State of Food and Agriculture Report, 2022
Recently the United Nations-Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has released a report titled ‘The State of Food and Agriculture 2022 : Leveraging Automation to Transform Agrifood System’.
This report analyzes how automation in our agri-food systems can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Benefits of automation in agriculture–
- It increases labor productivity and profitability in agriculture.
- Improves working conditions and income for agricultural workers.
- Creates new opportunities for entrepreneurship in rural areas.
- Reduces food loss and improves product quality and preservation.
Challenges-
- The unavailability of automation exacerbates inequality. This affects small-scale producers and marginalized groups (such as youth and women).
- Technologies such as large motorized machinery promote monoculture and soil erosion. This creates negative environmental impact.
- Automation can lead to unemployment in areas where rural labor is high and wages are low.
- Wide disparities exist within and between countries regarding the adoption of automation. For example, it has been adopted to a limited extent in most of sub-Saharan Africa.
Recommendation-
- Given the labor surplus, policy makers should refrain from subsidizing the adoption of automation. Instead, the focus should be on creating an environment conducive to adoption.
- Social security should be provided to low-skilled workers, as they are at higher risk of loss of employment while adopting new technology.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
- The Food and Agriculture Organization was established in the year 1945 under the United Nations Organization, it is a specialized agency of the United Nations.
- World Food Day is celebrated every year on 16 October in the world. This day is celebrated to commemorate the anniversary of the founding of the FAO.
- It is one of the food aid organizations of the United Nations based in Rome (Italy). Apart from this, the World Food Program and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) are also involved in this.
Source – The Hindu
