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This week the country marks 100 years since the first Dáil Éireann convened. In that period, Ireland has changed demonstrably. My grandparents were born in the 1920s and I personally have never known anyone that was alive in the decade preceding that.
This country has changed to the point where the 27 TDs in attendance that day would scarcely recognise it now, although looking out the window of the Mansion House, the seat of that first meeting, an electric mode of transport in the form of the Luas has been reinstated in the city.
In Ireland during this period, there have been many negatives, but there have been many positive developments also. Women getting the vote, Ireland joining the EU (EEC) in 1973, medical progress that means diseases that would have been a death sentence in 1919 are now barely a day in bed in 2019, as well as rural electrification and free education all come to mind. All of these societal and technological advancements have changed the face of Ireland and agriculture in this period has not stood still either.
Over the course of the last 50 years alone, global agricultural production has tripled as mechanical, technical, biological, chemical and improved business management systems have been implemented
As the saying goes; the only constant is change and sometimes this change can be very difficult but to advance and survive much like our own evolution, it is necessary.
Over the course of the last 50 years alone, global agricultural production has tripled as mechanical, technical, biological, chemical and improved business management systems have been implemented.
Just last Saturday night at the IFA Kilkenny dinner dance, Commissioner Hogan noted that going forward, farmers will be encouraged to use data and new technologies as part of their business.
An adaptation to technology would be a lot easier if we as a country were not struggling with poor access to rural broadband but also if our traditional methods of doing routine tasks were not under pressure
At this point in time, technological innovation is happening faster than ever before and the European Commission has called out that innovation will be an important element of the new CAP post-2020 in their communication on “The Future of Food and Farming”.
This is an acknowledgement of the huge potential of technological development and digitisation in addressing the current and future challenges the farming sector faces, although many of these technologies are facing challenges of their own.
An adaptation to technology would be a lot easier if we as a country were not struggling with poor access to rural broadband but also if our traditional methods of doing routine tasks were not under pressure.
After I wrote about my highly successful passport application experience through the new online system, a reader pointed out that I had failed to mention that this is a service that is also available through our beleaguered post office services. Services which need to be supported if they are to survive, particularly in areas where applying for said passport would not be possible in the way I had done it.
This naturally got me thinking about the benefits and negatives of technology, how it has and will positively impact the capabilities of the agricultural industry into the future but also the impact this change may have on the people who feel that they have been left behind in terms of technology. Technological change will only be possible with a corresponding societal change and an ability to easily adapt for everyone so that no one is left behind in the digital revolution.
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