Editing Agriculture (section)

=== Agricultural automation ===
Different definitions exist for agricultural automation and for the variety of tools and technologies that are used to automate production. One view is that agricultural automation refers to autonomous navigation by robots without human intervention.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gan |first1=H. |last2=Lee |first2=W. S. |date=1 January 2018 |title=Development of a Navigation System for a Smart Farm |journal=IFAC-PapersOnLine |series=6th IFAC Conference on Bio-Robotics BIOROBOTICS 2018 |volume=51 |issue=17 |pages=1–4 |doi=10.1016/j.ifacol.2018.08.051 |issn=2405-8963 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Alternatively, it is defined as the accomplishment of production tasks through mobile, autonomous, decision-making, mechatronic devices.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lowenberg-DeBoer |first1=James |last2=Huang |first2=Iona Yuelu |last3=Grigoriadis |first3=Vasileios |last4=Blackmore |first4=Simon |date=1 April 2020 |title=Economics of robots and automation in field crop production |journal=Precision Agriculture |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=278–299 |doi=10.1007/s11119-019-09667-5 |s2cid=254932536 |issn=1573-1618 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2020PrAgr..21..278L }}</ref> However, [[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]] finds that these definitions do not capture all the aspects and forms of automation, such as robotic milking machines that are static, most motorized machinery that automates the performing of agricultural operations, and digital tools (e.g., sensors) that automate only diagnosis.<ref name=":5" /> FAO defines agricultural automation as the use of machinery and equipment in agricultural operations to improve their diagnosis, decision-making or performing, reducing the drudgery of agricultural work or improving the timeliness, and potentially the precision, of agricultural operations.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |url=https://doi.org/10.4060/cc2459en |title=In Brief to The State of Food and Agriculture 2022. Leveraging automation in agriculture for transforming agrifood systems |publisher=FAO |year=2022 |isbn=978-92-5-137005-6 |location=Rome |doi=10.4060/cc2459en |access-date=6 February 2023 |archive-date=13 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413035820/https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc2459en |url-status=live}}</ref>

The technological evolution in agriculture has involved a progressive move from manual tools to animal traction, to motorized mechanization, to digital equipment and finally, to robotics with artificial intelligence (AI).<ref name=":6" /> Motorized mechanization using engine power automates the performance of agricultural operations such as ploughing and milking.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |author1=Santos Valle, S. |author2=Kienzle, J. |url=https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb2186en |title=Agriculture 4.0 – Agricultural robotics and automated equipment for sustainable crop production |publisher=FAO |year=2020 |access-date=6 February 2023 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210114430/https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb2186en |url-status=live}}</ref> With digital automation technologies, it also becomes possible to automate diagnosis and decision-making of agricultural operations.<ref name=":6" /> For example, autonomous crop robots can harvest and seed crops, while drones can gather information to help automate input application.<ref name=":5" /> Precision agriculture often employs such automation technologies.<ref name=":5" /> Motorized machines are increasingly complemented, or even superseded, by new digital equipment that automates diagnosis and decision-making.<ref name=":7" /> A conventional tractor, for example, can be converted into an automated vehicle allowing it to sow a field autonomously.<ref name=":7" />

Motorized mechanization has increased significantly across the world in recent years, although reliable global data with broad country coverage exist only for tractors and only up to 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |title=FAOSTAT: Discontinued archives and data series: Machinery |url=https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/ |access-date=1 December 2021 |website=Food and Agriculture Organization |archive-date=14 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114074500/https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region where the adoption of motorized mechanization has stalled over the past decades.<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Daum |first1=Thomas |last2=Birner |first2=Regina |date=1 September 2020 |title=Agricultural mechanization in Africa: Myths, realities and an emerging research agenda |journal=Global Food Security |volume=26 |pages=100393 |doi=10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100393 |s2cid=225280050 |issn=2211-9124 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2020GlFS...2600393D |s2cid-access=free}}</ref>

Automation technologies are increasingly used for managing livestock, though evidence on adoption is lacking. Global automatic milking system sales have increased over recent years, but adoption is likely mostly in Northern Europe,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rodenburg |first=Jack |date=2017 |title=Robotic milking: Technology, farm design, and effects on work flow |journal=Journal of Dairy Science |volume=100 |issue=9 |pages=7729–7738 |doi=10.3168/jds.2016-11715 |pmid=28711263 |s2cid=11934286 |issn=0022-0302 |doi-access=free |s2cid-access=free |url=https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(17)30649-5/fulltext |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230413035814/https://www.journalofdairyscience.org/article/S0022-0302(17)30649-5/fulltext |archive-date=13 April 2023}}</ref> and likely almost absent in low- and middle-income countries. Automated feeding machines for both cows and poultry also exist, but data and evidence regarding their adoption trends and drivers is likewise scarce.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Lowenberg-DeBoer, J. |doi-access=free |title=Economics of adoption for digital automated technologies in agriculture. Background paper for The State of Food and Agriculture 2022 |publisher=FAO |year=2022 |isbn=978-92-5-137080-3 |location=Rome |doi=10.4060/cc2624en}}</ref><ref name=":5" />

Measuring the overall employment impacts of agricultural automation is difficult because it requires large amounts of data tracking all the transformations and the associated reallocation of workers both upstream and downstream.<ref name=":6" /> While automation technologies reduce labor needs for the newly automated tasks, they also generate new labor demand for other tasks, such as equipment maintenance and operation.<ref name=":5" /> Agricultural automation can also stimulate employment by allowing producers to expand production and by creating other agrifood systems jobs.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |title=Enabling inclusive agricultural automation |publisher=FAO |year=2022 |location=Rome |doi=10.4060/cc2688en |isbn=978-92-5-137099-5 |doi-access=free}}</ref> This is especially true when it happens in context of rising scarcity of rural labor, as is the case in high-income countries and many middle-income countries.<ref name=":8" /> On the other hand, if forcedly promoted, for example through government subsidies in contexts of abundant rural labor, it can lead to labor displacement and falling or stagnant wages, particularly affecting poor and low-skilled workers.<ref name=":8" />