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View all search resultsAgriculture 4.0: How to ensure just, sustainable agricultural system
What would be needed to ensure inclusion for farmers across Indonesia? Is Agriculture 4.0 the way to increase productivity, and will it be as sustainable as it promises?
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Food for all: Various farming technologies are on show during the Jakarta Food Security Summit on Feb. 7-10 at the Jakarta Convention Center. A number of agritech start-ups have created on-the-ground solutions for farmers to increase food production. (JP/PJ Leo)
I
ndonesia, through the Agriculture Ministry, has been promoting Agriculture 4.0 to transform traditional agriculture to a more modern one, to increase the productivity, efficiency and sustainability of food production.
Agriculture 4.0 comprises concepts such as circular agriculture, vertical farming, digital agriculture and aquaponics, potentially using disruptive technology including robotics and sensors connected to precision farming technology, drones, internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain, among other methods.
Since 2012, many agritech start-ups in Indonesia — such as TaniHub, 8Villages and BIOPS just to name a few — have been contributing to creating on-theground solutions for farmers, using digital platforms to address problems of financing and long supply chains, and introduce farmers to precision farming.
Studies show that in the Indonesian context, Agriculture 4.0 offers the potential to increase the efficiency and productivity of Indonesian agricultural systems and attract private/public investments and young people to pursue farming. However, there are concerns among agricultural practitioners about responsible innovation as there is a tendency to use technology without fully understanding its context and potential social implications in wider society.
What would be needed to ensure inclusion for farmers across Indonesia? Is Agriculture 4.0 the way to increase productivity, and will it be as sustainable as it promises?
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization report in 2019, there are several conditions necessary to enable a digital transformation, including affordability, farmer’s education, supportive policies and programs, basic IT infrastructure and digital literacy. Successful adoption of new technology would require much more than just “copy-pasting”, as Agriculture 4.0 is not a one-size-fits-all solution.
Here we propose several factors to be considered by the government and proponents of Agriculture 4.0 according to the Indonesian context in order to avoid merely following the world trend in the fourth agricultural revolution.
