WE should not be growing tired of talk about a technology revolution. It is too early to do so. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we have been too slow to implement change. Change, forced upon us, was frightening for some. For those ready to embrace change, it was an opportunity. As a new year approaches our focus should be on changing our mindset to embrace the changes necessary to achieve previous goals hampered by the pandemic’s impact. It is time to reassess and fashion a new template for action in our everyday activities, both personal and professional.

One area of tremendous value and importance is that of our agricultural sector, which suffered enormous losses. Contraction of market opportunities meant reduced earnings from local and overseas clients, and the recent floods caused further havoc. In some cases there was a glut of produce, forcing disposal in the same grounds which produced them.

We must consider resilient strategies if our agricultural sector is to survive and thrive. For many decades we have talked a lot, but only implemented on a limited scale. Farmers are still complaining about access to essential resources such as water, seeds, fertilisers and extension services. We have also introduced agro-processing to absorb all the extra produce available and ensure that nothing goes to waste. Protection for local produce has been inconsistent with our porous import borders, insufficient to policing this vital corridor. If there was a time for import substitution, it is now.

These critical strategies can benefit from a new revolution in the agricultural sector, and technology can be the foundation. Such activities include consideration of technical resources and the impact on the sector’s people, emphasising creating a successful union between human workers and automation where possible. Deployment of new machinery should reduce and ultimately eliminate dirty, dull, and dangerous tasks by running automated equipment, performing in-line testing, and moving products into production without human intervention. Investment of this kind will attract high-skilled workers and make long-term planning and production more consistent with meeting market demands.

Fears that technology will eliminate jobs have proven to be baseless since higher-quality jobs and better pay are possible with increased quality of products and services.

“Unless the transition is addressed first, the workers’ fear of unknown changes will negate any short-term gains created by technology upgrades. The move to Industry 4.0 is a change that must be realised to mitigate the pending lack of skilled resource,” writes Henry Stueber, senior vice-president of customer operations at Greene, Tweed & Co. LLC, on creating a transformation culture in agriculture. His company reinvented itself over the past two years. The experiences suggest some critical lessons for us if we are to embark on a realistic path of transforming our agricultural sector by embracing technological change. And these are in line with the strategies our local experts, Trevor Forrest and Christopher Reckord, urged in their contributions to The Digital Life.

The list includes “creating an overarching technology plan that overlays the organisational business plans. Create and communicate a culture-changing technology initiative with the workforce. Model desired change activities and actions, beginning with the leadership team”. The reality is that we need not reinvent the wheel but make a level-headed assessment of our goals and work towards consistent implementation.

The results should not be a surprise since the mantra has always been “good planning for better results”. The results we seek are to create an agricultural sector which is responsive to the shocks which may come from time to time by creating a far more resilient environment — from seed planting to sale. The result also includes a dramatic reduction in wastage by far more aggressive agro-processing programmes for local and foreign exchange markets. Employment in the sector should see increased input from high-skilled workers leading the technology revolution. Improved marketing of a diverse range of agricultural produce aimed at local consumption should bring about a greater appreciation of our products and reduce imports, saving foreign exchange to purchase vital, life-saving supplies.

Overall, we should not be shocked into change for the better but be better prepared to embrace change for the better.

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