Can we create the "perfect" farm?

About 10,000 years ago, humans began to farm. This agricultural revolution was a turning point in our history and enabled the existence of civilization. Today, nearly 40 percent of our planet is farmland. Spread all over the world, these lands are the pieces to a global puzzle we're all facing: in the future, how can we feed every member of a growing population a healthy diet? Brent Loken investigates. [Directed by Hype CG, narrated by Jack Cutmore-Scott, music by Gabriel Maia].

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

This agricultural revolution
was a turning point in our history

that enabled people to settle,
build and create.

In short, agriculture
enabled the existence of civilization.

Today, approximately 40 percent
of our planet is farmland.

Spread all over the world,

these agricultural lands
are the pieces to a global puzzle

we are all facing:

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

a healthy diet?

Meeting this goal will require

nothing short of a second
agricultural revolution.

The first agricultural revolution

was characterized
by expansion and exploitation,

feeding people at the expense
of forests, wildlife and water

and destabilizing the climate
in the process.

That's not an option the next time around.

Agriculture depends on a stable climate

with predictable seasons
and weather patterns.

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

because doing so will undermine
the environmental conditions

that make agriculture possible
in the first place.

Instead, the next agricultural revolution

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

while protecting biodiversity,
conserving water

and reducing pollution
and greenhouse gas emissions.

So what will the future farms look like?

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

The farm may look haphazard

but is a delicately engineered
use of the land

that intertwines crops and livestock
with wild habitats.

Conventional farming methods
cleared large swathes of land

and planted them with a single crop,

eradicating wildlife

and emitting huge amounts
of greenhouse gases in the process.

This approach aims to correct that damage.

Meanwhile, moving among the crops,

teams of field robots
apply fertilizer in targeted doses.

Inside the soil,

hundreds of sensors gather data
on nutrients and water levels.

This information reduces
unnecessary water use

and tells farmers where they should apply
more and less fertilizer

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

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

These technologies are designed
to help us produce food

in a way that works with the environment

rather than against it,

taking into account
the nuances of local ecosystems.

Lower-cost agricultural practices
can also serve those same goals

and are much more accessible
to many farmers.

In fact, many such practices
are already in use today

and stand to have
an increasingly large impact

as more farmers adopt them.

In Costa Rica,

farmers have intertwined farmland
with tropical habitat so successfully

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

This provides food
and habitat for wildlife

as well as natural pollination
and pest control

from the birds and insects
these farms attract,

producing food while restoring the planet.

In the United States,

ranchers are raising cattle
on grasslands composed of native species,

generating a valuable protein source

using production methods that store carbon
and protect biodiversity.

In Bangladesh, Cambodia and Nepal,

new approaches to rice production

may dramatically decrease
greenhouse gas emissions in the future.

Rice is a staple food
for three billion people

and the main source of livelihood
for millions of households.

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

which use a lot of water

and release 11 percent
of annual methane emissions,

which accounts for one to two percent

of total annual greenhouse gas
emissions globally.

By experimenting with new strains of rice,

irrigating less

and adopting less labor-intensive
ways of planting seeds,

farmers in these countries

have already increased
their incomes and crop yields

while cutting down
on greenhouse gas emissions.

In Zambia,

numerous organizations
are investing in locally specific methods

to improve crop production,
reduce forest loss

and improve livelihoods for local farmers.

These efforts are projected
to increase crop yield

by almost a quarter
over the next few decades.

If combined with methods
to combat deforestation in the region,

they could move the country

toward a resilient, climate-focused
agricultural sector.

And in India,

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

due to poor infrastructure,

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

that help thousands of rural farmers
preserve their produce

and become a viable part
of the supply chain.

It will take all of these methods,

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

to revolutionize farming.

High-tech interventions stand to amplify

climate- and conservation-oriented
approaches to farming,

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

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

for smaller-scale farmers.

This vision of future farming
will also require a global shift

toward more plant-based diets

and huge reductions
in food loss and waste,

both of which will reduce
pressure on the land

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

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

we can feed humanity

within the environmental
limits of the earth,

but there's a very small margin of error,

and it will take unprecedented
global cooperation

and coordination of the agricultural
lands we have today.