Tech giants and AI-driven farming tools are manipulating the food system, warns a think tank. The report by the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) highlights how these companies are using AI and algorithms to influence global food production, potentially at the expense of local farmers and food security. The report warns that this 'top-down' approach, where large corporations dictate what crops are grown, could lead to a broken and unrepairable global food system.
Tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and Alibaba are collaborating with industrial agriculture firms to advise farmers on crop choices. These companies use data from farmers and advanced tools like satellite and drone sensors to make suggestions about suitable crops. However, the report suggests that these recommendations are often biased towards crops that benefit the companies' interests, forcing farmers to buy seeds, equipment, and inputs.
Pat Mooney, a Canadian author and agriculture expert, warns that farmers risk being locked into a globalized system where they must purchase seeds from industrial companies, bundled with machinery and chemicals from other parts of the world. This system, Mooney argues, is vulnerable to global shocks like climate change and the war in Ukraine, making local food security crucial.
The market for digital farming tools was valued at $30 billion last year and is projected to reach $84 billion by 2034. Despite this, Lim Li Ching, co-chair of IPES-Food, emphasizes that 'farming by algorithm' is not what farmers want. She advocates for a bottom-up approach that prioritizes farmers' knowledge and needs, supporting their role as guardians of agricultural biodiversity.
Instead of relying on global systems, policymakers should fund research with local farmers and support their innovations, Mooney suggests. By embracing agroecology, we can ensure food security is as local as possible, avoiding the pitfalls of a broken global system.
