Intelligent Infrastructure for Smart Agriculture: An Integrated Food, Energy and Water System

Agriculture provides economic opportunity through innovation; helps rural America to thrive; promotes agricultural production that better nourishes Americans; and aims to preserve natural resources through healthy private working lands, conservation, improved watersheds, and restored forests. From agricultural production to food supply, agriculture supports rural and urban economies across the U.S. It accounts for 10% of U.S. jobs and is currently creating new jobs in the growing field of data-driven farming. However, U.S. global competitiveness associated with food and nutrition security is at risk because of accelerated investments by many other countries in agriculture, food, energy, and resource management. To ensure U.S. global competitiveness and long-term food security, it is imperative that we build sustainable physical and cyber infrastructures to enable self-managing and sustainable farming. Such infrastructures should enable next generation precision-farms by harnessing modern and emerging technologies such as small satellites, broadband Internet, tele-operation, augmented reality, advanced data analytics, sensors, and robotics. 1. Agriculture: A Vital Economic Engine and National Resource Agriculture provides economic opportunity through innovation, helps rural America to thrive, promotes agricultural production that better nourishes Americans, as well as provides new jobs and aims to preserve natural resources through healthy private working lands, conservation, improved watersheds, and restored forests. This vital sector affects each American and is an economic engine that provides approximately 1 in 10 U.S. jobs. U.S. agricultural productivity and profitability are the envy of the world. Notably, many new jobs are appearing in the fast-growing area of data-driven farming. However, U.S. global competitiveness associated with food and nutrition security is at risk because of accelerated investments in agriculture, food, energy, and resource management by countries such as China, Brazil, and India. Technological innovation in agriculture, food manufacturing, energy production, and water conservation by the private and public sectors have been key drivers of our international competitiveness. A renewed private-public effort is needed to develop and deploy advanced technologies that will ensure food and nutrition security; address workforce, malnutrition and obesity; foster energy independence; manage critical natural resources, especially water; and improve our ability to adapt to environmental and market shocks that jeopardize food, energy, and water security. 2. The Potential for Intelligent Agriculture Infrastructure An intelligent agriculture infrastructure that leverages private development and public R&D is the key to addressing these grand challenges and increasing our competitive position globally. 2 Interconnecting existing and new models 1 The Seeds of Innovation – Big Data Reshaping U.S. Agriculture, US Chamber of Commerce, March 2014, https://www.uschamberfoundation.org/blog/post/seeds-innovation-big-data-reshaping-us-agriculture/34140 2 Mynatt et al. (2017) “A National Research Agenda for Intelligent Infrastructure” CCC Led Whitepapers http://cra.org/ccc/resources/ccc-led-whitepapers/, last accessed April 12, 2017.