Automation in Farming: Global North vs South

David Bell
Sep 13
8 min read

Updated: Sep 15

Farming is changing fast with tech, but not for all. Rich areas use new tools like AI, flying bots, and smart sensors to cut work costs and do more with less, while poor areas face money woes, old tools, and no help. This split shows deeper money and social gaps in farming.

Key points:

Rich areas: Use of top tech (e.g., self-driving farms, robot milkers) is high thanks to more money and better setup. Focus on less work force and more exact work.
Poor areas: Stick to easy, low-cost tools (e.g., sun pumps, phone apps) due to less cash and help. Paying people is cheaper than machines.
People at work: In rich places, machines make new tech jobs, but in poor places, they often cut out simple jobs with no other options.
Nature impact: Exact tools in the rich areas use less stuff, but poor access to such tools in the poor areas make nature issues worse.

To fix this split, we need to work together world-wide, make sure all can reach what they need, and find right answers that mix tech with local needs.

Money and Tech Needs for Making Farms Auto

How much farms use robots often shows the money and tech scene of a place. In the Rich North, a lot of money helps spread the use of top-notch tools. Farmers there tend to put money into robots as a way to cut down on high worker costs, making more and earning more. This chance to get money forms a clear pattern of how they use and buy tech.

But, farmers in the Poor South often hit walls when they try to get money for such upgrades. Since paying workers is cheaper, the need for robots is not as big. These money gaps are why the use of robots in farms is not the same around the world.

Tech Use and How Fast It Spreads

Rich places go for new tech, while poorer spots like cheap, easy tools. What an area has and its money shape what tech farmers pick.

Top Tech in the Rich North

In rich lands, farmers use top-level tech. For example, GPS tractors are common, doing jobs with less waste and more crop. These big machines plant, feed, and pick with little need for people, working hard when it's busy.

Drones are big in places like Europe and North America too. They check crops from the sky, finding sick plants early. Some can even drop spray right where it's needed, using fewer chemicals.

The Internet of Things (IoT) links gear like dirt testers and animal tags. Smart water systems change flow on their own, using data about dirt, weather, and plants. This link lets farmers tweak everything they do.

Robot milkers are changing dairy farms in spots like Denmark and the Netherlands. Cows go in by themselves to these milking spots, which check their health and milk as they go.

In less rich places, farmers choose different tools, thinking about cost and use.

Top Tech in the Poor South

In less rich spots, less money means farmers pick simple, cheap gear. Solar pumps are big in sub-Saharan Africa, letting farmers water plants without pricey fuel or bad power grids.

Phones are key for farm new ideas. Text-based services tell farmers about weather, prices, and tips. Some apps let small growers sell straight to buyers, making more money by skipping the middleman.

Simple tools like small tractors and threshers are seen in parts of Asia and Latin America. They're not as fancy as in rich spots, but they cut down hard work in planting and picking.

Table: Tech Use and Roadblocks

Area	Rich Countries	Poor Countries
Top Tech	GPS in big farm machines, flying tech, web things, milking by robots	Sun-run pumps, phone apps, small farm machines
Big Blocks	Much cost in work, rules to follow	Not enough money, bad roads and buildings, no tech help
Tech Goals	Less work needed, better use of data	Low-cost ways to grow more
Help Ways	Help money, learn by doing, store chains	Help from groups, farming teams, help on the go

Tech use shows how rich or poor each place is. In the North, many farmers buy top tech to pay less for work and get easy loans. In the South, they pick cheap tools that work fast.

Problems like bad roads and hard-to-get parts make tough, easy tech a good choice for poor places. Also, not knowing much about high tech stops them from using smart machines. There are classes, but they don't always get to far farms where they're needed most.

Work Market Changes: Skills, Work, and Being Fair

Machines are changing work markets in ways that show the big gaps between the Global North and South. Farm work is changing with new tech roles coming up while less tech work jobs go down. These changes kind of show the money and tech splits we talked about before.

How Work Changes

Machines are changing farm jobs into two types: high-tech roles and simple work tasks. Jobs in the middle, like driving a tractor which needed some learning before, are now hard to find.

In rich places, more people are needed who can fix robots, look at data, and handle new techs. Look at a high-tech dairy farm with robot milkers. These places need folks good at software and looking after systems more than old-style farm work.

But, these changes bring troubles. Even as machines cut the need for people to make choices, they can also drop the special skills of good workers since their jobs turn into just watching and managing.

Country areas find this hard as young people move to cities with their tech know-how, leaving old farms trying to keep up. Also, the timing of farm work is changing. Where many people were once needed at planting and harvest times, now fewer are needed then, but more full-time tech people are needed all year.

How Work Changes Differ by Area

How machines change work really depends on where you are.

In the Global North, simple jobs are less while tech jobs grow. Training plans and work groups are key in moving workers to new jobs. For example, groups often push for training to help workers keep up with new tech.

On the other hand, the Global South sees bigger troubles. On small farms, simple tools like sun-powered pumps or apps open chances for local tech folks. But, big machine plans often cut many short-term jobs without adding new tech jobs. For example, using new big harvest machines really cuts the need for short-term workers, leaving many country workers with few options.

Women in poor places face more risks. Many do simple tasks like cutting weeds or sorting, and machines are taking those jobs. Often, social rules limit their chances to learn tech skills, pushing them further to the edge. Also, where work rules are not clear, it's hard to track lost jobs or help workers hit by these changes.

The table below shows how work changes and social results are different in the Global North and South.

Aspect	North World	South World
Job Swaps	Less hard work roles; more tech jobs	Big cuts in hard work jobs with few new tech jobs
Skills Needed	Top tech teaching and info digging	Easy tech know-how and tool fixing
Help to Learn	Help from government and worker groups	Short on formal help; learning from local people
Pay Effects	More pay for skilled jobs and more job stay	Less work and slow pay growth
Social Change	Easy changes and slow move from country places	High poverty risk and more people move to cities

As more jobs turn to robots, the gap between places may get bigger. In rich countries, help for the jobless and new job training help ease the pain. But in poor places, no such help exists. This can make the cycle of not having much even worse, in and between places.

How Machines Change How We Live and Our Earth

Using machines more and more in farming is changing towns and nature, and often grows the gap between rich and poor.

How People in Small Towns Are Affected

Using machines in farming affects towns based on how rich they are. Rich places may see farms make more money, helping the town. But poor places may see old ways of farming die out and hurt how close the town feels.

The gap in what people can get and do is getting bigger. Big farms that can buy new machines do better than small farms. This can push small farms out of business, making a few big places hold all the farming power.

Women, who do a lot of farm work in poor countries, face tough times. Few chances for new training can shut them out from new jobs that machines bring, making it harder for women.

Also, fewer new farm jobs mean young people may leave these towns. This move can stop farm know-how from passing down, changing how these places live and farm. These shifts, tied with nature changes, shape how farming will look later.

How Machines Affect Nature

Machines change how we harm or help the earth. High-tech farms use less water and chemicals by being very precise, which is good. But these tools cost a lot and mostly big farms use them.

How much power farms use also changes a lot. In rich countries, farms use clean power more, but in poor places, they use diesel, which is bad for the air.

Machines can help the earth by hurting the soil less and using water better. But if we don't use these tools right, we can end up farming too much and lose types of crops. Better ways to water crops can make more food and save water, but small farms might not afford this and suffer more in dry times. Pushing for all farms to grow the same crops cuts down variety, making it hard for food systems to deal with bad weather or sickness in plants.

New Ways to Farm and The Cultivarian Society

With more machines, new ways to farm are popping up. Groups like The Cultivarian Society are finding ways to make meat without killing animals, helping the earth and meeting worries about how we treat animals.

Using less from big animal farms could help small towns a lot. The Cultivarian Society backs using this new meat tech with usual farming to help meet the need for meat in better ways.

Working with many groups, The Cultivarian Society pushes for this new meat as a way to keep up with tech while being fair and caring for our planet.

With better tools for farming and fair ways to make food, we may find a path ahead. Using these tech tools right may lead to a strong and just food future. This can help solve both people and earth problems in a good way.

End Thoughts: Bridging the Farm Tech Gap

The gap in farm tech between the North and South of the globe shows us deeper issues about money, who can get what, and what's fair. Rich countries can pour money into high-tech farming and complex machines, while farmers in poorer areas often deal with having too little access to simple loans and key tools. This sets up a system where big, new farms do well, leaving the small ones behind.

But, there is some hope. Things like cheap sun-powered water systems and phones are helping bring high-tech farm tools to places with less money. These things could close the gap over time.

How automation hits work also changes a lot. In Europe and North America, it helps with not having enough workers and high pay. However, in many growing areas, the big task is to get better at what they do without losing important local jobs. Using tech in a way that adds to, not just replaces, people's work is key to keep things balanced.

Rich and poor places both see climate as a big deal, but they look at it differently. Rich places work on cutting down gas that warms the planet with better machines, while poorer places focus on staying strong and keeping food coming even when the weather acts up.

New ways of making food could also help even things out. Stuff like made meat offers chances to cut back on old farm ways. Groups like The Cultivarian Society push these new ideas, which could let growing places try advanced food tech without big money in automation.

Creating a fair future in farming needs everyone to work together, share tech well, and set up money plans that make new farm tools open to all. Moves in farm tech must help everyone, not just those with cash to spend.