GEAB 151

As we have already stated in various issues of the GEAB[1], agriculture as we know it is undergoing remarkable change. While we often see farming as a rural, analogue activity, there is a shift of perception of “food” among populations worldwide and we are starting to see that intricate connection between field and city-dweller’s plate turned into business models. The third agricultural revolution – after the invention of farming itself and the industrialisation of farming –is already well under way. Once again, Asia shows the way.

From efficiency to quality

Since the second half of the 20^th century right, agriculture has been rapidly modernising around the world. The USA and Brazil became the breadbaskets of the world (producing the most food)[2], followed by Europe and, on the eve of the new century, by Asia[3]. However, while Europe and the Americas invest mostly in modernising established methods, such as replacing old tractors by GPS-assisted ones, bees by fertilizer drones, and so on, Asia seems to use technology to think in entirely new directions, taking into account not only modernisations in production, but also shifting consumption patterns – including those exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.