Prof. Raj Khosla of Kansas State University in the United States, who stressed the importance of digital intelligence in farming, said that a public-private partnership was required for digital agriculture and that all farm operations could be digitised using GPS technology to increase farm productivity.
During a lecture on the ‘Future of Farming: Big Data, Analytics, and Precision Agriculture’ during the same session, Prof Khosla emphasised the necessity of artificial intelligence-enabled digital tools for enhancing farm income and production.
Dr Bruno Gerrad and Ben Guerir from Morocco gave talks on ‘Conservation Agriculture – a Global Perspective.’ In the lectures, they said that transitioning from conventional agriculture to conservation agriculture helps save natural resources and prevent crop losses due to climate change.
Designing appropriate farm machinery for small and marginal farm holdings can also have a big impact on conservation agriculture adoption. Axial flow pumps should also be used to store moisture during droughts, according to the researchers. The keynote speaker, Dr. Simon Cook of Murdoch University’s Future Food Institute, provided an informative talk on ‘Digital Agriculture for Smart Agriculture,’ emphasising the need of digitisation in agriculture for precise input application for marginal and small farmers.