The Use Of AI In Enhancing Farm Resilience

The future of our food system sustainability is being developed at the convergence of biology, human innovation, artificial intelligence - and hundreds of millions of bugs! Nature's most efficient protein factories have been hiding in plain sight. While we've been debating sustainable food futures, black soldier flies have been quietly demonstrating how to create abundance from what we've overlooked. I visited the Innovafeed facility in Nesle, France with Mathilde Barge to explore how AI is helping reshape our core food systems. Innovafeed has built something remarkable: a system where these flies - with metabolism 25x more efficient than cattle - transform agricultural by-products into high-quality protein and oils. These ingredients replace resource-intensive fishmeal and fish oil in aquaculture and animal feed, addressing our protein challenge without requiring additional farmland, driving deforestation, or depleting oceans. AI systems continuously analyze millions of data points across their facility, predicting growth patterns and optimizing conditions in real-time. It's running today and producing nutrition with 80% less carbon impact than conventional methods. When we talk about sustainability, we often frame it as a sacrifice. This approach reveals the opposite: abundance through smarter systems. Using technology not to extract more from our world, but to create regenerative loops where outputs become inputs. And it's proof that transformative AI doesn't only emerge from Silicon Valley, but often in unexpected sectors like agriculture where practical problems demand inventive solutions. The technologies pioneered in these unlikely places - where insects meet algorithms - will ultimately reshape how we feed our planet. The future belongs to those who see possibility in what others have overlooked. My gratitude to CEO Clément Ray for the warm welcome at the factory and to Nadège AUDIFFREN and Enzo Ballestra, for making this insightful visit possible! #CircularEconomy #FoodSystems #SustainableInnovation #AI #FutureFarming The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation

In Washington’s Palouse region, fifth-generation farmer Andrew Nelson is running a 7,500-acre wheat farm while on Zoom calls. His tractor drives itself, guided by AI, sensors, and cameras that decide where to fertilize, spray, or weed. This isn’t an isolated story. Farming is entering a new era: 🚜 Autonomous tractors & sprayers from companies like Deere and Monarch are cutting herbicide use by up to 66%. 🚜 Robotic fruit pickers & drones (Oishii’s Tortuga robot, Tevel’s flying harvesters) are easing labor shortages. 🚜 Data-driven “digital twins” of farms are helping farmers target irrigation and pest control with precision. 🚜 Virtual fencing is changing livestock management with GPS-enabled collars. The goal? Smarter, more sustainable farming—optimizing every drop of water and every seed, while letting farmers focus on strategy, not hours in the cab. As Microsoft’s Ranveer Chandra puts it, “Every time a drone flies or a tractor plants, it’s updating the farm’s own AI model.” The autonomous farm won’t replace farmers—it will amplify them. And it’s happening faster than you think. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eEeW7zef

There’s nothing like bumping into an Acumen fellow before 6 in the morning and getting an impromptu briefing on the amazing things he’s doing. I loved spending time with Michael Ogundare, Nigerian Foundry member (’21) and co-founder of Crop2Cash, a company that connects smallholder farmers to financial institutions to access credit — and now, skills and advice. Already, the company has 500,000 farmers on its platform. What stunned me most was hearing how Michael is integrating AI into the services provided to farmers. “The farmers are weary of accessing traditional extension services,” he said, “because much of the knowledge hasn’t changed since the ’80s and ’90s. Now, we have 20,000 farmers using our AI service." Essentially, the farmers can call a phone number (they don’t need smartphones) and ask the AI about any problem they’re experiencing or any question they might have. The AI responds in their local language (one of seven) and will call them back when a follow-up is needed — for instance, to fertilize or apply a different input. And here’s the part that took my breath away: the 20,000 farmers spend, on average, 20 minutes daily talking with the AI. They typically call between 7 and 8 p.m., set the phone on a table, put it on speaker and share questions and experiences. They might ask about tomorrow’s weather or share worries or concerns. The results are showing up in the farmers’ productivity. This video shows how Crop2Cash is helping farmers become climate-smart: https://lnkd.in/e5higg2i Of course, these are early days, but the changes to agriculture are suddenly dramatic — and the farmers, at least in this case, are quickly adapting. We have so much to learn. #AgTech #AIforGood #FinancialInclusion #SmallholderFarmers #ImpactInvesting