Sustainability in farming refers to agricultural practices that meet current food and fiber needs while ensuring long-term environmental health, economic viability, and social equity. It involves managing resources to maintain soil fertility, conserve water, reduce chemical inputs, and promote biodiversity, while supporting farm profitability and community well-being. Sustainable farming aims to minimize environmental impact (e.g., reducing emissions, preventing soil degradation) and adapt to challenges like climate change, ensuring future generations can farm productively. Examples include crop rotation, organic farming, and integrated pest management.

When the Great Green Wall initiative began in 2007, it was just a vision of a big, beautiful wall of greenery spanning the width of Africa to keep the Sahara Desert from encroaching on the rest of the continent. Despite years of successes and failures, celebration and criticism, we can see the progress being made as an inspiring example of how local and global collaboration can help counter the effects of climate change.

Precision agriculture uses technologies such as GPS or automation to make farms more efficient. For example, farmers can use auto-steering equipment to precisely plant a field, and activity monitors can help dairy farmers collect data about their cows' health.

In this Technology Assessment, we review the benefits and challenges of precision agriculture technologies. They can make farms more profitable and have environmental benefits—like reducing fertilizer runoff in waterways. But they can also be complex and have high up-front costs, making it hard for some farmers to access them. We examine policy options to help address these challenges.

The growth of the global population, which is projected to reach 10 billion by 2050, is placing significant pressure on the agricultural sector to increase crop production and maximize yields. To address looming food shortages, two potential approaches have emerged: expanding land use and adopting large-scale farming, or embracing innovative practices and leveraging technological advancements to enhance productivity on existing farmland

The agriculture sector today faces a multitude of challenges, including rising labor costs, diminishing soil fertility, unpredictable weather conditions, and the need for precise management of resources like water, fertilizers, and pesticides. As traditional farming methods reach their limits, the need for innovative solutions becomes urgent. Artificial Intelligence has immense potential for tackling these and other challenges.