Teagasc launched the report this Tuesday at the Aviva Stadium.

More than 200 experts and industry stakeholders contributed to the foresight process under the direction of Tom Moran, former secretary general of the Department of Agriculture. Its goal was to identify new areas of technology in which Ireland should invest for the Teagasc Authority, its management and partners. It is also intended to feed into policy at national and EU level.

So what are they and what will they mean for farmers?

Plant and animal genomics and related technologies

Over the next 40 years, biological science-based technologies and approaches have the potential to improve food crop production in a sustainable way. Farmers have already seen the benefits of genomics in dairy and now in beef, but with the cost of genomic testing dropping dramatically, there is much more potential.

The focus is moving not just to reading the genes of animals and plants to find the best ones, but writing changes into the genes to improve efficiency and disease resistance.

Human, animal and soil microbiota

The gut is good. Abundant evidence shows that particular aspects of human health and disease are attributable to the trillions of microbes that inhabit our gastrointestinal tract, collectively referred to as the gut microbiota.

Consider that the number of unique genes contributed by the gut microbiota is greater than 150-fold encoded within the human genome. The audience was told that the gut can identify better than the genome how people will react to food and what disease they are predisposed to.

It is much more than gut feeling that this will have a big effect not just on the food industry, but also on animals and soils, in the years ahead.

Digital technologies

Over the next decade, emerging digital technologies such as data analytics, sensors and artificial intelligence will transform or replace many products, processes and jobs. Again, cost reduction has a major effect on accelerating their use.

The key technologies mentioned include:

  • Sensors to capture data, the cost of which has reduced by half in the last 10 years.
  • Data storage transfer and communication technology: cost divided by 20 in the last 10 years.
  • Data analytics to analyse and present data, and develop an appropriate response. The cost of this has been divided by 60 in the last 10 years.

    • New technologies for food processing

    Over the past decade, the food industry has increasingly sought to lose its image of “food and beverage” provider and position itself as a provider of “health and nutrition,” the report said.

    This process is ongoing and will continue to unfold for the foreseeable future. This is good news for Ireland as a major producer of natural pasture-based dairy and meat food products. These products have great potential as a vehicle for functional foods with a demonstrable effect on the health and wellbeing of targeted populations.

    Transformation in the food value chain system

    Think what Uber did to taxis or Airbnb did to hotel rooms. Data will drive more decisions enabled by low-cost sensors connected via the internet of farm things (IoFT – new lingo to learn).

    It’s not all high-tech: practices such as collaborative farming and leasing might be more widespread and more sophisticated in approach.

    A circular economy will aim to reduce waste, with new players focused on the processing of biomass and organic waste – not only from agri-food production and processing but also from forestry, paper, food retail, food service and domestic consumption.

    They will produce a wide range of products, biofuels and green chemicals, composts, animal feeds and food additives, as well as high-value molecules for food, pharma and cosmetics.

    How it is used must be made easier for farmers

    Aidan O’Driscoll, secretary general of the Department of Agriculture, said the reports builds on many of the themes of the Food Wise 2025 report and further develops the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

    US strategic thinker Dr Banning Garrett set the scene, stating that we will continue to see exceptional growth in technology and it has to be harnessed for solutions. The critical point is that many technologies are rapidly converging.

    Dr Frank O’Mara, head of research at Teagasc, challenges Ireland to aim to have the most technology-driven agri-food industry in the world. “We are well positioned but others wouldn’t stand back,” he said.

    Listen to an interview with Dr O'Mara in our podcast below:

    Earlier, Janet Bainbridge, CEO of Agricultural Technology for UK Trade & Investment, spelled out how the UK had started the journey over two and a half years ago when it started focusing on accelerating innovation in agriculture. “At this stage, 50% of UK farmland uses precision agriculture, but how it is used must be made easier for farmers,” she said.