Abstract:
There is no ‘Plan-et B; food security must be achieved now. We will only be able to meet the demand of the ever-increasing population through optimized management of our finite land and arable soil resources. However, the development of a more sustainable agri-food system is a grand scientific challenge for the coming decades as producing food for our current global population has already come with a great cost to natural ecosystems through the reduction of habitat and degradation of soil, air, and water quality. Furthermore, the existing agri-food system is under stress with a changing climate, urbanization, and the issue of lower dollar value output per capita land, energy, and water compared to other industries. Thus, the grand question is, how can we increase the productivity and resilience of our land-based agri-food production systems in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner? Concurrent with these challenges, functional and affordable information technology-led smart or digital agricultural practices (e.g., digital agriculture, precision agriculture, or information-based management of agro-ecosystems) have emerged to increase the profitability of agri-food production systems and maintain the sustainability of the entire production chain by optimizing input resources and minimizing negative environmental impacts. Smart management decisions, based on data-driven understandings of our production systems, are the answer and can help to ensure the sustainability of our agri-food systems.
In addressing these challenges, we have been developing information or data-driven strategies and solutions to increase productivity and reliance on land-based agri-food systems while accounting for changing climate, economy, and production methodologies. We have been designing, developing, modifying, and utilizing various sensors for fast, inexpensive, and accurate characterization of soil properties (e.g., acidity, nutrients, water content, compaction). Immensely beneficial to growers, these successes have enabled them to use sensors to gather timely on-farm data quickly and cheaply in sufficient quantities. In this presentation, I briefly outline the research program on developing data and information-driven sustainable management strategies with examples from the recent past.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Asim Biswas is an OAC Chair in Soils and Precision Agriculture, and an Associate Professor and the Graduate Program Coordinator (Deputy Director) at the School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, Canada, and a member of the Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars. He is also a visiting Professor at three other universities. He is the current President of the Canadian Society of Soil Science and chair or vice-chair of several other divisions and communities at different international professional societies. His research program on sustainable soil management is focused on increasing the productivity and resilience of our land-based agri-food production systems in an environmentally sustainable way while accounting for changing climate, economy, technology, and production methodologies. Integrating soil data, sensors, and technology with fundamental knowledge of soil and crop production practices. His pioneering research resulted in strategies that enable producers and policy makers to increase land-based agricultural productivity in an environmentally and financially sustainable manner. Currently, he runs a 28-member research team funded by federal and provincial bodies and industries, grower’s associations, and international organizations. He has authored and co-authored 186 peer-reviewed journal papers and 22 book chapters, edited five books, delivered radio and TV interviews, and was granted a patent. He has also delivered several ‘keynotes’ and ‘invited talks’ at globally recognized conferences. He currently teaches multiple undergraduate, graduate, and special courses. Currently, he is an Associate Editor for 8 journals and a guest editor for another 8 journals’ special issues.