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08/11/22 06:56 AM IST

Inaccessibility of agri-automation to small-scale producers can deepen inequalities: FAO

In News 
  • According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), agricultural automation might exacerbate inequality if technology is inaccessible to small-scale producers and other marginalised groups.
Key Findings 
  • Agricultural automation plays an important role in making food production more efficient and environmentally friendly.
  • However, it can also deepen inequalities if it remains inaccessible to small-scale producers and other marginalised groups.
  • Agricultural automation can lead to unemployment in places where rural labour is abundant and wages are low.
  • There are wide disparities in the spread of automation between and within countries, with adoption being particularly limited in sub-Saharan Africa. For example, Japan had more than 400 tractors per 1,000 hectares of arable land, compared with just 0.4 in Ghana in 2005.
  • The report also addressed concerns about the possible negative impacts of labour-saving technological change in terms of job displacement and unemployment. 
Recommendations 
  • Sustainable rental mechanisms are key for aiding mechanisation in regions with poor agri-automation.
  • Policymakers should avoid subsidising automation in labour-abundant regions. They should focus on creating an enabling environment for adopting automation.
  • Social protection should be provided to the least skilled workers, who are more likely to lose their jobs during the transition.
  • Without technological progress and increased productivity, there is no possibility of lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.
  • Hence, it is the need of the hour to ensure that automation takes place in a way that is inclusive and promotes sustainability.
Source- DTE 

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