The agricultural sector, like all other sectors of the economy, does not miss the introduction of modern trends and technologies. Considering the fact that the agro sphere (especially Ukrainian) is a rather conservative sphere, it perceives changes very slowly. Nevertheless, we don’t lag behind global trends.

Digitization

For centuries, farmers have worked in the field, defining better solutions by trial and error method and looking at the experience of past generations. However, nature has never been stable: the climate (though not as global as it is now) has been changing, droughts, floods, and strong coolings have been almost impossible to predict, and therefore yields have been volatile. It is hard to imagine that people worked in such unstable conditions even in the previous century! Now, with the introduction of smart technology, it has become much easier.

In Europe, farmers with small land banks have adopted precision agriculture technology. In Ukraine, by contrast, large agro holdings started to introduce the latest technologies several years ago. The larger farms moved faster to precision agriculture. Today, some elements of precision agriculture are used by even some small landowners with a 100 ha land bank. For the most part, precision agriculture is used in the application of PPP, the movement of various machinery, sowing and fertilizing.

Humanely treatment of farm animals and conscious consumption

In the previous article, we have already mentioned that Ukraine is now on the path to the introduction of European standards for the maintenance of domestic animals and birds. The new standards address many factors in animal husbandry: in fact, animal and poultry keeping conditions on farms, the use of veterinary drugs and appropriate care, and finally, humane slaughter.

 The modern consumer wants to be sure not just of the quality of the products, but the production conditions are very important to him as well. Because of this, there is a huge demand for everything organic (meat, milk, vegetables and fruits and even cosmetics) all over the world. Farmer products are usually more expensive than from “conveyor”, but their popularity will only increase. In Ukraine, many consumers are ready to pay for products with a “good biography”.

Therefore, it is possible to predict even more active development of local farms that specialize in a particular product.

Environmental friendliness

The pro-ecological trend touches many sectors of the economy and is one of the most powerful in the world today. It can be argued that climate change is affecting agriculture in the same way as agriculture is affecting the climate.

According to the All-Ukrainian Environmental League, the agro-sector is at the same level with industry in terms of environmental impact: the contribution of agro to environmental pollution is on average 35-40% (land resources — over 50%, reservoirs — 40-45%, groundwater — up to 30%).

The main problems are forest destruction, overgrazing, desertification, excess mineral fertilizers, and pesticides. It is known that cultivated plants absorb only about 40% of all used fertilizers. Rains wash away from the soil most of the liquids and they pollute ponds and groundwater. In addition, pests adapt very quickly to pesticides and in future farmers will need to increase the amount of the used fertilizers.

Considering all these problems, investing in greening production processes, using renewable energy sources, conserving our country's resources and, where possible, reducing waste — is no longer the whim of individuals, but the norm in most developed countries.

In our country, technological innovations are not popular due to lack of funds, and many agribusinesses, unfortunately, still almost don’t care about the environment. However, what we can do is definitely worth doing. Because big goals are usually achieved in small steps.

The editorial team of MIZEZ