Implications of Farming Technologies
How Small Farmers Are Losing Their Jobs
Precision technology may significantly change the way the world produces its food, as previously discussed in "Benefits of Precision Farming Technology: Reducing the Environmental Impact" and "Basics of Precision Farming Technology: How it Works". The implications of this movement represents a growing trend of over-reliance on mechanical and digital tools and the conflict between tradition and technology.
Technology Woes
Precision technology highlights problems with industries becoming too reliant on technology. As any industry moves into the modern age through technology, a number of problems are presented. The agricultural industry is no exception.
Precision technology’s downsides lie in its cost, turnover rates, and incompatibilities. One farmer in a Southeast Farm Press article on March 14, 2007 says that the precision technology he purchased just three years ago is already obsolete and is no longer saving him money because his farm is just not large enough to manage the expensive recurring cost.
The article continues to note that precision technology is far from being perfect. Most are unable to “speak” with one another, and efficiently transfer data from one program to the next. This means that a tech-savvy individual is needed to manually monitor for bad connections between GPS, tractors, and delivery, as well as manually monitor for these problems when they are presented. This is a skill that most individuals don’t have without extensive training, especially in rural areas.
Increased Competition
These problems highlighted by precision technology are an indication that small farmers may be forced out of business through increased competition with their corporate counterparts. These new technologies strip small farmers of their traditional duties and roles. Why pay a farm hand when machines that never grow tired can be purchased?
It is the large corporations who are able to implement these expensive technologies and overlook the incompatibilities.
Technology v. Tradition
Precision technology also asks society to prioritize technology over tradition. Despite the current limitations, these technologies work in a corporate setting, increasing food output and decreasing costs. However, these benefits apply almost exclusively to large, corporate farming.
According to a personal email interview with John Ikerd, author of Sustainable Capitalism, on October 14, 2008, new farming technologies eliminate the need for the small farmers, pushing the industry towards corporate control where fewer individuals are needed to make the same decisions.
It appears that there will be no room for the small farmer in a GPS driven age. Thus precision technology forces the question of prioritization. What is more important: protecting small farmers and their way of life or producing a more efficient agricultural system?
With new forms of technology based on computer software integration with GPS technology for agricultural application, it is important to consider the balance between small and corporate farmers and the battle between traditional and modern forms of food production.
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