Sustainable production and ensuring food security for a growing population will be the pillars of the imminent agricultural revolution. Farmers’ efforts will focus on reducing water usage and carbon footprints while increasing crop yields and protecting plants from pests. Achieving these goals will be difficult without innovation – both digital and biological. Farmers in Poland are open to new solutions but need expert and financial support to implement them.
“Farmers are increasingly interested in innovation and new technologies. They see this as the future. There is also a generational shift happening, with more young people managing farms. These younger managers prioritize digitization, automation, and innovation. However, for innovations to be implemented, specific resources are needed, primarily financial and human resources, which calls for comprehensive support,” says Paweł Trawiński, Managing Director of the international research and science company Corteva Agriscience Poland, in an interview with Newseria. “Innovations are essential to maintain a certain level of food production and ensure food security, which will be crucial as the world’s population reaches 10 billion by 2050.”
A second challenge facing agriculture is climate change. The sector is significantly impacted by this process, experiencing droughts, rising temperatures, shifts in growing seasons, and new pests and plant diseases. At the same time, agriculture contributes to the problem through significant COâ‚‚ emissions.
“There are two core pillars of the upcoming revolution. The first is sustainable production, which requires reducing water use, land consumption, and carbon footprints. The second pillar is ensuring food security. This will be our priority. Protecting the environment and limited resources, combined with innovative products, technological solutions, artificial intelligence, drones, and other digital tools, and full automation of agriculture, will allow us to feel secure about food production and the future of farming,” says Paweł Trawiński.
Scientists studying agricultural changes are already talking about the fourth phase of the agricultural revolution, associated with the digitization of production. According to the report “Agriculture 4.0: Identifying Technological Trends” by the National Centre for Research and Development, agricultural changes will be driven by increased connectivity and data transmission capacity. Thanks to high-speed networks and technological advancements, robots, drones, and autonomous devices will soon work in Polish fields, automating most farm processes.
“We are entering the so-called digital revolution. Farmers are increasingly adopting modern technologies based on database systems, autonomous machines, and drones for tasks such as spraying or applying synthetic fertilizers. Polish farmers are very open to these solutions,” says Dr. Eng. Tomasz Czech, President of the Innovation Center at the University of Agriculture in Krakow.
Investing in agricultural innovations offers benefits such as higher yields and better production profitability. Higher margins per hectare are one of the key incentives for farmers. According to the report “Two Decades of Polish Agricultural Development” by the Polish Economic Institute, farm productivity, measured as real income per labor unit, increased 2.3 times between 2004 and 2020. Nevertheless, Poland’s cereal yields per hectare are currently at levels achieved by France and Germany in the 1970s.
“We must constantly develop. If we stop, we start to fall behind. Continuous investment is necessary to produce more, better, healthier, and more valuable food and to maintain farm profitability. Therefore, innovations are essential for growth and competitiveness in the agricultural market over the next 5–10 years,” says Paweł Trawiński.
Innovations also help in adapting to climate change.
“With the right amount of data, we can better and more easily predict what will happen in agriculture, such as the emergence of fungal diseases, periodic droughts, or water surpluses. Managing these processes with data and modern technology helps mitigate risks affecting crop quantity and quality,” emphasizes Dr. Eng. Tomasz Czech.
“Key agricultural innovations today include biological solutions that fit perfectly with sustainable farming and the Green Deal. These innovations help feed and protect plants from pests. They support plant growth, maximizing yields and farm income,” says Paweł Trawiński.
Thanks to new technologies and innovations, farmers worldwide have increased their yields by an average of 30% in recent years. This has led to a 40% increase in food production using fewer resources per unit and with less environmental impact. The company aims to expand the availability of biological products and new plant varieties that are more resistant to stress, climate change, and pests. Experts highlight that biological products are designed to reduce environmental impact – they can be applied in small doses, have low volatility, and break down quickly, minimizing the risk of accumulation in soil and water.
The topic of agricultural innovation was discussed during an expert panel held on December 4 in Warsaw, organized by Corteva Agriscience.
