As in other industries, the Food Value Chain will experience the effect of artificial intelligence (AI) in its "first mile." With the need to increase food production by 70% by 2050 due to growing global populations and the constant and rising risk of food insecurity, AI in farming is an important development. Technologies like precision agriculture enable farmers to monitor crop moisture, soil composition, and temperature, optimizing water and fertilizer use and significantly increasing yields.
Coupled with relevant, up-to-the-minute market data available for analysis by evolving Machine Learning algorithms, farmers will have powerful tools to make better decisions, from the type of crop to develop to when and where to sell it.
Concurrently, we expect the buying side of the Value Chain to also benefit from AI. Buyers will analyze shifts in conditions at the product's origin to search for better quality and to source from regions during the right season.
However, adopting AI comes with challenges, including the environmental impact of big data processing and the potential for increased inequality in rural communities due to job displacement and access issues.