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The battle for the future of farming: what you need to know Shared via bizcommunity.com - By: Michel Pimbert & Colin Anderson

The battle for the future of farming: what you need to know Shared via bizcommunity.com - By: Michel Pimbert & Colin Anderson

It is widely agreed that today’s global agriculture system is a social and environmental failure. Business as usual is no longer an option: biodiversity loss and nitrogen pollution are exceeding planetary limits, and catastrophic risks of climate change demand immediate action.

Most concede that there is an urgent need to radically transform our food systems. But the proposed innovations for more sustainable food systems are drastically different. Which we choose will have long-lasting effects on human society and the planet.

Suggested innovations in food systems can be broadly understood as either seeking to conform with – or to transform – the status quo.

A technological future

Some want to keep the agriculture industry as close to existing practices as possible. This is true of the increasing number of corporate and financial actors who seek to solve the food crisis by developing new technologies. These technologies are envisaged as being part of what is being called the “fourth industrial revolution” (4IR). The “answer” here is thought to lie in a fusion of technologies that blurs the lines between physical, digital and biological domains.

Agri Northern Cape

South Africa: Agri-Parks Will Help Your Farmers Farming Portal

South Africa: Agri-Parks Will Help Your Farmers Farming Portal

land reform2Making a living in farming is not easy. For many small scale farmers, commercial farming is hard. For small farmers wanting to make a living in the sector, the challenges can almost seem insurmountable.

Many small farmers fail due to lack of support, education and the necessary skills that are needed to make commercial farming a success.

However, all this is about to change. Thanks to the launch of the Agri-parks programme by government, struggling small farmers will now be able to become successful farm owners.

Government launched the Agri-parks programme in 2015 as one of the cornerstones of rural economic transformation. Led by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, the programme provides communities with jobs, food security and opportunities to prosper.

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