nitrous oxide, and the modification of land cover. For example, antibiotics have been
used to treat infectious diseases in livestock. However their widespread use as an
additive in animal feeds causes the development of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms (Kumar et al. 2005). Different farming strategies, such as conservation agriculture based on minimum tillage, crop residue retention, and crop rotations, have
different levels of impacts on the carbon and nitrogen cycling in agriculture
(Govaerts et al. 2009).
Historically, farming was a very innovative field. But since entering the digital
era, the adoption of information technology on the agricultural sector is slower than
other industry sectors. Only in recent years, new technologies like drones and AI
start to target the agricultural market and be used in assisting farming with more
accurate and timely information. One reason for the slow adoption is that innovative
technology takes longer from concept to implementation in agriculture. The farming
has seasonal cycles that take months or even an entire year to see the results of new
techniques. Meanwhile, many challenges are systematic and caused by different
factors. They span across multiple governmental districts with different policies and
regulations. Scaling the innovative techniques in agriculture could be very hard
because of the highly connected and interdependent ecosystems interacting with the
complex socioeconomic and political systems. Many rural regions in developing
countries still stick to ancient farming techniques.
One hundred years ago, almost half of the American workforce worked on
agriculture. Today less than 2% of the Americans are farmers. Urbanization greatly
increases the distance that food travels to reach kitchens. The young generation
knows less than ever about agricultural practices. Another big challenge facing
modern agriculture is raising the awareness of consumers on potential food crisis
which is a hanging sword above all the human kind (Woolpert 2015).
Contributions from all stakeholders are required to meet these agricultural challenges described above. Scientific research and breakthroughs are one of the most
prominent contributors to meet the challenges. Regarding the agricultural research,
as Ruttan concludes (Ruttan 1994), there are two challenges: (a) biological and
technical constraints on crop and animal productivity and (b) resource and environmental constraints on sustainable growth in agricultural production (Ruttan 1994).
Raising the yield ceilings of gains for the cereal crops is difficult. The incremental
response of crop yields to the increasing use of chemical fertilizers has declined,
especially in the years after 2000. Ruttan foresaw in 1999 that the advances in the
basic knowledge on molecular biology and genetic engineering will create new
opportunities for advancing agricultural technology that will reverse the urgency
of some of the above concerns (Ruttan 1994). Institutionalization of private sector
agricultural research capacity in some developing countries is beginning to complement public sector capacity. More intensive and efficient use of technical inputs,
including chemical fertilizers and pest control chemicals, and more effective animal
nutrition will improve the necessary gains in crop and animal productivity. Higher
8 Big Data and Its Applications in Agro-Geoinformatics
145
used to treat infectious diseases in livestock. However their widespread use as an
additive in animal feeds causes the development of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms (Kumar et al. 2005). Different farming strategies, such as conservation agriculture based on minimum tillage, crop residue retention, and crop rotations, have
different levels of impacts on the carbon and nitrogen cycling in agriculture
(Govaerts et al. 2009).
Historically, farming was a very innovative field. But since entering the digital
era, the adoption of information technology on the agricultural sector is slower than
other industry sectors. Only in recent years, new technologies like drones and AI
start to target the agricultural market and be used in assisting farming with more
accurate and timely information. One reason for the slow adoption is that innovative
technology takes longer from concept to implementation in agriculture. The farming
has seasonal cycles that take months or even an entire year to see the results of new
techniques. Meanwhile, many challenges are systematic and caused by different
factors. They span across multiple governmental districts with different policies and
regulations. Scaling the innovative techniques in agriculture could be very hard
because of the highly connected and interdependent ecosystems interacting with the
complex socioeconomic and political systems. Many rural regions in developing
countries still stick to ancient farming techniques.
One hundred years ago, almost half of the American workforce worked on
agriculture. Today less than 2% of the Americans are farmers. Urbanization greatly
increases the distance that food travels to reach kitchens. The young generation
knows less than ever about agricultural practices. Another big challenge facing
modern agriculture is raising the awareness of consumers on potential food crisis
which is a hanging sword above all the human kind (Woolpert 2015).
Contributions from all stakeholders are required to meet these agricultural challenges described above. Scientific research and breakthroughs are one of the most
prominent contributors to meet the challenges. Regarding the agricultural research,
as Ruttan concludes (Ruttan 1994), there are two challenges: (a) biological and
technical constraints on crop and animal productivity and (b) resource and environmental constraints on sustainable growth in agricultural production (Ruttan 1994).
Raising the yield ceilings of gains for the cereal crops is difficult. The incremental
response of crop yields to the increasing use of chemical fertilizers has declined,
especially in the years after 2000. Ruttan foresaw in 1999 that the advances in the
basic knowledge on molecular biology and genetic engineering will create new
opportunities for advancing agricultural technology that will reverse the urgency
of some of the above concerns (Ruttan 1994). Institutionalization of private sector
agricultural research capacity in some developing countries is beginning to complement public sector capacity. More intensive and efficient use of technical inputs,
including chemical fertilizers and pest control chemicals, and more effective animal
nutrition will improve the necessary gains in crop and animal productivity. Higher
8 Big Data and Its Applications in Agro-Geoinformatics
145