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

Transcriber: TED Translators Admin Reviewer: Mirjana Čutura

Translator: 潘 可儿 Reviewer: Thomas Tam

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

喺大概一萬年前人類就開始耕種

This agricultural revolution was a turning point in our history

呢次農業革命係我哋歷史轉折點

that enabled people to settle, build and create.

令到我哋可以定居、開始發展同創造

In short, agriculture enabled the existence of civilization.

簡單啲講，農業就係文明基石

Today, approximately 40 percent of our planet is farmland.

宜家，地球有大概百分之四十農田

Spread all over the world,

分佈全世界各處

these agricultural lands are the pieces to a global puzzle

農田就係我哋正要面對

we are all facing:

全球拼圖嘅碎片：

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

喺將來，我哋點樣向全部新增人類

a healthy diet?

提供健康嘅飲食？

Meeting this goal will require

為咗達到目標

我哋就要進行第二次農業革命

nothing short of a second agricultural revolution.

The first agricultural revolution

喺第一次農業革命裡邊

was characterized by expansion and exploitation,

充斥著擴張同開發農田嘅想法

feeding people at the expense of forests, wildlife and water

為咗令到人人有飯食 犧牲咗森林、野生動物同水嘅資源

and destabilizing the climate in the process.

同時仲令氣候唔穩定

That's not an option the next time around.

下次革命就唔可以咁做喇

Agriculture depends on a stable climate

農業發展要依靠穩定嘅氣候

with predictable seasons and weather patterns.

以及可以預測嘅季節變化同天氣模式

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

即係我哋唔可以繼續擴張農田

because doing so will undermine the environmental conditions

因為咁做會令環境變差

that make agriculture possible in the first place.

即係冇咗發展農業嘅先決條件

Instead, the next agricultural revolution

因此，喺下一次農業革命

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

就要令現有農田產量長期增長

while protecting biodiversity, conserving water

同時保護生物嘅多樣性、節約用水同土地

and reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

以及減少污染同溫室氣體嘅排放

So what will the future farms look like?

咁未來農場會係點樣嘅呢？

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

呢部無人機屬於莊稼監控部隊

The farm may look haphazard

睇嚟呢個農場係冇咩規劃

but is a delicately engineered use of the land

但實際佢係經過精心設計

that intertwines crops and livestock with wild habitats.

將農作物同牲畜 與及野生棲息地聯結喺一齊

Conventional farming methods cleared large swathes of land

傳統農耕方法要清理一大塊土地

and planted them with a single crop,

之後淨係喺上面種一種農作物

eradicating wildlife

咁就消除咗啲野生動物

and emitting huge amounts of greenhouse gases in the process.

同時仲排放出大量溫室氣體

This approach aims to correct that damage.

而新方法就係糾正呢種破壞

Meanwhile, moving among the crops,

利用田地機器人

teams of field robots apply fertilizer in targeted doses.

喺莊稼周圍移動，做定量施肥

Inside the soil,

而喺土地裡面

hundreds of sensors gather data on nutrients and water levels.

數百個傳感器會收集 營養物質同水位嘅數據

This information reduces unnecessary water use

呢啲信息幫助減少冇必要嘅用水

and tells farmers where they should apply more and less fertilizer

同時話畀啲農民知 邊度施多啲肥，而邊度要少啲

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

咁做就唔會成塊農田都施肥，而造成污染

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

但未來嘅農場斷不會係 傳感器同機器人嘅天下

These technologies are designed to help us produce food

呢啲技術係摞嚟畀我哋

in a way that works with the environment

配合環境嚟生產食物

rather than against it,

而唔係同環境作對

taking into account the nuances of local ecosystems.

同時重要考慮埋唔同地區嘅 生態系統細微差別

Lower-cost agricultural practices can also serve those same goals

低成本農耕方式，亦可以達到同樣目的

and are much more accessible to many farmers.

使好多農民更容易做到

In fact, many such practices are already in use today

其實，好多呢啲方法經已用緊

and stand to have an increasingly large impact

而當更多農民都咁耕作時

as more farmers adopt them.

呢種農耕方式影響力會提高

In Costa Rica,

喺哥斯達黎加

farmers have intertwined farmland with tropical habitat so successfully

農民成功結合咗農田同熱帶棲息地嘅好處

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

將國家森林覆蓋面積翻倍

This provides food and habitat for wildlife

咁做既可為野生動物提供食物同棲息地

as well as natural pollination and pest control

又可通過農田吸引雀仔同昆蟲到嚟

from the birds and insects these farms attract,

實現自然授粉同害蟲防治

producing food while restoring the planet.

咁喺生產食物嘅同時 又可以恢復地球生態

In the United States,

喺美國

ranchers are raising cattle on grasslands composed of native species,

牧場主人喺有當地物種嘅草原上養牛

generating a valuable protein source

使用儲存碳同保護生物多樣性嘅方法生產

using production methods that store carbon and protect biodiversity.

嚟得到有價值嘅蛋白質資源

In Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal,

喺孟加拉，柬埔寨同尼泊爾

new approaches to rice production

新大米生產方式

may dramatically decrease greenhouse gas emissions in the future.

可能喺未來大幅度降低溫室氣體排放

Rice is a staple food for three billion people

而且大米係三十億人口嘅主食

and the main source of livelihood for millions of households.

同無數家庭嘅主要經濟來源

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

超過百分之九十嘅大米都種喺水浸田度

which use a lot of water

而水浸田就用好多水

and release 11 percent of annual methane emissions,

佢嘅甲烷排放量，佔年總量嘅百分之十一

which accounts for one to two percent

即係佔全球年溫室氣體排放總量

of total annual greenhouse gas emissions globally.

百分之一到二

By experimenting with new strains of rice,

通過摞新品種嘅大米嚟做實驗

irrigating less

嗰啲用減少灌溉量

and adopting less labor-intensive ways of planting seeds,

同降低勞動密集度播種方式嘅

farmers in these countries

國家農民

have already increased their incomes and crop yields

已經增加咗自己收入同作物嘅產量

while cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions.

同時亦降低咗溫室氣體排放

In Zambia,

喺讚比亞

numerous organizations are investing in locally specific methods

好多組織都投資喺啱本地耕種嘅方式

to improve crop production, reduce forest loss

既可提高作物產量同減少損害森林

and improve livelihoods for local farmers.

又可改善當地農民生計

These efforts are projected to increase crop yield

預計呢啲努力會喺將來幾十年

by almost a quarter over the next few decades.

將農作物產量增加幾乎四分之一

If combined with methods to combat deforestation in the region,

再加上同抗衡當地毀滅森林嘅方法相結合

they could move the country

佢哋就會將國家農業

toward a resilient, climate-focused agricultural sector.

引導往迅速恢復、注重氣候嘅方向發展

And in India,

而喺印度

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

有將近百分之四十嘅食物 喺收成后就丟失或浪費

due to poor infrastructure,

原因係基礎設施差勁

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

農民已經開始使用太陽能冷藏庫

that help thousands of rural farmers preserve their produce

用於保存收成

and become a viable part of the supply chain.

而呢種冷藏庫已經成為 供應鏈中可行嘅一部分

It will take all of these methods,

所有呢啲方法

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

無論從最高科技到最低成本

to revolutionize farming.

都會摞嚟改革農業

High-tech interventions stand to amplify

高科技干預方法係用嚟增強

climate- and conservation-oriented approaches to farming,

以氣候和保護為導向嘅農業方式

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

而大型生產者需要投資呢啲科技

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

同時，我哋都需要為細規模嘅農民

for smaller-scale farmers.

擴大使用低成本方法途徑

This vision of future farming will also require a global shift

而實現呢個願景，亦需要全球轉變去配合

toward more plant-based diets

若發展植物佔比更大嘅飲食模式

and huge reductions in food loss and waste,

會大大減少食物丟失同浪費

both of which will reduce pressure on the land

咁做就會減輕對土地嘅壓力

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

畀農民可以做到更多能力所及嘅事

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

如果我哋優化陸地同海洋啲食物生產

we can feed humanity

我哋就可以喺

within the environmental limits of the earth,

地球極限嘅環境範圍內養活全人類

but there's a very small margin of error,

但可以出錯嘅空間好細

and it will take unprecedented global cooperation

咁就需要就我哋宜家所有嘅農田

and coordination of the agricultural lands we have today.

展開史無前例嘅全球協調同合作