AgroPages-Precision farming could transform agriculture in Latin America and Caribbean: IICA-Agricultural news

An international seminar on precision agriculture was recently organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to support the work it carries out together with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

During the seminar, the director general of IICA stated that the combination of scientific knowledge, new technologies, and innovation had given way to precision agriculture, a type of agriculture that is better able to address the current challenges. He noted that science and technology must be combined to contribute to the transformation required by agriculture. The event demonstrated the positive impact that this type of agriculture can have on the agricultural sector in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

The seminar covered successful cases of good practices in precision agriculture, all of which provided recommendations on ways in which the development and implementation of this type of agriculture can be promoted in the LAC, focusing primarily on the adoption process that should be undertaken by small-scale farmers.

According to researchers from EMBRAPA, precision agriculture comprises a series of techniques designed to optimize the use of agricultural inputs (seeds, agrochemicals, and fertilizers) based on the spatial and temporal variability of agricultural production.

The experts agreed that this type of agriculture is based on the use of scientific information to improve decision-making by producers, which increases profitability and contributes to the sustainability of natural resources. However, they also stated that prospective analyses and public policy-making are necessary to better disseminate these production systems and technologies.

It was highlighted that India, China, and the United States have the same amount of arable land. Opportunities for improvement and the capacity to improve definitely abound; however, in order to improve, small producers must become empowered and work together.

During the event, precision agriculture was also defined as a tool that can contribute to solving food security issues; however, it is part of a broad range of topics that must be addressed to drive agricultural development

Speakers from Chile and Argentina shared their countries’ experiences with the use of precision agriculture to produce a wide range of products, from grains and oilseeds to tropical crops such as fruits. They agreed that in all cases, precision agriculture allowed for making precise production decisions that increased product yield and farm profitability, while also serving as an evaluation tool.

The specialists emphasized the fact that precision agriculture can play an important role as a traceability system throughout the entire agricultural process, which is an essential requirement for accessing international markets.

Monsanto and John Deere companies also described the ways in which they are driving technological development to enable producers to make production decisions based on their knowledge of their farms and their specific conditions.