Read 422 predictions for 2023, a year that will see the world transform in big and small ways; this includes disruptions throughout our culture, technology, science, health and business sectors. It’s your future, discover what you’re in for.
Fast forecasts for 2023 - Fast Forecast
Countries agree on an international treaty mandating the largest companies, including big tech, to pay more corporate tax abroad and a smaller share in their home countries.
65% of the global population will have its personal data protected by privacy regulations.
Members of the United Nations-backed Race to Zero campaign is required to restrict the development, financing, and facilitation of new fossil fuel assets, including banning future coal projects.
The European Union implements the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRSs) for large public-interest companies with more than 500 employees.
The European Space Agency launches the Hera Mission, a binary asteroid system designed to detect threatening asteroids weeks before they get near Earth.
The OSIRIS-REx mission, which launched in 2016 to visit the asteroid Bennu, returns a 2.1 ounce sample of the rocky body back to Earth.
The combined market for PCs and tablets declines 2.6 percent before returning to growth in 2024.
NASA and Axiom Space launch the second private astronaut mission to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX rockets.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches the world's first wooden satellite.
The COVID-19 pandemic ends.
General Motors sells 20 all-electric car models, combining battery-electric and fuel-cell-electric vehicles.
Global gas markets remain tight as Russian pipeline gas exports decrease, keeping energy prices high, in spite of gas demand falling in Europe due to aggressive energy-saving measures.
Global polysilicon capacities nearly double by end of this year to 536 GW compared to 295 GW in 2022.
UN finally delivers climate plan to reduce emissions caused by global shipping industry.
The first government to replace its census with big-data technologies
10% of reading glasses will be connected to the internet.
80% of people on earth will have a digital presence online.
90% of the global population will have a supercomputer in their pocket.
Acoustic earthquake shield developed to protect cities from earthquakes begin seeing initial use
Modifying genes to renew all body issues to youthful versions becomes possible
Cost of solar panels, per watt, equals 1 US dollars
World population forecasted to reach 7,991,396,000
World sales of electric vehicles reaches 8,546,667
Predicted global mobile web traffic equals 66 exabytes
Global Internet traffic grows to 302 exabytes
The Top 100 Most Valuable Brands in 2022
South Africa is a major agricultural producer and exporter (with a record $12.4bn in exports in 2021) and creates hundreds of thousands of jobs. The agricultural industry thus plays an essential role in the country's economy. But it's also heavily reliant on resources such as energy, water, nutrients, soil and natural cycles; this amid the challenges of feeding a growing population against the impacts of climate change.
We need urgent new innovations in agriculture and food production that can help increase agricultural productivity while reducing its associated environmental impacts.
It's this need for sustainable transformation that dictates some of the top trends I predict in agriculture in 2023.
1. A greater understanding of circular agriculture
Circular agriculture centres on a regenerative system, focusing on producing agricultural commodities using minimal external inputs, closing nutrient loops, regenerating soils, and minimising the environmental impact.
The South African agriculture sector has already implemented some circular economy interventions, and I predict that there are many more to follow. The truth is that we have to do it. If we continue focusing on short-term efficiency gains and follow a resource-intensive, linear growth path, we will ultimately put our national food security at risk. On the other hand, an approach based on circular economy principles has the potential to make agricultural businesses more economically viable, competitive, and sustainable in the long term.
By designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems, circular agriculture provides a framework for South Africa to lessen its ecological footprint and address food security.
2. Incorporating multi-species cover crops
Monocropping is a modern agricultural practice that has replaced traditional methods of growing multiple crops on a piece of land. Monocropping results in soil productivity losses and soil degradation. The increased use of synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilisers with each harvest aggravates this degradation.
Increased inputs mean increased costs for the farmer, which have only skyrocketed due to supply shortages since the war on Ukraine. South African farmers are starting to realise the need to incorporate multi-species cover crops to introduce interdependent, multi-species crops and animals where the cultivation of one creates favourable conditions for others.
3. Minimising tillage
Zero tillage is a regenerative practice in which the crop is sown directly into soil without any land preparation between harvest and sowing. Zero or minimised tillage increases biodiversity and diversity (and thus soil health and crop productivity) in the upper layer of the soil as organic material builds up.
There’s no doubt that South African farmers are trending towards this regenerative approach: A recent study by international researchers Amir Kassam, Theodor Friedrich and Rolf Derpsch revealed that no-till/conservation agriculture (CA) acreage grew over 336% in South Africa from 2009-2019.
4. Plant sap testing
Soil testing is an important part of data-driven farming, and today’s farmers are now adding plant sap analysis to the mix. Plant sap analysis is like a blood test for plants that provides real-time data on plant health. The benefits are numerous; farmers can:
● Minimise unnecessary inorganic fertiliser application through proactive nutrient management
● Detect nutrient deficiencies an average of four weeks before they can be seen on the outside
● Nurture crops to peak health
● Decrease pests and disease issues
The proven advantages of analysing plant sap confirm the widely-held theory that outdated testing equipment and poor nutrition restrict the plant’s overall health and quality. On the other hand, new nutrient-testing technology provides a far more accurate picture of what is happening inside the crops and can save growers thousands in fertiliser costs. Data is the friend of the modern farmer, and as the technology becomes more readily available, more and more agricultural operations are able to make use of it.
5. Correcting plant nutrient deficiencies with organic-based foliar products
Using organic-based fertilisers in the South African agricultural sector closes nutrient loops and reduces the need for mineral fertilisers.
Foliar feeding is a widely-used technique to supply plants with their nutritional needs by spraying nutrients directly on the leaves to correct any deficiencies in the soil. One of the benefits of foliar spraying is that it delivers effective concentrations of deficient nutrients to be absorbed directly by the plant tissue.
It also helps overcome soil fertilisation limitations such as antagonism between certain nutrients, leaching and absorption reactions. The foliar spraying technique is the fastest way to cure nutrient deficiencies and boost plant performance, and more farmers are aligning with its benefits. As an example, as little as 5kg/ha urea added to an organic-based foliar application will give a visible response within 24 hours and result in an increased Brix reading (increased nutrient sap density) within two hours.
6. Paradigm shifts
Above all else, adopting more sustainable and regenerative farming practices requires a paradigm shift; if you want to make a change, half the battle is won. In recent years, the private, nonprofit and public sectors have launched a number of awareness-creation initiatives for sustainable farming measures and alternatives to agrochemical inputs have been launched in South Africa.
Awareness is an important first step, as adopting a more regenerative approach requires a paradigm shift that leads to new philosophies, principles, and, ultimately, different practices. Instead of focusing only on the practices, an evolution of underlying systems of thinking and decision-making is required to result in long-term change.
In short, any investment in improving organic matter and soil health is the best investment a farmer can make. I think more and more farmers in South Africa are realising that in order to future-fit their farms, they need to work towards a more regenerative approach, leading to the adoption of these six trends in 2023.
