Back in the day, farming was just about ample sunshine, water and a good fertiliser. But, as our climate changes and our population soars, farmers are in desperate need for a new toolbox to get ahead. Thankfully, the agricultural industry is a bustling hub of innovation. And today, data and robotics are proving to be the hottest commodities poised to solve our looming global food crisis.

In Nigeria, where 37% of the employed population work in agriculture, farmworkers have a platform providing them with training on modern farming and a market for selling their crops. Farmcrowdy is the first digital agriculture platform in the country, giving farmers the capacity to farm more acres, which leads to increased food production. Since its launch in 2016, they’ve helped 7,000 small scale-farmers across Nigeria.

It may look like a sci-fi frisbee, but the Arable Mark is an intelligent tool to provide insights on crop health and weather risk. By analysing the ground and providing real-time data through a software platform, it informs farmers on their most important decisions. On the retailer and consumer end, it also provides traceability and more transparency on production conditions, meaning customers are more informed as well.

While Arable does its work firm on the ground, Aeroview does its job in the air. Developed by Aerobotics, these smart drones can analyse large fields through multispectral drone flights. They then report their findings to the Aeroview Scout app, enabling farmers to locate problems early on with plant-to-plant accuracy.

Now, let's dig a little deeper – after all, the earth deep underground could be our future farmland. Growing Underground grows microgreens and salad leaves 33 meters below the busy streets of Clapham, London. Unaffected by weather and seasonal changes and nurtured by hydroponic systems and LED technology, this company and their mouth-watering greens are aiming at a carbon-neutral certification.

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Banner image: Gabriel Jimenez