Category: TECHNOLOGY

Do you believe that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has given rise to an increased public appreciation of the role that agriculture and those who work in the sector play in the provision of sufficient and affordable food and fibre in South Africa? I think that many people have never had reason to think about…

Growers will have to substantially increase both the quantity and quality of their yields in the coming decades, but environmental constraints threaten their ability to do so. At current levels of waste, farmers will have to grow 70% more food to feed the world’s population in 2050. Despite annual gains in crop production, farmers may…

One of the biggest shifts in farming over the past few years has been the move towards connectivity. The connected farmer concept goes beyond basic Internet services; it takes in everything from connected farming devices and connected livestock, to connected irrigation platforms and precision-farming concepts. This includes irrigation and pest-control planning based on satellite images,…

For a farmer managing a macadamia orchard, certain things are non-negotiable. You need to know your exact tree count, you have to work your yields back to kilograms of dry nut-in-shell yield per tree, and you need to ascertain where problems lie so that you can address them rapidly and effectively. This is according to Martin…

While the potential value is exciting, it’s important to remember these kinds of technological applications are part of a much more complex socio-economic picture, especially in South Africa. A congested value chain You could argue that all agriculture sectors are being infiltrated by smart tech, a trend driven by the sheer scale of innovation entering…

While the concept of genetic modification has been around since the 1980s, many people around the world have either not heard of it or have a poor understanding of the principles, processes and goals behind it. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are organisms that have been modified in a manner that does not occur naturally, through…

Alessandro Volta, an Italian chemist and physicist, discovered in 1799 that when two dissimilar conducting materials, or electrodes, are covered by a solution that can conduct electricity, an electrolyte, one material will become positively charged and the other negatively charged. READ New from Desmond Equipment If these terminals are connected by an external circuit, an electrical…

We live in a world where just about every genuine human endeavour gives rise to fake counterparts. There are fake colleges, fake medicines, fake software programs, fake fashion labels… the list goes on and on. The transport industry is no exception. Fake mechanical parts have become a worldwide problem, leading to millions of rand in…

Many modern engines employ variable valve timing to create a range of throttle opening/engine speed combinations where the air mass flow is very high. This increases average breathing efficiency and torque output, and reduces fuel consumption. With fixed intake valve timing, the norm until a few years ago, there is only one throttle opening/ engine…

A quick Internet search of the term ‘vertical farming’ produces images of seemingly futuristic buildings housing an abundance of luxuriant plant life. While these complex architectural designs and cutting-edge technology might seem far-fetched, vertical farming is, in fact, a system that can be realised sooner rather than later. The keys to achieving this dream in…