They design containers equipped for agriculture in remote areas
The development of sophisticated technologies has been one of the great allies of the agricultural industry over the years. However, new processes or tools are not always available to everyone, especially due to costs.
Rural areas that are difficult to access are perhaps the most vulnerable in this regard. And it is that they are places where the mobile telephony or the internet do not arrive, leaving them relegated from the advances that can be observed today.
This situation prompted the Farm From a Box company to devise a plan that could perhaps shorten the gap that still keeps certain agricultural producers away from the novelties that can be found in today's highly competitive market.
It is a container that comes equipped with elements of high precision, which seek to promote the planting of any item in virtually anywhere in the world, as explained by the developers of the project.
Brandi DeCarli, founding partner of the company, explained that the "boxes" contain solar panels, devices for cold storage, irrigation systems, sensors and other tools that serve to work up to 0,8 hectares of land.
Although he admits that the initial price of the proposal is US $ 40.000, an investment that is not affordable at all, he says that it is shown as a viable alternative for the future, especially since it can be reduced in 80% post-harvest losses.
"For example, we can have a plantation in Kenya, and from the United States we could be monitoring it. We have already done some tests in Tanzania, where we have been able to remotely manage water pumps, "says DeCarli.
The spokesperson for Farm From a Box explains that they are devising systems that are capable of being managed through mobile applications. "For that we must also take the technology of portable telephony, for that reason the challenge is greater", adds the businesswoman.
In the opinion of Carlo Bravi, economist of the UN Organization for Food and Agriculture (FAO) as well as technology, it is necessary that those who receive these profits become convinced that they need them.
"It also implies a matter of getting used to, training and starting to learn by doing," says Bravi, who believes that it is no use to present the latest technological advances if they do not know how to take advantage of them.
"Among the poorest, the difficulties accumulate, they assume many risks, lack means and infrastructures, suffer the pressure of climate change and are reluctant to change their habits", declares the representative of the FAO.
Failure to do
In the 2011 year, US $ 59 million were invested in research and development of the agricultural industry, according to a study carried out by the journal Science in 2016. Most of the countries that contributed capital for this were the so-called "first world".
What the publication emphasizes is that, since then, the richest countries make great contributions in this matter, compared to the little that the developing countries contribute to improve their mechanisms and capacities to produce.
"Growers are increasingly stressed, do not trust institutions and do not know about insurance," explains Pramod Aggarwal, an expert with the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).
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