70
JUN 2017
FOOD FOCUSTHAILAND
25-30%of itsagricultural products todiseasesand less in the years
to come, thanks to “Smart Technology”.
Notonly that,SmartTechnologyalsohelpsyouwithmanagement
inpost-productionstage, transportation, storageanddistribution, as
well as track and trace systemwhich assures youwhat the product
ismade of andwhere it comes from. “Back to 20-30 years ago, we
thought we did our best. Nowadays, we do better and it would be
better and better in the future.” saidProfessor Dr.Dijkhuizen.
On the other hand, Wageningen University also focuses their
researcheson the studyof genomics. By selectingpreferredgenes,
researchersareallowed tocustomizecropandanimal species tobe
more resistant tochangingenvironment, insects, anddiseases, thus
yield more products at the same time. “It’s about you know what
genesdowhat, andwhenyouknow that, youareable tobreedmuch
fasterandmanage thecropsandanimalmuchbetter”,saidProfessor
Dr.Dijkhuizen, “you can make the food in the future much more
personalize”.
Professor Dr.Dijkhuizen praised genomics as a key for the
Netherlands to achieve high efficiency and high effectiveness in
agricultureand livestock, aswell as the reductionof growthboosting
and diseases prevention chemicals. Products are also tailored to
nicely match with the market demands, which creates high value-
added goodswith low production costs and resources.
“Genomics isas importantas technology,andwhenyoucombine
those two you canevendomore”, saidProfessor Dr.Dijkhuizen. He
later exampled theDutch tomato production, inwhich the yieldwas
only5kilogramsper squarekilometers.Theuseof smart technology
helps the country succeed in increasing the yield to 80 kilograms
per squarekilometersnowadays.And ifwe furtherdevelop, theyield
can reach 100 kilograms per square kilometers. “It’s amazing, not
just to double, but increase 20 times more”, told Professor Dr.
Dijkhuizen.
The same trend goes with dairy products. It is speculated that
thedemand for highqualityproteinwill double in the future.Without
smart technology,wewouldneed todouble theamount of cows from
currently330million to660million. This isanextraordinarynumber,
and itmeans remarkableamountof resources including feed,minerals
and lands.
ProfessorDr.Dijkhuizenbelieves thatwithday-by-day improvement
in technology, “in30-40years,wemightbeable todouble theamount
ofwhatproducednow,with20% lesscows thatwehave.Sowedon’t
need to increase thenumberof theanimal”.He reiterated that “when
you think of sustainability, when you reduce a number of cows, you
save a lot of feed, and you savea lot of water and farmland”.
2050 - Global FoodCrisis
In thenext30years fromnow,or in2050,globalpopulation ispredicted
to exceed 9 billion
7
, and that means there will be a lot of mouth to
feed. If we maintain the current food production capacity, we may
faceup to 70% of food scarcity.
Thequest toproduceenough food to feed the futurepopulation
isnotaproblem foranycountryalone,especiallynot theNetherlands
alone, but it goes toeverycountry ineverycornerof theworld.When
thepopulation increases, farmlandsare turned into citiesandurban
areas. Our future generation will have to live with less agricultural
grounds andmore restricted resources. It is important for everyone
to start now, tomake the first step in improving technology.
Reusingand recycling foodwaste isanother option tomaximize
profits fromagriculturalproducts. “30years fromnow, theword ‘waste’
shouldn’tbe there.Thewasteshouldbeput inagain fornewproducts
whether it isenergyoranimal feedsorevenpharmaceutical”,asserted
Professor Dr.Dijkhuizen. He also added that by-product utilization
concept has been implemented which helps to conserve the
environment in the country.
Insummary, agri-food industry isasubstantial industrywithhigh
demands and high growth in the future. It also creates various
employment opportunities for new generation to research and
modify agricultural products to achieve highest efficiency and
effectiveness.
With a rapidly developing technology in contrast with a more
restricting resources, if we do not make our first step in the
development, we do not get any closer to our goal in the next 10
years.Thehungrymouthsarewaiting tobe fed,and it isnotaproblem
foranysinglecountryalone, but foreveryone.Theglobal community
must united, both in the state to state and non-state to non-state
levels to share know-how and technology in achieving higher
productivity using less resources.
SCOOP
