Muhammad Saleem

Robotic agricultural equipment has the potential to transform farming practices in Punjab, promising increased productivity and efficiency.

Talking to WealthPK, Dr. Hassan, a faculty member of the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, said, “We have to break away from the traditional practices if we want to achieve good yields in the changing climate scenario. Our current methods can’t cope with the climate change issues, but robotic agricultural practices can help us transform.

“Besides, robotic agricultural equipment can also tackle challenges like labor shortages and an aging farmer population. Robots increase efficiency, reduce labor costs, and improve yields. Similarly, they can perform multiple tasks such as pest management with greater precision, planting, weeding, and harvesting,” he said. Developed nations have started using the robotic agricultural equipment so that they can combat climate change and further develop the agriculture sector.

On the contrary, he said the Pakistani farmers were still pursuing age-old practices and the experts who urged them to go for robotic technologies were being criticized. “Agricultural scientists like me, who are monitoring the future trends, are not welcome in the current era, even though technological advancements are rapidly transforming everything. Our farmers need better yields to strengthen their financial position, enabling them to inspire their children to pursue careers in the agriculture sector.

“There are concerns that the robots will cut the number of jobs in the agriculture sector but it is a wrong perception, as they will help the farmers improve their productivity by reducing the burden of labor stress and other expenses. Robotic agriculture is not about replacing the farmers, rather, it will empower them to improve their productivity,” he added. Dr Hassan said agriculture was a labor-intensive sector, and robots could take over the most physically demanding and repetitive tasks.

By avoiding repetitive tasks, he noted that the farmers could pay attention to more areas of their work, like farm management, quality control, and marketing. One might find it hard to believe that our farmers are not well-versed in marketing their products. However, he added that they can gain knowledge of marketing if they focus on reducing their labor-intensive tasks. Only robots can help them reduce manual labor and explore new opportunities to introduce innovations in the agriculture sector.

Ahmed Raza, a progressive farmer, told WealthPK, “I am eager to introduce robotic technologies in our fields; however, my father is unwilling to benefit from this facility. Whenever I suggest to my father that we adopt the modern approaches, he plainly asks why we should waste money on modern technologies when we are getting yields through the traditional methods. “My entire family knows that farming is labor-intensive, and modern tools can lighten the burden.

These tools need investment, but they are not ready to invest, saying they will consider them only when the government announces a subsidy. We work for hours daily in the fields, battling the elements. The same tasks can be performed by robots efficiently, saving us from the impacts of climate,” Ahmed said. “You cannot imagine the strain we endure whenever we go to the fields to remove weeds. However, the same task is being performed by robots in the developed countries. By reducing labor tasks, we can significantly improve our quality of life and profits,” he added.

Credit: INP-WealthPk