New US research revealed a different internal structure of corn than previously thought. These findings can help optimise how corn is converted into ethanol.

So much more goes into feeding the planet than the assembly of ingredients on our plates. Whether it’s soil quality, availability of clean water or climate change, the global farming community is constantly having to overcome challenges to grow fresh produce in a sustainable manner. From autonomous robots to satellites and cutting-edge science, farmers around the world are deploying new technologies to help them work in smart and cost-effective ways.

Plant breeding has been continuing for a long time. However innovation – unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), robots, computerized reasoning (AI) and machine learning – is reforming the training.

Precision Agriculture Company Aerobotics and major farming co-operative based in Humansdorp, The Co-op (also known as “Die Koöperasie”), have formed a partnership that will make Aerobotics’ leading tree crop analytics technology and software available to 1,300 farms in the Eastern Cape. This partnership is the first of its kind in South Africa and is set to serve as a template for others like it in the future.

Everybody loves a list of predictions for the coming year, so here’s mine. These are the trends I expect to define biotech in agriculture during 2019. 

A global population explosion, land shortages, extremes of weather, and even trade wars are just a few of the challenges facing the future of food production. In meeting these challenges, the world of food and its journey from field to fork will undergo transformation and disruption on an unprecedented scale.