According to a recent report published by AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG, the general trend towards digitization in agriculture is being perceived increasingly positively. Consequently, quite a number of digital applications are already in use or currently in planning. The areas currently making the greatest use of digital technology are automatic feeding machines followed by high-tech agricultural machinery.
The report is based on a study by Roland Berger, according to which half of the respondents see digitization in agriculture as an opportunity. Conversely, only one-tenth of respondents view it as a risk.
For many farms, Agriculture 4.0 means holistic thinking
Digitization and networking in agriculture should be understood ultimately as a modern expression of ideals such as “holistic thinking”. Thinking in terms of process chains has always been a guarantee for successful agriculture.
For large parts of the agricultural industry, digitization is giving rise to extended areas of responsibility and also altered fields of activity. Employees are no longer solely responsible for routine agricultural tasks or a particular machine. Thus, workers need to be correspondingly qualified and prepared for these new fields of activity or new employees need to be brought on board. They need, among other things, additional expertise which no longer has much in common with the traditional agriculture.
The most important key skills required for Agriculture 4.0:
- Strong understanding of agriculture
(trends, competitive factors, business strategies)
- Extensive experience in the agricultural sector
- Good mix of analytical skills and creativity
- Interdisciplinary skills
- IT skills
On the way to Agriculture 4.0, many agricultural operations will need to prepare themselves and their employees or to recruit the necessary expertise. Often, the extended networks and expert eye of an external recruiter is required to track down the proverbial ‘needle in the haystack’.
Authors:
Hans-Gerd Birlenberg is the Business Unit Manager for Agribusiness and Distribution at Hager Unternehmensberatung.
The report is based on a study by Roland Berger, according to which half of the respondents see digitization in agriculture as an opportunity. Conversely, only one-tenth of respondents view it as a risk.
For many farms, Agriculture 4.0 means holistic thinking
Digitization and networking in agriculture should be understood ultimately as a modern expression of ideals such as “holistic thinking”. Thinking in terms of process chains has always been a guarantee for successful agriculture.
For large parts of the agricultural industry, digitization is giving rise to extended areas of responsibility and also altered fields of activity. Employees are no longer solely responsible for routine agricultural tasks or a particular machine. Thus, workers need to be correspondingly qualified and prepared for these new fields of activity or new employees need to be brought on board. They need, among other things, additional expertise which no longer has much in common with the traditional agriculture.
The most important key skills required for Agriculture 4.0:
- Strong understanding of agriculture
(trends, competitive factors, business strategies)
- Extensive experience in the agricultural sector
- Good mix of analytical skills and creativity
- Interdisciplinary skills
- IT skills
On the way to Agriculture 4.0, many agricultural operations will need to prepare themselves and their employees or to recruit the necessary expertise. Often, the extended networks and expert eye of an external recruiter is required to track down the proverbial ‘needle in the haystack’.
Authors:
Hans-Gerd Birlenberg is the Business Unit Manager for Agribusiness and Distribution at Hager Unternehmensberatung.
