High-tech farmers create a buzz at Paris farm show

In the realm of cataclysmic, earth altering natural disasters, there is one scenario that is often overlooked. The worldwide population of bees and other pollinating insects is plummeting and that threatens global food supplies.

"Today, we have up to 35 percent mortality of be e colonies raised in Europe," said Christian Lubat on the sidelines of the Paris Agricultural Show. "Last year in the U.S. the figure was 55 percent. So it's a massive collapse of the best-known pollinator. It's really critical because almost all of the fruits, vegetables and seeds we eat need pollination."

Lubat is the co-founder of BeeGuard, a company that makes temperature and weight sensors for beehives, as well as artificial intelligence-enabled cameras to precisely monitor bee activity. There are more than 5,400 connected hives across 12 countries, monitoring some 16,000 hive entries and exits every hour.

"It's very important to measure the flow of bees because it ultimately gives us the pollination potential of a place," Lubat said. "We can then cross-reference all the data, for example climate data, yield data, foraging data, mortality data and bee activity data … to generate a macroscopic picture for farmers."‌

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Farmers can monitor the information in real time to take immediate action to remedy problems that could affect crop yield.

Artificial intelligence is nothing new for farmers. Its first application was in the mid-1980s to improve cotton production. The technology is now widely used across the industry to analyze soils, optimize irrigation and even to predict when animals will get sick. It is increasingly seen as a crucial tool for future sustainability.‌

Predicting milk production (almost) down to the last drop

Eliance is a federation that offers consulting services for some 80,000 cow, sheep and goat breeders across France. It collects a massive amount of data from its members. Milk production, for example, is tracked in 10-minute intervals.

"We have a data lab that develops algorithms, software and computer applications for businesses and farmers," said Gwenaelle Gain, head of communications.

She said AI and machine learning then transforms that information into predictions which, according to Eliance, has an error rate of less than 1 percent.

"We forecast milk production for large farmers - and with that accurate information, these producer groups can negotiate the best possible milk price," Gain said. "There's another application too - it helps prevent health problems in the animals."

At a time when pressure is mounting on the agricultural sector to go green and farmers are revolting over low wages and red tape across Europe, some farmers see AI as a great equalizer that could not only help them stay afloat but battle climate change too.