Agricultural automation is key to attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2022 edition of The State of Food and Agriculture focuses on the potential of mechanization and digital automation to transform agriculture in a way that contributes to more efficient, productive, sustainable, inclusive and resilient agrifood systems. It analyses the different constraints that producers face regarding the uptake of automation technologies and provides guidance on policies, legislation, interventions and investments, keeping in mind the heterogeneity of agricultural producers (large vs small, women vs men, old vs young) across production sectors, including crops, livestock, aquaculture and agroforestry.
The report also indicates how agricultural automation can lead to trade-offs between economic, environmental and social objectives, and that a proper balance of these trade-offs depends on context. The mix of technologies – as well as appropriate policies, legislation, interventions and investments – to be promoted will depend on the level of economic development, the institutions in place, local agronomic conditions, the characteristics of producers and the objectives of policymakers. The series of policy and legal instruments presented in this chapter are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, they need to work together to create the right conditions for responsible adoption of agricultural automation. Policymakers should note the context-specificity of adoption and understand the pressing problems facing an area (e.g. connectivity, inequality, poverty), before combining policy or legal instruments for targeted action.
Farmers, service providers and manufacturers may all have a financial incentive to invest in automation technologies, but they do not have the same market power. A key message is that while farmers should choose which technologies to adopt – from the hugely diverse toolkit of automation technologies – the main role of public interventions is to create an enabling environment, where innovation can thrive, and incentives make the adoption process as inclusive as possible. Multistakeholder initiatives, at national or international level, that share knowledge on automation can be an effective way to overcome barriers to adoption.
The report stresses that public investments and interventions aimed at broad economic development are essential for creating an enabling environment. However, priorities will differ, depending on the ultimate objectives of policymakers. While concerns about labour scarcity are driving adoption in high-income countries, low- and middle-income countries may be more concerned about improving rural livelihoods, overall food security and nutrition. Governments in these countries may choose to focus on harnessing the digital revolution towards creating decent employment opportunities that are accessible to vulnerable groups, including small-scale producers, women and youth, thus leaving no one behind while progressing towards the SDGs. This requires particular attention to the specific needs that these groups face to make the transition an inclusive one.
In summary, it is the hope that this edition of The State of Food and Agriculture can contribute to the dialogue and debate about how to harness agricultural automation and shape action towards the transformation of agrifood systems to make them more sustainable, productive, inclusive, efficient and resilient.
