numerous processes. Therefore, in the short term, at least, probably not.”
In addition to the steep investment costs associated with robotic technology, many farmers still hesitate to deploy robots in their fields. One reason is that startups depend on data collection to inform their algorithms and enhance performance, which raises questions about data ownership.
Data regulation
Additionally, regulation is another concern facing agriculturalists looking to buy into farm robots.
In a 2023 paper by a team at the eLaw Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University, the authors underscored that while legislation exists for large autonomous machines and vehicles, there is no equivalent framework for small agri-robots.
The EU only recently updated its 2006 Machinery Directive, which was approved in 2023. The regulation will come into force in January 2027. The main updates concern specific rules on digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and automation.
In addition to pilot tests on farms, the Robs4Crops project also conducted stakeholder interviews to explore ethical concerns surrounding the use of field crop robots in agriculture. Three main areas emerged: job loss and skill adaptation, responsibility and safety issues, and data control.
Answers about the impact of job loss varied depending on regional labour shortages, but all areas will require workers to develop new skills for working alongside autonomous robots.
Safety and liability emerged as key concerns across all four project sites, with varying needs for human-robot collaboration versus full autonomy. Data ownership and control were identified as complex issues requiring further examination and regulatory attention.
[Edited By Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab ]
The original article: belongs to Euractiv .
