Precision Agriculture

Not many people have heard the term “precision agriculture” before, understandably so; the concept is fairly new, unfamiliar even to ultra-modern farms in our own country. However, this new technology has important implications for the future of agriculture, the environment and food security. If implemented in a mainstream way, geostatistics and precision agriculture could make a huge impact on crop yield and environmental sustainability worldwide.

            Basically the idea of precision agriculture involves using specialized tools to analyze and record environmental data, such as soil composition, depth, alkalinity, quality, rock content, et cetera. Sounds like a pretty basic idea right? Precision agriculture takes it a step further to analyze the variations that take place throughout an individual plot of land. Therefore, a farmer would be better informed, year after year, as to which locations on his or her land best suit which crops, as well as any soil modifications that might be necessary to improve quality. All of this would serve to improve crop yield, which would aid food security measures and individual farmers worldwide, as well as environmental protection, which would encourage sustainable agriculture for generations to come.

            However, the impact of this new technology (or application of technology) on countries like Sierra Leone remains to be seen. Indubitably, the developing world tends to be last to receive new technological advancements like these, and it’s likely that at first it would only benefit a small amount of farmers. And while a higher crop yield might also enable the U.S. to increase its food aid gifts to countries like Sierra Leone, the benefit there is negligible, as it is of course no guarantee that such a food surplus would in fact lead to additional aid. Not to be underestimated, though, is the potential savings in environmental impact – the continent of Africa boasts a wide gradient of ecologically diverse environments, and as such tends to suffer the most from the devastating effects of climate change.

            Surely, this new agricultural practice is an exciting development that could mean big things for Sierra Leone’s farmers. However, it remains to be seen if that technological leap forward will truly play out in the most advantageous ways to the people, or if it will remain a tool only for use on wealthier, modernized farms like those in the United States – ultimately not where it is most needed.

Marisa N | Volunteer Blogger

Khadarlis for Sierra Leone

marisa@khadarlis.org