Technology Diffusion in Agriculture

 Extract from WIPO report:

Precision agriculture technologies

PATs use sensors, satellite navigation, and data analytics to optimize farming operations. In general, there are three broad categories for PATs: (i) the data collection (sensors, satellite navigation), (ii) the data processing and/or analysis (yield monitoring, soil mapping), and (iii) the decision-making guidance (auto-steering tractors, variable-rate applications of fertilizers and pesticides). (23)

Farmers in Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States lead in the adoption of PATs. (24)

The US pioneered PATs in the 1980s, with adoption accelerating once global positioning systems (GPS) became widely available after 1983. (25) Most of the technologies used were related to grid sampling, fertilizer mapping, and pH as well as yield measurement. Since the 2000s, American farmers have been adopting auto-guidance system and variable rate technologies (VRTs) to reduce the cost of managing their farms. (26)

However, the adoption of PATs remains gradual. Studies show that farmers typically adopt individual PAT components rather than a complete system. (27) This is partly due to the high upfront cost of purchasing PATs.

Less than one-third of US farmers use any PAT tools whatsoever and adoption occurs in modules rather than complete systems. (28) In Europe, for example, entry level PATs include automatic milking systems, digital field records and automatic steerage systems. (29)

In addition, the PATs predominantly adopted vary according to agricultural need. Water scarcity led to the adoption of micro-irrigation in India, for example, whereas farmers in the US and Australia focus more on adopting guidance systems for large-scale cropping.

European Commission publishes study on IP and agricultural biotechnology

 

European Commission published its "NGT patent study" . In 2023, the Commission requested an evidence-based analysis of how patents related to new genomic techniques (NGTs) affect innovation in plant breeding, as well as breeders' access to genetic material and availability of seeds to farmers. 

This study examines how the current intellectual property (IP) framework affects breeders, farmers, and plant biotechnology actors, with a particular focus on the use of new genomic techniques (NGTs) in developing new plants. The analysis combines legal, economic, and market perspectives using a multi-method approach, allowing the study to offer both quantitative indicators and qualitative insights reflecting stakeholders’ practical experiences. The report emphasises the interplay between IP rules and market realities, and highlights how this interaction shapes opportunities and constraints in the sector. The European plant breeding sector is technologically sophisticated yet structurally diverse, with many SMEs operating alongside a small number of large international firms. Breeding is highly research-intensive. The study identifies potential legal and economic impacts arising from patents on NGT plants. The increasing complexity of the patent landscape may pose challenges for smaller breeders to access plant genetic material in terms of licensing costs and freedom-to-operate constraints. The study highlights multiple opportunities to strengthen transparency, support SMEs, and facilitate licensing. Overall, the study concludes that a balanced, coherent, and transparent IP system remains essential for ensuring that the benefits of NGTs are realised across Europe’s plant breeding and farming sectors while maintaining diversity, competition, and long-term resilience.

Report-https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/circabc-ewpp/d/d/workspace/SpacesStore/e374dbb4-9cf9-4799-8d18-98a459a08c34/download

ipkat analysis-https://groups.google.com/g/ipkat_readers/c/KFTacG976GE/m/ZSAbQ0urCQAJ?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer

CAN ORGANIC AGRICULTURE FEED THE WORLD?

As per a policy decision by the Sri Lankan Government the country is moving toward an eco-friendly sustainable agricultural system by promoting organic farming within the country. Going with this decision the government issued the Gazette Extraordinary No. 2226/48 of May 6, 2021, banning the importation of chemical fertilizers and pesticides with immediate effect. As a country which relies heavily on agriculture this decision came as a surprise and discussions, arguments and debates began surfacing over the good and bad sides of it. Group of Agricultural Scientists and Professionals representing universities, research stations, and other Agriculture related organizations formulated a special report and forwarded it to His Excellency the President Gotabhaya Rajapakse urging the government to rethink the strategy towards an eco-friendly sustainable agriculture as these sudden decisions could lead to catastrophic situations in Sri Lankan Agricultural sector. 

There is much criticism globally on this organic only policy of SL. Many countries have suffered food shortages due to idealistic pro-organic policies. But analyzing the situation as it unfolds exposes precisely what goes wrong when governments make decisions based on bad ideology and ignore evidence. 

Recommend this paper Organic Agriculture, FoodSecurity, and the Environment for informed discussion on this vital subject. There are several areas that deserve more research to further improve our understanding of the effects of organic agriculture. 

First, many of the available studies on yield performance and environmental effects refer to developed countries. Additional studies under typical conditions in developing countries would be very useful. 

Second, many of the existing studies with farm survey data have not properly controlled for selection bias. More rigorous empirical studies are needed. 

Third, while several studies showed that organic farming can be profitable with the existing support through subsidies and development projects, it is less clear whether organic farming could also be profitable without such external support. 

Fourth, the net food price effects of organic agriculture are not sufficiently understood. Although it is clear that organic foods are more expensive than conventional foods, it is less clear how much of the price markup is attributable to differences in farming practices as opposed to other factors such as scale effects, market structure, and efficiency. 

Finally, it would be interesting to analyze how the productivity, environmental, and profitability effects of organic farming might change through slight adjustments in the definition of what is allowed and disallowed in certified organic production.

Green Ammonia

Ammonia is a pungent gas that is widely used to make agricultural fertilisers. Green ammonia production is where the process of making ammonia is 100% renewable and carbon-free. One way of making green ammonia is by using hydrogen from water electrolysis and nitrogen separated from the air. These are then fed into the Haber process (also known as Haber-Bosch), all powered by sustainable electricity. In the Haber process, hydrogen and nitrogen are reacted together at high temperatures and pressures to produce ammonia, NH3. However, the process of making ammonia is currently not a “green” process. It is most commonly made from methane, water and air, using steam methane reforming (SMR) (to produce the hydrogen) and the Haber process. Approximately 90% of the carbon dioxide produced is from the SMR process. This process consumes a lot of energy and produces around 1.8% of global carbon dioxide emissions.

The first  ammonia plant was established at Rjukan , Norway in 1927, following a 1925 agreement between IG Farben of Germany, who transferred the Haber patents to Norsk Hydro in exchange for a quarter ownership, and the distribution of the products through them. During the 1930s other products came into production, including hydrogen and other gases, and from 1934 as the first plant in the world mass-produced heavy water, following a production plan by Leif Tronstad and Jomar Brun.  Together they drew up a plan for the industrial production of heavy water with hundreds of combined electrolysis, combustion and condensation cells into a cascade process, coupled with recycling, culminating in more than 99 % pure heavy water. This was the first industrial scale production of heavy water in the world. Norsk Hydro built a plant according to Tronstad’s and Brun’s design, next to the generator building at Vemork, just outside Rjukan in Telemark County. By January 1935 the material was becoming available in amounts of more than 100 g at 10 % of the American price at the time, and in 1938 about 80 kg was produced. After the German capture of the Rjukan heavy water plant in May 1940 and its efforts to replicate same in Germany worried allies and the plant was sabotaged & bombed by applies in 1943.

In India, first plant using electrolysis had come up at Nangal in 1962. It had a design capacity of 310 tons per day (tpd) of ammonia, was based on water electrolysis. Heavy water, used in the atomic energy industry, was also produced from the hydrogen gas obtained from electrolysis. Ammonia was converted first to nitric acid and then to calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN). Since the electrolysis of water is a highly power intensive process, the company had important energy needs (149 MW); these were being met by the hydroelectric plant of the Bakhra Dam located a few miles from Nangal. Power shortage led to change in feed stock and technology with addition of 1000T plant in 1978. With commissioning of this facility, hydrogen generation through power intensive electrolysis route was to be stopped which would have resulted in stoppage of Heavy Water production also. However, in order to continue heavy water production, electrolysis plant was continued to run on reduced load. With this production of Heavy Water got reduced from 14 Te./Yr. to 7 Te/year. 

World Development Report 2008

World development report 2008 focuses on agriculture. Chapter 7 deals with innovating through science and technology. Download report from:

http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWDR2008/Resources/WDR_00_book.pdf