Latest News
Latest news
Welcome to RLF Ag Tech's latest news page.
Explore the cutting-edge advancements and solutions that are reshaping the landscape of agricultural technology.
Striking a Balance - Food Security, Social License and the Global Demand for Sustainable Agriculture
By Ken Hancock
•
01 Oct, 2023
The global agricultural landscape is confronted with a complex challenge: on one hand, there's a growing need to ensure food security for a rising world population, and on the other, an increasing demand for sustainably produced food driven by environmental concerns and consumer preferences. An intricate balancing act that must be maintained to address these dual imperatives - while also securing the social license of farming. The concept of a social license in farming has evolved significantly over time, reflecting changes in societal expectations, technology, and environmental consciousness. Throughout history, farmers have been stewards of the land, providing food for communities and nations. Until recent times the farmers main focus was to produce enough food to feed the worlds growing population in a safe and consistent manner. As the 20th century progressed, concerns about environmental degradation, soil erosion, pesticide use, and water pollution began to surface. This led to increased scrutiny of farming practices and their impact on ecosystems. The Green Revolution of the mid-20th century, introduced high-yield crop varieties and synthetic fertilizers, which increased food production but had other less desirable consequences including lowering of the water table, increased salinization, and an increased use of pesticides (leaving residuals in the environment). The awareness of environmental issues has been a driving force in the evolution of farmers' social license. As society's understanding of ecological dynamics has deepened, so too has the expectation that farmers play a crucial role in preserving the environment. Australian farmers are adopting new practices and technologies to reduce emissions, build climate resilience and strengthen sustainability to respond to climate risks, secure their future and remain globally competitive. The future of agriculture is all about efficiency. Being more efficient with the use of fertiliser nutrients and water resources, lessening the impact that crop production has on the lands we farm. Working with nature, rather than against it, to maximise and optimise plant and soil health, increasing biodiversity in the lands we farm, producing healthier foods and more of it, using less precious natural resource to do so. Regardless of whether fertiliser is organic or chemical it requires the use of natural resources for its production, with most nutrients in chemical fertiliser derived from naturally occurring earth elements including phosphorus, calcium, zinc, copper, manganese and nitrogen. The manufacture of fertiliser products however, requiring large inputs of fossil fuels. By making efficiency improvements to farming via innovative technologies like RLF’s plant nutrition solutions, which uses a natural amino acid to deliver nutrients to plants in a way that is more efficient and effective than just using traditional fertiliser practices. We are working with nature to improve crop yields, reduce the need for conventional soil applied fertiliser, improve the quality of produce and restore soil health. These improvements investing in the prosperity of future generations, enabling farms to be more profitable, efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly thereby securing the social licence of agricultural activities.
By Ken Hancock
•
27 Jul, 2023
On the back of a number of exciting developments for RLF’s soil carbon business, including the formation of an innovative strategic alliance with Commonwealth Bank (CBA) , combined with increasing levels of corporate interest in reducing and offsetting greenhouse gas emissions - carbon farming is more topical than ever. Soil carbon projects aim to reduce atmospheric carbon by storing it in the soil, primarily through increased plant material and microbes in the soil, along with deeper root growth. According to a recent CSIRO report, nature-based solutions such as soil carbon projects prove highly effective for carbon storage. Aside from being an effective tool for reducing emissions from the agriculture sector, soil carbon projects also represent a long-term investment and source of income for farmers. Soil carbon projects have taken off in Australia's compliance-based Emissions Reduction Fund carbon market scheme, with the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) reporting the number of Emission Reduction Fund projects registered in each state and territory across Australia on a monthly basis. The soil carbon method has tight controls on how soil carbon increases are estimated, with RLF’s Hillston Soil Carbon Project recently being added to the CER’s register of projects as an approved emissions reduction scheme. An irrigated project, RLF is boldly attempting to generate Australia’s fastest Australian Carbon Credit Unit via this pilot, seeking to generate ACCU’s after 1 – 2 years, compared with the typical turnaround of 4-5 years. The irrigation system used in this project, providing the opportunity to improve plant biomass production year-round, removing rainfall variability from the equation. RLF Carbon, a 100% owned subsidiary of RLF AgTech is setting itself apart from other soil carbon projects given its development of a proprietary system - ‘Accumulating Carbon in Soil System (ACSS) for which a provisional patent has been filed. This patent covers the process and framework for a sustainable system, including the use of RLF’s high quality plant nutrition products to allow farmers to potentially generate ACCUs while achieving higher crop yields, better quality food and increased on-farm profits. From a farmer’s perspective, the ACSS system has many benefits given that it doesn’t require a change in land use, with many registered soil carbon projects to date focused on tree and pastoral crops, but instead focuses on the application of RLF plant technology program to address material soil deficiencies, replacing previous plant nutrition approaches. McKinsey’s 2022 Global Farmer Insights provides a consideration of the trends in mindsets and behaviors towards the key topics that are shaping the future of agriculture, seeing 44% of respondents indicating that they anticipate the most profit to be generated from new yield increase products. Soil carbon sequestration is a key component of the Australian Government’s technology-led emissions reduction policy and has the potential to be the most significant carbon dioxide removal mechanism we have available. Increasing the amount of carbon stored in agricultural soils not only helping to mitigate rising greenhouse gas emissions but also improving the productivity and resilience of agricultural systems, seeing RLF’s innovative and proactive pursuit to commercialise, scale and generate high-quality Australian carbon credits a compelling proposition.
By Ken Hancock
•
24 May, 2022
Agriculture and sustainable farming practices are critical areas of research for the future of humanity – after all, everyone needs to eat. The complex relationship between agriculture and climate change is becoming even more pronounced, with the pandemic and recent geopolitical instability serving to highlight the fragility of our global food system. Agriculture has a significant impact on the environment, accounting for around 70 per cent of freshwater consumption and 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. 1 Unless global population growth stops, or most people change their diets, the world can only feed its growing population by either intensifying agriculture or by clearing more natural eco systems, such as rain forests, for agricultural production. Intensification, increasing the yield of food per hectare of land, requires the nutrients removed from the soil to be replaced to maintain sustainable land use; if nutrients are not replaced soils will become unproductive, ground cover will be reduced, and the risks of erosion and desertification increases. Applied nutrients can also cause environmental problems if there are losses to water systems or to the atmosphere. In the past, the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers in agricultural production systems had an adverse impact on natural ecosystems and soil health. In order to increase agricultural intensity without causing damage to the environment an alternative is required; one that can boost farm productivity while prioritising environmental sustainability. The role of AgTech In some ways, today’s food system resembles the energy sector from a decade ago. It provides vital inputs for human survival – but does so with some important negative side effects. There are significant opportunities for agtech to revolutionise the way we grow food, leveraging technology to create more efficient methods of farming. For example, the development of innovative plant nutrition products which facilitate the maximisation of yield and improvement in soil health. In recent years, innovative plant nutrition products have become increasingly important in agricultural farming as farmers’ focus has shifted towards fertiliser-use efficiency and farm productivity. It is estimated that at least 30 to 50% of crop yield is attributable to commercial fertiliser nutrient inputs. 2 In light of this, innovation, and improvements to the efficacy of these fertiliser nutrients has the potential to really move the dial in respect to food security and the global food system. RLF Agtech’s plant nutrition products are based on a proprietary technology called Plant Proton Delivery Technology (PPDT). PPDT uses a natural amino acid to deliver nutrients to plants in a way that is more efficient and effective than just using traditional fertiliser practices. Our PPDT Technology has been shown to improve crop yields, reduce the need for conventional soil applied fertiliser, improve the quality of produce and restore soil health. The Agricultural Nutrients Market The global agricultural micronutrients market size & share was valued at USD 4.03 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 8.24 Billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 8.7% during the forecast period. 3 This market is being driven by the growing population, increasing demand for food, increased necessity of micronutrients due to agricultural intensification as-well-as a global focus on sustainability. To keep intensive agriculture productive while minimising negative environmental consequences, systematic action to restore natural resources is essential. In order to meet global demand in food production and provide healthy and safe food in the face of climate change, the agriculture industry must take measures toward meeting the nutritional needs of the human population while protecting the soil, water, and air required to produce nutritious food. Climate change is the defining challenge of our generation—and companies around the world including RLF AgTech are stepping up to drive change in our respective industries. At RLF AgTech we are committed to developing sustainable agricultural solutions and are proud to be leading the charge.
