By Alice Castelani de Oliveira and Samira Scoton |
Access to Big Data has revolutionized the agricultural sector. Machines, such as harvesters, record via GPS the production in each cultivated area, planters adjust seed distribution according to soil performance, and agricultural sprayers use algorithms to search for weeds and kill them with pesticides. The high technology used in agriculture provides benefits like greater efficiency in the use of production supplies. According to Crawford, vice president of AGCO Georgia, one of the biggest manufacturer of agricultural machinery in the world, farmers could raise their agricultural revenue by 20% in the next 5 years by managing their data correctly. On the other hand, the data revolution makes room for threats related to the cyber sector, creating a new field of vulnerability, to the extent that Agriculture 4.0 is already a reality in Brazil.
Impacts on Defense and Security Boosted by Big Data, the digital revolution in Agriculture 4.0 creates the conditions for the onset of threats to cybersecurity. This new reality could have a significant impact upon the capabilities of states that aim to ensure food safety. Therefore, Brazil needs to master the cybernetic technology, strengthening its capability to safeguard national security ahead of this new scenario of vulnerability.
Source: CARPENTER, Scott. Access to Big Data Turns Farm Machine Makers into Tech Firms. Forbes, 12/31/2020. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottcarpenter/2021/12/31/access-to-big-data-turns-farm-machine-makers-into-tech-firms/?sh=5c8dbb597e47