New research findings and innovations in the field of agriculture are crucial for our farmers and agri-food industry to reach net zero. However, there is an absolute necessity to include engineering in the mix, to accelerate our pace of progress, according to the newly appointed President of Engineers Ireland, Dr Edmond Harty.
Speaking as Engineers Ireland, the professional membership body representing the engineering profession in Ireland, exhibits at the National Ploughing Championships this week, Dr Harty said: “Agricultural technology has now advanced to the point where robots can milk cows, harvest fruit, and even seed and weed our precious soils. In fact, the latest innovations in Artificial Intelligence (AI) can assist in identifying parasites in livestock; managing irrigation; and offering nutritional solutions to maximise crop yields”.
Dr Harty has called for an urgent and new approach to be taken to meet Ireland’s net zero commitments, where engineers work alongside our top scientists. “We should be more ambitious. We have a lot of great scientists working in this area, but we should also have the same number of our top engineers working with them to bring about relevant innovative solutions. We have ambitious targets to meet and while agriculture is the backbone of the Irish economy, there are very few engineers working in this area to add real impact enabling acceleration in our pace of performance”, he added.
Population statistics and the role of technology
According to the CSO, Ireland’s population is likely to reach over six million people by 2050, up from the figure of 5.15 million recorded in last year’s census. Speaking about the need for future technologies to be adopted by the agricultural sector, Dr Harty said: “Emerging technologies like robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) can help reduce waste and mitigate negative climate impact, but our farming communities require more extensive supports to adopt such technologies, while our universities would benefit from greater funding specifically focused on turning Ireland into an outstanding global leader in agri-tech innovation. The urgency of the challenges facing our climate and our agriculture sector require urgent action”.
A magical mix of engineering and agriculture
Dr Harty believes that we must have greater vision, imagination, scale, and ambition in our drive to deliver on our net zero commitments. He said that “aside from a few companies, there is little focus on engineering as a key tool to accelerate the pace in delivering net zero. We are only scratching the surface of digital, renewable, and sustainable technologies. We can conquer the world with agricultural technologies if we really want to move the needle, but there are dots that need to be joined up at a pace that we have not had up to now.
Commenting on IFAC’s Irish Farm Report, released earlier this year which found that 48% of farmers considered cost the biggest barrier to adopting technology on their farms, Dr Harty said: “there are a lot of technologies to choose from, but the level of adoption is varied, and many farmers do not necessarily see the cost-benefit. We need to change this by having greater vision and support and by working together”.
Research and innovation in the areas of methane mitigation, soil modification for crops, and alternative fertilisation methods, have demonstrated that significant reductions in carbon emissions can be achieved. Dr Harty notes that this is a key area where engineers can delivery real impact by developing technology that puts this research into practice on Irish farms, and this is a key area where our engineers can deliver real impact.
“What we need is a more supported and commercialised structure, through which engineering solutions are applied and adopted, turning research into practical products suitable for market, be they robotics, AI, or other solutions. This approach can transform farming in Ireland, making it more efficient and sustainable, but we need to work closely with Government and our agri-food industry leaders to deliver this,” Dr Harty added.
Sustainability – our new currency
“We are operating in a world where sustainability is our new currency, and we must deliver economic, social, environmental, and nutritional sustainability. We must deliver nutrient-dense and healthy food of the highest quality, with the lowest carbon footprint to feed the needs of our growing and ageing population. The agriculture sector will have to deliver this working with our farmers, but they should also be working with our engineers. We also need to think about what our agriculture sector will look like in the next 20 years and how technology can benefit it. We need more joined-up thinking, ambition, and vision to deliver real and meaningful action to meet our net zero commitments,” Dr Harty said.
At this week’s National Ploughing Championships on the Engineers Ireland stand (Block 2; Row 23; Stand 357), a must-see for visitors of all ages at this is ENG-E’, the ice cream serving robot, who was created specifically for the event by researchers in MTU Kerry, working with Rethinking Engineering Education in Ireland (REEdI) and the applied research centre, Intelligent Mechatronics and RFID (ImaR).
As well as ENG-E, a cyclone machine and a Formula Student racing car are among the highlights on the stand where the professional body for engineers will provide a central hub for ploughing attendees interested in the future of engineering and innovation. They can also speak to some experts including our President, Dr Harty and our Director General Damien Owens.