Frugal innovation in the field

Innovation is required in order to feed the world.

Farmers across the globe need to become more efficient, use fewer resources and lower the labor burden. However, the margins in the farming business are small and continually squeezed by market pressures.

Although there is a strong case for deploying automation, monitoring and precision technologies to the field, we must be aware of the barriers to entry for the farm business; whether that be an initial cost or ongoing operational expenditure.

Therefore, as product developers, we must therefore better understand the needs of – and drivers for – the farmer on the ground, be more aware of the context in which we develop solutions, and consider how to design technology which more immediately delivers improvements to the bottom line.