While cherishing my Custard Apple (Sitaphal) this afternoon at my work station (at home), I got transported to my 8-year-old self. I recall the phase where I enjoyed having these custard apples (No limit on numbers) and without worrying about the sugar intake, the calories, and the other than alien issues such as hybrid fruits, chemicals, and price.

Though the memories are very sweet, the same is not the case with my Custard Apple today. Somehow it tastes a lot different from what I had in my childhood. This brings me to the real world, and I wonder how they taste and the awesomeness has changed. Undoubtedly we all by now have accepted that this is the best we have on our table.

But some of us haven't. There are people who are tirelessly working on bringing that freshness and flavour back. Yes, these are the people who use scientific advancements and cutthroat technology to get that freshness back without having people empty their pockets. 

Artificial intelligence, robotics, and genomics today are extensively being used in agriculture and farming. Experts in the area claim that why these newest practices are more than necessary is for the below-mentioned reasons:

• Supply chain is broken and distorted
• These chains are too long
• They are highly complex
• They have many variables
• There are Food Safety concerns associated
• The food is Prone to damage 
• Loss of value of the food item

There is no denying the fact that we all have the privilege of enjoying even the most geographically unapproachable fruits or veggies right on our table. And this makes us at times even compromise with the lost taste or freshness. 

In line with this, many organizations today are setting up High-tech greenhouses or vertical farms using AI and ML to maintain that essence that gets lost during the food supply chains. Robotics is deployed to automate the tedious agricultural tasks and ML to better understand how plants can be grown better. The aim to get the highest quality with the highest nutrition while at the right price.

Sensors and cameras are being used to monitor temperature, air pressure or quality. These strategic initiatives aim at reducing the ill effects of climate change and increase productivity. AI algorithms are set to observe the weather, soil, irrigation, water efficiency, and longevity for crops. The benefits of AI-assisted farming is that these are replicas of outdoor farming while producing more and without pesticides.

Key areas where AI and IoT are used:

• SMS alert 
• Water temperature monitoring and management
• Online monitoring and control
• Nutritional content analysis
• Data logging facility
• Sunlight monitoring 
• Crop management
• Farm system efficiency metrics
• Environment management
• Sensor-based control system

With the increasing population and increasing requirement for fresher food, the need for vertical farming is inevitable. The craze for organic farming and the "farm to table" concept is driving AI-assisted farming or vertical farming leading to pesticide-free food and availability round the year.

A Dubai and New Delhi-based startup Barton Breeze is growing safe, delicious, and healthy food while relying on analytics and AI. Shivendra Singh, founder and CEO of Barton Breeze believes that in the future the vegetable greens is vertical and will likely come from the building next to you.

Explaining how Barton Breeze uses analytics and AI to increase the farm produce Mr. Singh shareshow they collect hundreds of data points at each of its farms to its data centre, which allows quick alterations and precision control for taste, texture, colour, and nutrition. It also helps in adjusting variables like temperature and humidity to optimise its crop yields. Barton also collects all yield and harvest data into the cloud to calculate sales projections and market trends. They use AI and IoT to fetch information on nutrients or mineral needs of the plants via a device clipped on the stems and leaves of each plant

The most significant cause for the increase of food miles is globalization of the food industry and increasing concentration of the food supply chain from larger suppliers to meet the country's population's year-round demand. These food miles can be reduced by selling the fresh produce to a local or regional market with direct marketing or by the concept of farmers' markets. This can be achieved through the right use of technology, AI significantly.  

You may not get that rustic feel of a traditional farm with these vertical farms or AI-enabled farms; however, the taste and freshness soon may win your hearts. We need a mentality shift where we grow locally, which implicitly means vertically looking at the current space issues. This will reduce fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and create better and more sustainable food chains for our generations' long-term benefits to come and for humanity as a whole.