Digital agriculture: the end of farmer s decision-making?

Transcription

1 Digital agriculture: the end of farmer s decision-making? Philippe Jeanneaux Contact : philippe.jeanneaux@vetagro-sup.fr

2 The drone of a departmental chamber of agriculture The ultimate objective is to directly transmit the references obtained from the tractor s computer, in order that fertilization or pesticide treatments are programmed of themselves at the right quantity, at the right place and at the scale of the Micro-plot (...). (From an Agricultural Officer of a Chamber of Agriculture, Extract from the Review "Chambres d Agriculture" (Hamiti and Siméon, 2014, p.23)

3 Issues for farms in the digital age What becomes of the autonomy of decision? What becomes the organization of farming systems? What becomes of the agricultural advice?

4 Methodology Literature review: professional and scientific papers Survey to collect opinion from 10 digital agriculture experts A grid to assess the impact digital agriculture on decision-making IDC model: Intelligence, Design, Choice (Simon, 1960)

5 Outline The First Machine Age The Second Machine Age 3 challenges for Digital Agriculture Conclusion

6 How do farmers increase profit when prices decrease more quickly than volumes increase? Total Gross Output excluding Subsidies Index 100 in 1990 Real Price 6

7 Fewer and fewer farmers, who are more and more productive, with more and more capital Agricultural productivity Labour productivity in agriculture: x 3 for 30 years Labour 7

8 The 1st machine Age For 30 years: 10 billion euros are spent in agriculture sector every year Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) Investment value Investment value adjusted for inflation Index100 = 10 billions (adjusted for inflation) 8

9 How do productivity gains come from? From digital agriculture? Robotizing 3800 dairy farms equipped by 4900 milking robots Data collection (sensors, drones, GPS, camera, thermobolus...) Data processing Decision Support Tools (algorithm, cartographic...) Harmonization of tool software communication (ISOBUS standard)

10 What becomes of the autonomy of the decision?

11 (1) Effects of technological and numerical changes on decision-making The agricultural "big data is a new and strategic resource of the data-driven farming

12 (1) Effects of technological and numerical changes on decision-making 2 discussion points: Agroequipments are at the center of the chain of acquisition, mutualisation, integration and valuation of data: Who owns the data? What becomes of the decision? What becomes of responsibility? Loss of autonomy in farmers' decision-making: Measure - Decision Action

13 What becomes the organization of farming systems?

14 (2)Effects of technological and numerical changes on farms organization «Uberisation» of agricultural sector? What is the principle? Owner User You give equipment availability You get demand from users for your equipment You contact the user for the renting You get the money and you are in confidence to rent again You need an equipment You book the equipment when you need it You borrow the equipment in the owner You can use the equipment as if it was yours

15 What becomes of the agricultural advice?

16 1. Digital data collection at farm level 2. Sharing digital data across the territory at stake 4. Implementation of decisions via connected equipment 3. Digital Data processing at territory level to give individual prescriptions

17 (3)What is becoming of the agricultural advice? 2 discussion points: What becomes of advice service when data is produced, analyzed and stored by machines? Towards a fully assisted and controlled world? A risk: Farming vertical integration by agro-equipment?

18 Conclusion

19 Who will decide? The farmer, the machine or the agroequipment sector These evolutions question the meaning of the job of farmer: decisionmaker or subordinate? Autonomy or integration-domination? Do intelligent machines designed to make better decisions than human exist? YES (Thesis of McAfee and Brynjolfsson, 2014) An imperative need for critical debate on digital agriculture

20 Thank you for attention Contact : philippe.jeanneaux@vetagro-sup.fr