I have been fortunate to combine my two great passions in my work: working the land and technological development. As a grower I have seen the potential of applied AGTECH, watching how migrating crops from conventional methods to agro-technology packages delivers exponentially higher yields and export-market quality.
The world has changed and will never be the same as we knew it. The imbalance the pandemic is creating has highlighted how important the food production chain is to our society. According to FAO data, by 2050 the world is expected to reach a population of more than 9.5 billion people, so global agricultural production must increase by 60%, and in developed countries by almost 100%. Traditional growing methods will not be able to supply these volumes. Climate change is an increasingly serious problem, and agro-industrial activity accounts for almost 40% of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. 33% of soils are no longer suitable for intensive agriculture due to erosion, nutrient depletion, acidification, salinization, compaction and chemical contamination. We must change, renew ourselves, reinvent ourselves as an industry.
I am part of the third generation of growers and agricultural researchers in Mexico. My grandfather, Raúl Mercado Ruvalcaba, took part as a researcher in the Green Revolution, which focused on improving grain production to meet the growing global demand for food, accelerated by the post-war “baby boom” starting in 1945. It is estimated that more than 1 billion people were saved from famine thanks to the developments of the Green Revolution.
Today, in a world of limited resources, the challenge we face as growers is a different one: we must produce more with less, while also understanding the requirements of international markets that demand ever-higher quality. We are in the midst of what history will remember as the #AGTECHRevolution, in which the adoption of sustainable growing methods such as #SoilFree hydroponics will make it possible to meet growing global demand. As a servant of the agribusiness industry, I founded DIDIHU with the commitment to develop new solutions and technologies that support the grower community. My mission is to help farmers build a truly sustainable business, producing our food more efficiently and reducing our carbon footprint. My duty and responsibility is to put technology to work for the #AGTECHRevolution so that we achieve food security for our new world.
The decline in the availability of water and fertile land, and inefficiency in sourcing and distributing food, combined with the health crisis, will drive the greatest AGTECH development in human history. Different technology trends are booming in the sector, and as growers we are becoming much more efficient thanks to advances in mechanization, hydroponics, digitalization (the Internet of Things is telling us in real time the status of our crops and their needs), urban agriculture, climate forecasting, Blockchain (harvest traceability), artificial intelligence (we already see drones applying fertilizer on large-scale crops), genetic improvement, E-commerce (marketplaces and apps for niche foods/services; natural, vegan markets, etc.) and, most importantly: information. In an ultra-connected world, learning today's best practices in agriculture is just one click away; knowledge and innovation are open to all.
The survival of our species has always gone hand in hand with our ability to meet the challenges of producing our food. Like the Green Revolution, the #AGTECHRevolution will be remembered as the one that saved the world from famine.
Let us remember that the planet's resources are finite; without a planet, there is no agriculture. We must achieve agricultural productivity by establishing a new ecological order.
Those who bear the greatest risk from all these rapid changes are our growers. To continue on the path of research and development, I depend 100% on the success of the farmers I work with side by side every day. My obligation as head of R&D (Research and Development) is to advise small and large farmers so they can put together the ideal technology package to boost their productivity sustainably. That is where my greatest focus lies and where DIDIHU's culture is centered: guiding growers to find the right AGTECH solutions for their agronomic goals.
The #AGTECHRevolution is just beginning, and the opportunity is open to all of us who are part of the agro-industrial chain. Let us be remembered as the leading farmers who ushered in a new era and saved the planet by establishing the ecological balance that will make it sustainable for future generations and for our children's children.
Raulo Mercado Calles
