Skip to main content

Technological Landscape of the Agriculture and Food Sector: A Long-Term Vision

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Bio#Futures

Abstract

This chapter presents the overview of global challenges and trends, as well as technological landscape and future prospects for science, technology and innovation (STI) in agriculture and food sector. Our study is based on a systemic mapping of trends and technologies with the combination of big data analysis (text mining) and expert-based methods. The focus of the study is the interaction of agrifood sector with biotechnology and information technology domains in shaping the future of bioeconomy-driven sustainable and socially inclusive bioagrifood sector. The latter is understood not only in terms of food production but also as a societal ecosystem providing opportunities for human-centred and environment-oriented activities on the land involving certain groups of the population based on traditions and collective or individual values. New opportunities for long-desired wide implementation of the principles of sustainable development and bioeconomy provided by breakthroughs in biotechnologies, nanotechnologies and artificial intelligence give hopes of deep transformation in the sector not only in the most technologically and economically advanced economies but also in mid-tier countries.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aarhus University. (2020) How Cable Bacteria Could Make Rice Cultivation Greener. https://www.labmanager.com/news/how-bacteria-could-make-rice-cultivation-greener-22434. Accessed 22 April 2020

  • Adnan, N., Nordin, S. M., Rahman, I., & Noor, A. (2018) The effects of knowledge transfer on farmers decision making toward sustainable agriculture practices. World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, 15 (1), 98–115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • AgriNews (2020) Microbes play important role in soil’s nitrogen cycle. https://www.agrinews-pubs.com/2020/04/05/microbes-play-important-role-in-soils-nitrogen-cycle/a3ze2fm/. Accessed 6 April 2020

  • American Society of Agronomy (2020) Soil carbon and nitrogen mineralization after the initial flush of CO2. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-04/asoa-sca041420.php. Accessed 16 April 2020

  • Angold, E. V., Zharkov, V. A., Kalashnikov, A. A. (2020) Impul'snoe dozhdevanie: tekhnologiya i preimushchestva (Impulse irrigation: technology and advantages). https://www.agbz.ru/articles/impulsnoe-dozhdevanie-tekhnologiya-i-preimushchestva/. Accessed 13 April 2020

  • Ayaz, M., Ammad-Uddin, M., Sharif, Z., Mansour, A., & Aggoune, E. H. M. (2019) Internet-of-Things (IoT)-Based Smart Agriculture: Toward Making the Fields Talk. IEEE Access, 7, 129551–129583

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bach, H., & Mauser, W. (2018) Sustainable agriculture and smart farming. In Earth Observation Open Science and Innovation (pp. 261–269). Springer, Cham

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bakhtin, P., Saritas, O., Chulok, A., Kuzminov, I., & Timofeev, A. (2017) Trend monitoring for linking science and strategy. Scientometrics, 111(3), 2059–2075

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balakrishnan, S., Janet, J., Sachinkanithkar, R., & Reshma, D. (2017) Technological Innovations for Agricultural Developments through Information Communications Technology (ICT). CSI Communications magazine, 41(6), 10-13

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartkowski, B., Theesfeld, I., Pirscher, F., & Timaeus, J. (2018) Snipping around for food: economic, ethical and policy implications of CRISPR/Cas genome editing. Geoforum, 96, 172–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bedford, J., Farrar, J., Ihekweazu, C., Kang, G., Koopmans, M., & Nkengasong, J. (2019) A new twenty-first century science for effective epidemic response. Nature, 575(7781), 130–136

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bellows, A. C. (2019) A systems-based human rights approach to a national food plan in the USA. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 1–3

    Google Scholar 

  • Benjamin, J. (2020) Conservation Tools Help Producers Make Positive Impacts on Changing Climate. https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2020/04/22/conservation-tools-help-producers-make-positive-impacts-changing-climate. Accessed 22 April 2020

  • BioInnovate Africa Programme. (2018) Nitrogen bio-fortified and pelletized commercial grade organic fertilizer made from urban bio-waste to improve soil productivity. https://bioinnovate-africa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Nitrogen-organic-fertilizer-from-urban-bio-waste.pdf. Accessed 22 April 2020

  • Bowen, R., & Morris, W. (2019) The digital divide: Implications for agribusiness and entrepreneurship. Lessons from Wales. Journal of Rural Studies, 72, 75–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Briglauer, W., Dürr, N. S., Falck, O., & Hüschelrath, K. (2019) Does state aid for broadband deployment in rural areas close the digital and economic divide? Information Economics and Policy, 46, 68–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cagnin, C., Keenan, M., Johnston, R., Scapolo, F., & Barre, R. (2008) Future-oriented technology analysis. Strategic Intelligence for an Innovative Economy. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

    Google Scholar 

  • Calof, J., Meissner, D., & Vishnevskiy, K. (2020) Corporate foresight for strategic innovation management: the case of a Russian service company. Foresight, 22 (1), 14–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, H., Liu, S., & Oderanti, F. (2020) A knowledge network and mobilisation framework for lean supply chain decisions in agri-food industry. In Supply Chain and Logistics Management: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (pp. 369–381). IGI Global

    Google Scholar 

  • Coomes, O. T., Barham, B. L., MacDonald, G. K., Ramankutty, N., & Chavas, J. P. (2019) Leveraging total factor productivity growth for sustainable and resilient farming. Nature Sustainability, 2(1), 22–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corlett, R. T. (2017) A bigger toolbox: biotechnology in biodiversity conservation. Trends in Biotechnology, 35(1), 55–65

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Data Bridge Market Research. (2020) Biochar Market: Moving Towards Brighter Future| Cool Planet, Pacific Biochar Benefit Corporation, Genesis Industries, LLC, CharGrow USA LLC, Black Owl Biochar. https://www.openpr.com/news/2002148/biochar-market-moving-towards-brighter-future-cool-planet. Accessed 16 April 2020

  • Depenbusch, L., & Klasen, S. (2019) The effect of bigger human bodies on the future global calorie requirements. PloS one, 14(12), e0223188

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dubé, L., Du, P., McRae, C., Sharma, N., Jayaraman, S., & Nie, J. Y. (2018) Convergent innovation in food through big data and artificial intelligence for societal-scale inclusive growth. Technology Innovation Management Review, 8(2)

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO. (2019a) The State of Food and Agriculture 2019. Moving forward on food loss and waste reduction. Rome

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO. (2019b) New standards to curb the global spread of plant pests and diseases. http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/1187738/icode/. Accessed 16 April 2020

  • Fraser, A. (2019) Land grab/data grab: precision agriculture and its new horizons. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 46(5), 893–912

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geels, F. W. (2020) Micro-foundations of the multi-level perspective on socio-technical transitions: Developing a multi-dimensional model of agency through crossovers between social constructivism, evolutionary economics and neo-institutional theory. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 152, 119894

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geoengineering Monitor. (2018) Biochar. Technology Factsheet. http://www.geoengineeringmonitor.org/2018/05/biochar-technology-factsheet/. Accessed 16 April 2020

  • Ghobadpour, A., Boulon, L., Mousazadeh, H., Malvajerdi, A. S., & Rafiee, S. (2019) State of the art of autonomous agricultural off-road vehicles driven by renewable energy systems. Energy Procedia, 162, 4–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, L., & Rush, D. (2020) Novel coronavirus in Cape Town informal settlements: feasibility of using informal dwelling outlines to identify high risk areas for COVID-19 transmission from a social distancing perspective. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 6(2), e18844

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gokhberg, L., Kuzminov, I., Chulok, A., & Thurner, T. (2017) The future of Russia’s agriculture and food industry between global opportunities and technological restrictions. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 15(4), 457–466

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang, K., Anderton, B. N., Ronald, P. C., & Barnett, G. A. (2018) Semantic network analysis reveals opposing online representations of the search term “GMO”. Global Challenges, 2(1), 1700082

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karabag, S. F. (2020) An Unprecedented Global Crisis! The Global, Regional, National, Political, Economic and Commercial Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Journal of Applied Economics and Business Research, 10(1), 1–6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kazan Federal University. (2019) Biochar used to prevent soil erosion in Tatarstan. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-09/kfu-but091319.php. Accessed 16 April 2020

  • Kim, H. (2019) AI, big data, and robots for the evolution of biotechnology. Genomics & Informatics, 17(4)

    Google Scholar 

  • Klerkx, L., & Rose, D. (2020) Dealing with the game-changing technologies of Agriculture 4.0: How do we manage diversity and responsibility in food system transition pathways? Global Food Security, 24, 100347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knickel, K., Redman, M., Darnhofer, I., Ashkenazy, A., Chebach, T. C., Šūmane, S., Tisenkopfs, T., Zemeckis, R., Atkociuniene, R. V., Strauss, A., Kristensen, L. S., Schiller, S., Koopmans, M. E., & Rogge, E. (2018) Between aspirations and reality: Making farming, food systems and rural areas more resilient, sustainable and equitable. Journal of Rural Studies, 59, 197–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koohafkan, P., & Altieri, M. A. (2016) Forgotten agricultural heritage: Reconnecting food systems and sustainable development. Taylor & Francis

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, P., Lorek, T., Olsson, T. C., Sackley, N., Schmalzer, S., & Laveaga, G. S. (2017) Roundtable: New narratives of the green revolution. Agricultural History, 91(3), 397–422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, M. A., & Lubell, M. N. (2018) Innovation, cooperation, and the structure of three regional sustainable agriculture networks in California. Regional environmental change, 18(4), 1235–1246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, Y., & Li, Y. (2017) Revitalize the world’s countryside. Nature News, 548(7667), 275

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Loboguerrero, A. M., Campbell, B. M., Cooper, P. J., Hansen, J. W., Rosenstock, T., & Wollenberg, E. (2019) Food and earth systems: priorities for climate change adaptation and mitigation for agriculture and food systems. Sustainability, 11(5), 1372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lokko, Y., Heijde, M., Schebesta, K., Scholtès, P., Van Montagu, M., & Giacca, M. (2018) Biotechnology and the bioeconomy — Towards inclusive and sustainable industrial development. New biotechnology, 40, 5–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Mackay, M., & Perkins, H. C. (2019) Making space for community in super-productivist rural settings. Journal of rural studies, 68, 1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Market Study Report. (2020) Global Biochar Market Growth 2020-2025. https://www.marketstudyreport.com/reports/global-biochar-market-growth-2020-2025. Accessed 16 April 2020

  • Marlow, S. (2020) COVID-19: Effects on the Fertilizer Industry. https://ihsmarkit.com/research-analysis/report-covid19-effects-on-the-fertilizer-industry.html. Accessed 16 April 2020

  • Miles, I., Saritas, O., & Sokolov, A. (2016) Foresight for science, technology and innovation. Springer International Publishing

    Google Scholar 

  • Piesse, M. (2020) Global Water Supply and Demand Trends Point Towards Rising Water Insecurity. http://www.futuredirections.org.au/publication/global-water-supply-and-demand-trends-point-towards-rising-water-insecurity/. Accessed 16 April 2020

  • Porter, A., & Cunningham, S. (2004). Tech Mining: Exploiting New Technologies for Competitive Advantage. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rohr, J. R., Barrett, C. B., Civitello, D. J., Craft, M. E., Delius, B., DeLeo, G. A., Hudson, P. J., Jouanard, N., Nguyen, K. H., Ostfeld, R. S., Remais, J. V., Riveau, G., Sokolow, S. H., & Tilman, D. (2019) Emerging human infectious diseases and the links to global food production. Nature Sustainability, 2(6), 445–456

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rotz, S., Gravely, E., Mosby, I., Duncan, E., Finnis, E., Horgan, M., LeBlanc, J., Martin, R., Tait Neufeld, H., Nixon, A., Pant, L., Shalla, V. & Fraser, E. (2019) Automated pastures and the digital divide: How agricultural technologies are shaping labour and rural communities. Journal of Rural Studies, 68, 112–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sachs, J. D., Schmidt-Traub, G., Mazzucato, M., Messner, D., Nakicenovic, N., & Rockström, J. (2019) Six transformations to achieve the sustainable development goals. Nature Sustainability, 2(9), 805–814

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salpina, D. (2019) How sectoral policy can benefit the protection of multi-functional cultural heritage? The case of agricultural landscape and the EU rural development policy. Aedon, 2

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokoine University of Agriculture. (2019) Success story on pelletized green biowastes as organic fertilizer for smallholder farmers in Tanzania. https://www.sua.ac.tz/news/success-story-pelletized-green-biowastes-organic-fertilizer-smallholder-farmers-tanzania. Accessed 16 April 2020

  • Sokolov, A., & Chulok, A. (2016) Priorities for future innovation: Russian S&T Foresight 2030. Futures, 80, 17–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Streich, J., Romero, J., Gazolla, J. G. F. M., Kainer, D., Cliff, A., Prates, E. T., Brown, J. B., Khoury, S., Tuskan, G. A., Garvin, M., Jacobson, D., & Harfouche, A. L. (2020) Can exascale computing and explainable artificial intelligence applied to plant biology deliver on the United Nations sustainable development goals? Current opinion in biotechnology, 61, 217–225

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Strickland, T. S. (2017) Study: Half of U.S. corn crop could vanish by 2100 due to climate change. https://www.triplepundit.com/2017/01/climate-change-corn-crop/. Accessed 16 April 2020

  • Torre, A., & Wallet, F. (2020) Rural development policies at stake: structural changes and target evolutions during the last 50 years. In: Fischer M., Nijkamp P. (eds) Handbook of Regional Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

    Google Scholar 

  • Ugochukwu, A. I., & Phillips, P. W. (2018) Technology adoption by agricultural producers: a review of the literature. In From Agriscience to Agribusiness (pp. 361–377). Springer, Cham

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Venkatramanan, V., & Shah, S. (2019) Climate smart agriculture technologies for environmental management: the intersection of sustainability, resilience, wellbeing and development. In Sustainable Green Technologies for Environmental Management (pp. 29–51). Springer, Singapore

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Vilceanu, M. O., Grasso, O., & Johnson, K. (2019) Bridging the Gap Between Public Opinion Research and Consumer Marketing Research: Insights into US Shoppers of Organic Foods. Association of Marketing Theory and Practice Proceedings

    Google Scholar 

  • Vu, Q., Nguyen, V., Solenaya, O., & Ronzhin, A. (2017) Group control of heterogeneous robots and unmanned aerial vehicles in agriculture tasks. In International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Robotics (pp. 260–267). Springer, Cham

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Wahby, M., Heinrich, M. K., Hofstadler, D. N., Petzold, J., Kuksin, I., Zahadat, P., Schmickl, T., Ayres, P., & Hamann, H. (2019) Robotic sensing and stimuli provision for guided plant growth. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 149, e59835

    Google Scholar 

  • World Trade Organization. (2020) Responding to the Covid-19 Pandemic with Open and Predictable Trade in Agricultural and Food Products. https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/covid19_e/covid19_e.htm. Accessed 16 April 2020

  • Zaidi, S. S. E. A., Vanderschuren, H., Qaim, M., Mahfouz, M. M., Kohli, A., Mansoor, S., & Tester, M. (2019) New plant breeding technologies for food security. Science, 363(6434), 1390–1391

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The book chapter was prepared within the framework of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Leonid Gokhberg .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Gokhberg, L., Kuzminov, I., Khabirova, E. (2021). Technological Landscape of the Agriculture and Food Sector: A Long-Term Vision. In: Koukios, E., Sacio-Szymańska, A. (eds) Bio#Futures. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64969-2_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics