Farming innovation

Question # 1

Are you growing the right crops?

A new generation of highly productive crops are part of the solution to address global hunger - seeds that are drought-resistant, disease-resistant, productive, and nutritious could benefit farmers.

Some of the crops can be bred through traditional methods, but Bill Gates thinks many African countries will adopt GMOs, or genetically modified organisms.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/18/8056163/bill-gates-gmo-farming-world-hunger-africa-poverty

Question # 2

How can coachinghelp farmers?

To improve farming, governments have sent hundreds of thousands of agriculture extension agents to visit farmers across America and every

corner of the world and teach them up-to-date methods for increasing their crop yields.

Such programs have been extraordinarily effective.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/07/29/slow-ideas

Question # 3

What about doing more indoor farming?

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http://qz.com/295936/toshibas-high-tech-grow-rooms-are-churning-out-lettuce-that-never-needs-washing/

Question # 4

What about doing more urban farming?

What can happen when a greenhouse is added to the roof of a supermarket or farmer’s market?

http://urbanfarmers.com/productsservices/uf-globe/

Why is local production important for people?

Some reasons: Perception of more fresh products. Perception of community / relationship building. Small scale production. Reduced costs for transportation.

http://smartblogs.com/food-and-beverage/2014/11/17/farmers-markets-as-ground-zero-for-local-the-new-organic/

Further inspiration

http://edenworks.org/http://urbanfarmers.com/

Question # 5

What would happen if more farmers were women?

http://modernfarmer.com/2014/11/picturing-women-farmers-euro-edition/

Example # 1:Rona Uitentuis, Netherlands

http://modernfarmer.com/2014/11/picturing-women-farmers-euro-edition/

Example # 2:Alice Holden, UK.

Further inspiration

http://www.slideshare.net/frankcalberg/gender-diversity-9869793http://www.slideshare.net/frankcalberg/differences-between-women-and-men

Question # 6

What about connecting products to the Internet?

John Deere and AGCO are beginning to

connect not only farm machinery but

irrigation systems and soil and nutrient sources with information on weather, crop prices, and commodity futures to optimize overall farm performance.

https://hbr.org/2014/11/how-smart-connected-products-are-transforming-competition

Managing the internet of things.

HBR webinar, November 20th, 2014.

Question # 7

What other websitesdo you use?

http://www.fastcompany.com/3041655/most-innovative-companies-2015/the-worlds-top-10-most-innovative-companies-of-2015-in-latin-

With the monitoring and alerting system included with www.tambero.com you will know when your animals require dietary changes or produce below the expected level.

Question # 8

What about delivering things using drones?

http://youtu.be/cRTNvWcx9Oo Product

Question # 9

What can we do to improve roads and

other infrastructure?

The introduction of roads in 15 rural villages in Ethiopia increased consumption by households by about 16%, while lowering poverty about 7%.

http://www.ifpri.org/publication/impact-agricultural-extension-and-roads-poverty-and-consumption-growth-fifteen-ethiopianhttp://www.theverge.com/2015/2/18/8056163/bill-gates-gmo-farming-world-hunger-africa-poverty

Further inspiration

http://www.farm2050.comhttps://hbr.org/2014/02/transforming-rural-india-through-agricultural-innovation

https://hbr.org/2013/04/using-the-crowd-as-an-innovation-partnerhttp://ponix.cohttp://sciencewatch.com/articles/food-shortages-and-food-price-fluctuations-are-things-pasthttp://www.stadtmilch.chhttp://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/invest-soil-sustain-lifehttp://youtu.be/P8mitOebMag