Category Archives: Agriculture

Robots and Drones to Protect Native Animals

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In New Zealand, a land that until a few hundred years ago had no mammals, there is a bold plan to remove every predator that threatens native species, via eradication. They are doing it via small areas at a time, with concerted efforts from locals.

Except, not unsurprisingly, feral cats. People don’t feel okay with killing those mammals. And there are way too many to catch, neuter and realise, even if it was affordable.

There might be a solution. Small, autonomous robots, flying or not, and solar powered, might be about to wander about the wilderness with very simplistic, repeated tasks.

It needs to:

  • be small enough to be cost efficient and energy efficient
  • be rechargeable by returning to a solar-powered dock
  • know roughly where it is, I think GPS is inevitable
  • be a bit randomised in where it goes
  • make sound or light sufficient to scare off a nearby cat
  • not get stuck!

I think it is all doable, and potentially not too expensive. Studies can find out what scares cats best.

Use groups of drones to herd the feral cats away from birds and towards a place where you have installed some serious fencing. Lock them away. Tell the public they can feed them if they wish, or let them starve from over-crowding.

Companion Planting of People

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Companion Planting is something people I dislike have never head of.

Plants that, when planted alongside each other, help each other. Typically one scares away the bugs that will eat the other.

A bit like gang members forming a perimeter around a homeless person.
Or helping an old lady across the road

But are there real-world examples?

Artists and patrons?

Yes, that is good, and fits the NFT direction

But what about a symbiotic relationship between two humans (or groups of)?

I guess “love” counts.

Internet Nomads on Friendly Farms

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(In/Off)

Simple concept that could take off.

WWOOF has been around for decades, where you work for a few hours each day on an organic farm, in exchange for food and somewhere to sleep.

Less strict about organic/farms are HelpX and workaway.info.

None are specifically for internet professionals, and listings merely state if the Internet is available. In many rural locations the speed might be very slow. Also, a professional would prefer a quiet spot, with a desk and accessories like printers and large monitors.

A network that guarantees support for digital nomads can get a work/life balance that includes fresh air and nature.

Setting it up isn’t hard, simply a free directory where hosts detail the Internet capabilities that have. Maybe even set up a charity that helps them get the necessary gear.

Product Participation

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  • We have RFID tracking for products
  • We can track each step of production (origin of ingredients) and distribution
  • We have crowd-funding

What if we crowd-funded ethical ingredients instead of finished products.

Imagine an alliance of certified eco-friendly palm oil. Consumers sponsored their efforts monetarily, or give them a digital blessing.

When you buy a food item at the supermarket, you can scan the RFID chip with your phone to see if any ingredients have been supported by you, and to which degree.

 

 

Greening Deserts

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Accepting refugees into your country is expensive, it isn’t a profitable exercise and yet we do it.

Greening a desert isn’t financially viable, but countries like Egypt are doing it because they have to.

Everyone knows that the Northern Territory of Australia has excess water, and a large portion of Australia is desert.

Water can be channelled from NT to the the nearest desert. Trees can be grown and fauna introduced. With time and money, the desert can be transformed into a place where people can live and thrive.

The technology exists.

See this (until the end, it starts slow…): https://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_green_the_world_s_deserts_and_reverse_climate_change#t-1225273

If the workers are immigrant refugees, they can own the wealth that they achieve, and then stay or move on. What an amazing entry into a country to have created something from nothing.

For one expense, we can have:

  • More agricultural land
  • Work for refugees
  • Refugees proudly achieving

If a trial works, the potential is extraordinary. For example. we could welcome the entire Rohingya people.

 

The Price of Lettuce

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Until today, like most people, I had no idea how much farmers sold their bulk lettuce for. After doing some basic research I’ve decided that $1000 per ton is roughly the best price you will receive.

For years now I have been reading about vertical farming and how it will revolutionize agriculture. The concept is quite simple: land is expensive, so build your farm vertically rather than horizontally. These days you don’t need dirt – many crops can be grown hydroponically.

Until now it was all theory – although there were no technical hindrances to building such farms, they weren’t yet financially viable. They would need to wait until food was more expensive and harder to source.

Thankfully the cost did not scare off Sky Greens farm in Singapore (rich country, little land, makes sense…).

So that is why I looked up the price of lettuce. The article at The Intel Hub mentions the cost, the yield, but not the return…

  • Currently producing 0.5 tons of produce per day
  • Farm cost $7+ million so far, and they seek $21 million more

According to my math that equals about 180 tons per year, or $180,000. That’s a terrible return from a $7 million investment! Even if the lettuce was more gourmet than I expected, still no way it could be profitable.

According to Inhabit, locals are willing to pay a premium for this produce because it is so fresh – but it looks like they’d have to pay 10x as much for it to be profitable.