China farming jobs at risk due to rise of automated agriculture

A sow is seen inside Guangxi Yangxiang’s high-rise pig
farm at Yaji Mountain Forest Park in Guangxi province,
China.
Thomas
Suen/Reuters

• For the next seven years, China will run a pilot
  program to replace farmers with robots.
• The program features unmanned tractors, rice
  transplanters, and pesticide applicators.
• A rise in automated farming could produce greater
  yields and cheaper food production.
• However, a rise in automated farming also threatens to
  put many of China’s 250 million farmers out of work.

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China has launched
a pilot program to replace farmers with robots,
putting millions of people at risk of losing their
jobs. 

The seven-year pilot, which is running in Jiangsu Province,
features unmanned tractors, pesticide applicators, and rice
transplanters,
according to Bloomberg. These technologies are not yet widely
used in China.

Millions of unproductive, polluting farms in China could be
modernized through the program, according to Bloomberg. In a
large portion of rural China, households operate more than one
small plot of farmland.
Scientists say this structure is inefficient because it keeps
grain yields low.

With a rise in automated farming, China could experience greater
yields and cheaper food production. Coupled with data, automation
could lead to a decrease in the use of fertilizer and pesticides,
as machines would know exactly where these chemicals need to
be added. A new farming model could also alleviate losses in
productivity due to an aging workforce.

But more automation means fewer farmers will be able to find
work. Although the percentage of the Chinese workforce
involved in farming has dropped — from 55% in 1991 to 18% in 2017
— about 250 million people are still farmers, and many risk
losing their jobs if automation becomes more common.

Rising incomes in China have led city residents to
start consuming significantly more milk and dairy than in the
past. Feeding China’s 1.4 billion people is also complicated by
urbanization, which has eliminated millions of acres of arable
land. Of the land that remains, about 20% is contaminated by
heavy metals from industrial development, according
to Bloomberg.

In the United States, automated farming goes back at least 16
years, when Deere & Co.
revealed a system for applying GPS to tractors. Before that,
tractors would waste a lot of land and fuel: As tractors laid
seeds in rows on a field, they would go over part of the previous
row each time. The GPS system allowed farmers to drive straight
and avoid this overlap.

GPS has since also been used to mark areas that have pest
infestations or variable soil, which allows farmers to make
informed decisions based on data. 

Some US farms also
use robotic milking machines; there are currently 2,000
of them located around the country. Although these machines have
been sold in Europe since 1992, US demand has accelerated in the
last couple years, Steve Fried, North America sales manager for
Levy, a Dutch agriculture technology company, previously told
Business Insider.

Automation in China could help create new jobs in other areas;
while robots would take over numerous tasks, people
will still need to code, regulate, maintain, and repair
machines. Those who stick to farming will need to develop new
skills to use the emerging technology.