Can we create the "perfect" farm? - Brent Loken

Transcriber: TED Translators Admin Reviewer: Mirjana Čutura

翻译人员: TED Translators Admin 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

About 10,000 years ago, humans began to farm.

大约一万年前，人类开始了耕种。

This agricultural revolution was a turning point in our history

这场农业革命是 人类历史上的一个转折点

that enabled people to settle, build and create.

使我们能够定居、建立和创造家园。

In short, agriculture enabled the existence of civilization.

简而言之，农业使文明得以存在。

Today, approximately 40 percent of our planet is farmland.

今天，地球上大约 40% 面积是农田，

Spread all over the world,

遍布世界各地，

these agricultural lands are the pieces to a global puzzle

这些农田是我们所有人

面临的全球性难题的一部分：

we are all facing:

in the future, how can we feed every member of a growing population

在未来，我们怎样才能 让不断增长的人口中的

每一个人都吃到健康的食物?

a healthy diet?

Meeting this goal will require

要实现这一目标就需要进行

nothing short of a second agricultural revolution.

第二次农业革命。

The first agricultural revolution

第一次农业革命的特点

was characterized by expansion and exploitation,

是扩张和开发，

feeding people at the expense of forests, wildlife and water

以森林、野生动物和水资源

为代价养活人类，

and destabilizing the climate in the process.

并在此过程中破坏了气候。

That's not an option the next time around.

下次就不可能这样做了。

Agriculture depends on a stable climate

农业依赖于稳定的气候

with predictable seasons and weather patterns.

和可预测的季节和天气模式。

This means we can't keep expanding our agricultural lands,

这意味着我们不能继续 扩大我们的农业用地，

because doing so will undermine the environmental conditions

因为这样做首先会破坏

that make agriculture possible in the first place.

使农耕成为可能的环境条件。

Instead, the next agricultural revolution

相反，下一次农业革命

will have to increase the output of our existing farmland for the long term

将不得不从长远提高

我们现有耕地的产量。

while protecting biodiversity, conserving water

在保护生物多样性的同时， 节约水资源，

and reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

减少污染和温室气体排放。

So what will the future farms look like?

那么未来的农场会是什么样子呢?

This drone is part of a fleet that monitors the crops below.

这架无人机在监控 下方农作物的生长状况。

The farm may look haphazard

这个农场可能看起来杂乱无章，

but is a delicately engineered use of the land

但这是进行精心设计利用的土地，

that intertwines crops and livestock with wild habitats.

使农作物和牲畜 与野生栖息地交织在一起。

Conventional farming methods cleared large swathes of land

传统的耕作方法清理了大片土地

and planted them with a single crop,

并且只用于种植一种作物，

eradicating wildlife

从而在此过程中，消灭了野生动物，

and emitting huge amounts of greenhouse gases in the process.

排放出大量的温室气体。

This approach aims to correct that damage.

此方法旨在纠正这种损害。

Meanwhile, moving among the crops,

与此同时，在庄稼间穿行的

teams of field robots apply fertilizer in targeted doses.

田间机器人团队 有针对性地给土地施肥，

Inside the soil,

在土壤内，数百个传感器会收集

hundreds of sensors gather data on nutrients and water levels.

养分和水位的数据。

This information reduces unnecessary water use

这一信息有助于减少不必要的用水，

and tells farmers where they should apply more and less fertilizer

并告诉农民他们应该在 哪些地方多施肥以及少施肥，

instead of causing pollution by showering it across the whole farm.

而不是把化肥洒遍 整个农场而造成污染。

But the farms of the future won't be all sensors and robots.

但未来的农场不会 全是传感器和机器人。

These technologies are designed to help us produce food

考虑到当地生态系统的细微差别，

in a way that works with the environment

这些技术旨在帮助我们以与环境协调，

rather than against it,

taking into account the nuances of local ecosystems.

而非与环境对抗的方式生产粮食。

Lower-cost agricultural practices can also serve those same goals

低成本的农业做法

也可以实现同样的目标，

and are much more accessible to many farmers.

而且对许多农民来说更容易实现。

In fact, many such practices are already in use today

事实上，许多这样的做法 今天已经在使用。

and stand to have an increasingly large impact

而且随着被越来越多的农民所采用，

as more farmers adopt them.

它们将产生越来越大的影响。

In Costa Rica,

在哥斯达黎加 ，农民成功地将农田

farmers have intertwined farmland with tropical habitat so successfully

与热带栖息地交织在一起，

that they have significantly contributed to doubling the country's forest cover.

从而为翻倍该国的森林覆盖率

做出了重要贡献。

This provides food and habitat for wildlife

这为野生动物提供了食物和栖息地，

as well as natural pollination and pest control

以及这些农场吸引来的鸟类和昆虫

from the birds and insects these farms attract,

还提供了自然授粉和害虫防治，

producing food while restoring the planet.

在恢复地球生态的同时生产粮食。

In the United States,

在美国，牧场主们在 由本地物种组成的草原上养牛，

ranchers are raising cattle on grasslands composed of native species,

generating a valuable protein source

利用储存碳和保护生物多样性的

using production methods that store carbon and protect biodiversity.

生存方式成为宝贵的蛋白质来源。

In Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal,

在孟加拉国 、柬埔寨和尼泊尔 ，

new approaches to rice production

水稻生产的新方法可能 在未来显著减少温室气体排放。

may dramatically decrease greenhouse gas emissions in the future.

Rice is a staple food for three billion people

大米是 30 亿人的主食，

以及数以百万计的家庭 主要的生计来源。

and the main source of livelihood for millions of households.

More than 90 percent of rice is grown in flooded paddies,

90% 以上的水稻是在水田里种植的,

which use a lot of water

这需要用到大量的水，

and release 11 percent of annual methane emissions,

并释放出每年 11% 的甲烷排放量。

which accounts for one to two percent

约占全球每年 温室气体排放总量的 1-2%。

of total annual greenhouse gas emissions globally.

By experimenting with new strains of rice,

通过试验水稻新品系，减少灌溉，

irrigating less

and adopting less labor-intensive ways of planting seeds,

并采用劳动强度较低的播种方式，

farmers in these countries

这些国家的农民

have already increased their incomes and crop yields

已经提高了收入和作物产量，

while cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions.

同时减少了温室气体的排放。

In Zambia,

在赞比亚 ，许多组织投资于

numerous organizations are investing in locally specific methods

当地特定的方法来提高作物产量，

to improve crop production, reduce forest loss

减少森林损失，

and improve livelihoods for local farmers.

并改善当地农民的生计。

These efforts are projected to increase crop yield

这些努力预计将使农作物产量

by almost a quarter over the next few decades.

在未来几十年提高近四分之一。

If combined with methods to combat deforestation in the region,

如果与打击该区域 森林砍伐的方法相结合，

they could move the country

就可以推动该国建立一个

toward a resilient, climate-focused agricultural sector.

具有复原力、注重气候的农业部门。

And in India,

在印度，由于基础设施薄弱，

where up to 40 percent of post-harvest food is lost or wasted

高达 40% 的收成会损失或浪费。

due to poor infrastructure,

farmers have already started to implement solar-powered cold storage capsules

农民已经开始实施太阳能冷藏舱，

that help thousands of rural farmers preserve their produce

帮助成千上万的农民保存他们的粮食，

and become a viable part of the supply chain.

并成为供应链中可行的一部分。

It will take all of these methods,

采取所有这些方法，

from the most high-tech to the lowest-cost,

从最高科技到最低成本，

才能彻底改革农业现状。

to revolutionize farming.

High-tech interventions stand to amplify

高科技干预将放大以气候

climate- and conservation-oriented approaches to farming,

和保护为导向的农耕方法，

and large producers will need to invest in implementing these technologies.

而大规模的农场将需要投资

实施这些技术。

Meanwhile, we'll have to expand access to the lower-cost methods

与此同时， 我们必须增加

小规模农民获得低成本方法的机会。

for smaller-scale farmers.

This vision of future farming will also require a global shift

对未来农业的展望

还需要全球转向

toward more plant-based diets

更多的植物性饮食，

and huge reductions in food loss and waste,

并大幅减少粮食损失和浪费。

both of which will reduce pressure on the land

这两方面都将减轻土地压力，

and allow farmers to do more with what they have available.

让农民能够利用可用资源做更多事情。

If we optimize food production, both on land and sea,

如果我们优化陆地上的粮食 和海洋里的海产品的产量，

we can feed humanity

我们可以在地球的环境范围内

within the environmental limits of the earth,

养活人类，

but there's a very small margin of error,

但是有一个很小的误差，

and it will take unprecedented global cooperation

这将需要前所未有的全球合作

and coordination of the agricultural lands we have today.

和协调我们今天拥有的农业用地。