"Future improvements in agriculture and food systems will continue to rely on enhanced efficiency – producing more with less – but greater emphasis will be needed on the social and environmental dimensions of sustainability," says a technical reference document titled Transforming Food and Agriculture to Achieve the SDGs published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
Advanced Farm 360 is an institutional development project of the Polytechnic School at the Federal University of Santa María – UFSM, a member institution of the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) in Brazil, which aims to enhance teaching, research, extension, and innovation in agriculture. It has three main focuses: precision agriculture, precision animal science, and sustainable agricultural production.
All activities are carried out on the campus' 160 hectares of agricultural area. The diverse crops include annual grain crops (soy, corn, irrigated rice, wheat, rye, and soil cover plants), annual and perennial pastures (for beef cattle and sheep farming), a crop-livestock-forest integration system with a eucalyptus stand, olive orchard, native fruit orchard, citrus orchard, walnut stand, production of ornamental species and annual crops for the production of biofuels.
The project arose from local demand for professionals capable of working with the so-called Agriculture 4.0 technologies and the need to make the agricultural activity more environmentally sustainable. This relates to the Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger, which underlines the relevance of agricultural research and the need to double agricultural productivity while ensuring sustainable food production systems and implementing resilient agricultural practices.
Agriculture 4.0 has technologies that rationalize the use of inputs such as oil correctives, fertilizers, and pesticides, among others, by considering the spatial variability of chemical, physical and biological attributes of the soil and plants and other factors that interfere with agricultural production. This way, inputs are applied correctly and in the right quantity, resulting in greater productivity and sustainability.
Advanced Farm 360 also works intensively in bio-inputs, including inoculants and biological agents for pest and disease management. For example, a study was conducted in which biological management achieved similar productivity to 100% chemical management but at a cost five times lower. In addition, soil conservation practices are used in the entire agricultural area, demonstrating the solid overall focus on agricultural sustainability.
The project's activities are divided into teaching, research, and extension. Teaching activities include theoretical and practical classes with state-of-the-art technologies made available by partner companies, benefiting UFSM students from different educational levels and areas related to Agriculture 4.0, such as Agricultural Sciences and Engineering. Research activities are carried out in partnership with other UFSM actions.
Such actions cover areas like precision agriculture and innovative lighting project. In addition, partnerships have been established with several educational institutions in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Extension activities include the proposal to hold 'field days' for farmers in the state's Central Region to disseminate technologies compatible with the reality of these producers. The project also aims to promote training courses for rural producers on crucial topics.
To carry out these activities, Advanced Farm 360 is supported by several private companies in the agricultural sector, which provide the latest available technologies. In addition, the project also partners with startups at UFSM business incubators, which use the project's agricultural area to validate their technologies, allowing the use of new ones even before they are available on the market.
The Advanced Farm 360 team comprises eleven lecturers and professors and fifteen students from both undergraduate and technical courses. "This is an innovative project that promotes interaction between individuals from different areas of knowledge, fostering the development and validation of technologies for a more sustainable agriculture along with the main companies in the agricultural sector," said the coordinator of the project, Luciano Pes.
One of the students involved, Veronica Fuzer Guarienti, commented that the project had given her practical experience with precision farming equipment and machinery and the chance to learn about different crops and biological products. "It has allowed me to see the reality outside the university," she added. "I'm always learning new things, including ways to make more assertive decisions for agriculture," explained another student, Gustavo Zanon Peripolli.
