Engineering sustainable agriculture
There is, Dr Harty insists, ‘an absolute necessity’ to include engineering in any plans to accelerate our pace of progress towards carbon net zero food production in the years ahead. He explains: "Agricultural technology has now advanced to the point where robots can milk cows, harvest fruit, and can even seed and weed our soils. In fact, the latest innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) can assist in identifying parasites in livestock, managing irrigation, and offering nutritional solutions to maximise crop yields.”
The relationship between engineering and agriculture is hugely important, he adds. “If you just think about society and all the things we use, whether it is the technology we have in agriculture and on our farms, or on our mobile phones, that’s technology that has been developed by engineers.
“Engineering has a big role to play in developing the solutions we need for the future of the world. Engineers Ireland has over 26,000 members, spread across all strands of engineering, covering agriculture, electronic, bioengineering, chemical, civil and electrical engineering.”
Solutions-focussed approach
Dr Harty fully understands the close interactions of engineering and farming on an everyday basis: “If you think in terms of farm machinery and farm infrastructure alone, it is engineers who develop the solutions to the challenges of food production. Dairymaster, which I was closely involved with for many years, developed so many engineering technologies for use in agriculture. I reflect on my college days where many of my student colleagues came from farming backgrounds and had a natural affinity with solutions-focussed practical approaches to challenges they met in their everyday working lives.”
The magical mix
Dr Harty describes what he refers to as ‘a magical mix of agriculture and engineering’. “If you think about the needs of society in terms of food and water, many of the advances in agriculture over the past 50 years alone, have been led by engineering-technology developments. Engineers are all about identifying and developing solutions. From tractors to milking equipment to robotics, engineers have been involved. Whether its dairy or tillage or horticulture developments, engineering has led the way.
“As a general observation, I would suggest that there are lots of scientists involved in agriculture, but not enough engineers. We need far more engineering participation because, outside of a few companies, there’s not a lot of engineers involved. The reality is that many of the challenges facing agriculture require the close involvement of engineers to deliver solutions, whether that’s in a digital context or climate-change mitigation, all of them require some aspect of an engineering input.”
Sustainability
The Engineers Ireland president outlines how engineering, in its many facets, can contribute to more sustainable agriculture: “From buildings and building components, through new methods of construction, we require new technologies that are all dependent on engineering to a greater or lesser degree. Culling the herd seems to be the only other solution being offered. In reality, there are multiple solutions that require imagination, ingenuity, and practical, scientific and engineering-based approaches in many cases.
“Animal-monitoring products that I would have been involved in previously, have practical application in reducing labour requirements, increasing efficiencies, improving livestock health outcomes. That’s all about improving sustainability and it all has engineering concepts and outcomes in the mix. We need to continue on that journey and broaden our approach. Digital solutions have much to offer. AI is another development that will contribute to sustainable food production. As of now, there has been little AI application in agricultural activities. We need to drive that development. There is a need for more food in the world. The global population is increasing by as much as 200,000 people per day, equivalent to the population of Ireland every month. Meanwhile, the European population is reducing. We need innovative solutions to food production, which will allow more efficient production with lower labour input. Robotics, and now AI, are not there to replace human involvement, so much as to augment the human aspect. New technologies have proven to increase productivity, not eliminate human participation.”
Building engineering solutions
Dr Harty outlines where he believes agriculture is going: “Sustainability will be key. Ireland is a small place in global terms. However, it’s not about the effect we will have on climate change, it is about solidarity with the rest of the world. Everyone must be involved. Our ambition must be to be the best in the world at what we do; in this case, the production of food. That’s our opportunity, to produce and sell the best product, not the cheapest. Efficiency will be central in achieving that goal.
“Individualisation, in terms of looking after each animal will be important. That applies to fields for fertilisation and crop protection. A blanket approach will not optimise our inputs and outcomes. The same approach increasingly applies to antibiotics and anti-parasitics. I see technology driving those developments with engineering expertise as a key component in the development and application of those solutions.
“Medtech is another example of the benefits of individualisation of treatment. As people live longer, they need more medical interventions, or more accurately, in many cases, medical engineering interventions in terms of joint replacements, heart valves and stents, for instance. Many people with farming backgrounds have been involved in the development of these technologies because of their solution-based mindsets. Connectivity, for example through high-speed broadband, has a huge engineering component. That is going to revolutionise our rural economies where distance will no longer be a barrier to communication and information flow.”
Innovalogix
Dr Harty describes what is involved in his latest venture, Innovalogix, of which he is founder and CEO: “When I left Dairymaster, I wanted to become involved in the next important technologies that will influence societal and economic development, such as the application of AI-based concepts and solutions to the challenges facing us. I have been involved in promoting start-up companies and ensuring they have the financial and other resources to be successful. The whole area of innovation, identifying the next successful generation of innovators, interests me, not necessarily from a daily management perspective, but rather in terms of advising on strategy and understanding how progress can be made. “Gaining product adoption and market access is as important as the development of the product in the first place. Farmers buy a product if it makes a positive difference to their business. Otherwise, they won’t invest. My Dairymaster experience has provided me with a valuable, simple insight as to how markets and purchasers think and act.
“Innovalogix is a company that allows me to maximise the benefit of my previous experiences. My aim is to assist up to 30 companies in their development and progress towards long term success. It’s not about being operationally involved. It is more about being able to take a step back and identify what will matter in the future.”