Like the bosses of many food companies, Jeremy Bunch is worried about the impact of climate change on his business.

就像许多粮食公司的老板一样，杰里米·邦奇也担心气候变化影响他的业务。

“Weather and the climate are maybe the number one risk to our company,” says the boss of US flour firm Shepherd’s Grain.

“天气和气候可能是我们公司面临的头号风险”，美国面粉公司Shepherd’s Grain的老板说道。

Based in Idaho, the business sources wheat from farmers across the US Pacific northwest.

该公司总部位于爱达荷州，从美国太平洋西北地区的农民那里收购小麦。

As weather patterns become more unpredictable, Mr Bunch says: “I need to have a plan B, and plan C, in case plan A fails.”

随着天气形态变得更加难以预测，邦奇先生表示：“我需要制定B计划和C计划，以防A计划失败。”

To help strengthen these plans, Mr Bunch’s company is now using an AI-powered software system called ClimateAi.

为了强化这些计划，邦奇先生的公司正在使用一款名为ClimateAi的人工智能软件系统。

Using current and past data, such as from satellite imagery and temperature and rainfall readings, and combining that with future projections, ClimateAi aims to give farmers the most accurate possible, locally-tailored weather forecasts, from one hour to six months ahead.

ClimateAi利用当前和过去的卫星图像、温度、降雨量等数据，结合对未来的预测，旨在为农民提供最准确的、因地制宜的、提前一小时到六个月的天气预报。

It then advises on exactly when to plant and harvest particular crops, and predicts their yields.

然后，该软件会准确地建议何时耕种和收获特定作物，预测其产量。

Shepherd’s Grain only started using ClimateAi last year, but already most of its 40 plus farmers are now being guided by the app.

该公司去年才开始使用ClimateAi，但这里的40多名农民中的大多数都在使用这款应用程序。

“They’re beginning to look at ClimateAi to help them plan for crop management decisions in their wheat crops, the primary crop grown in the region,” says Mr Bunch.

“该地区的主要作物是小麦，他们正在考虑用ClimateAi帮助他们规划小麦作物的管理决策”，邦奇先生说道。

“A forward look at the weather helps our growers decide which crops to plant. The platform knows when to plant, and when the crop will start flowering and producing seed.”

“预测天气有助于我们的种植户决定种植哪种作物。该平台知道何时种植，作物何时开花结籽。”

One of the biggest problems facing the seed industry is how to launch climate resilient seeds to market faster and cheaper, says Himanshu Gupta, chief executive of San Francisco-based ClimateAi.

ClimateAi公司的总部位于旧金山，总裁希曼舒·古普塔表示，种子产业面临的一个最大难题是如何更快、更便宜地将气候适应性种子投向市场。

“By the time some seed companies do this, in say 10 to 15 years, the climate has already changed,” says Mr Gupta. “We are running against time to launch new seed varieties.”

“等到一些种子公司在10-15年后才将种子投向市场，气候已经发生了变化，”古普塔先生说道。 “我们正在争分夺秒地将新型种子投向市场”。

He says that ClimateAi helps these firms to see how specific test seeds have performed in a particular region or locality. “This can help seed companies figure out the optimal locations for growing seeds.”

他说ClimateAi有助于种子公司了解特定试验种子在特定地区或地点的表现。 “这可以帮助种子公司弄清楚最适宜的播种地点”。
原创翻译：龙腾网 https://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


Last year, a study published in scientific journal Nature warned of the potentially dire consequences of numerous crop failures happening at the same time around the world, as a result of the impact of climate change.

去年，科学杂志《自然》发表的一项研究警告称，由于气候变化的影响，世界各地同时发生大量的农作物歉收可能带来可怕的后果。

“Simultaneous harvest failures across major crop-producing regions are a threat to global food security,” said the report, which was led by climate scientist Kai Kornhuber from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

这份由哥伦比亚大学拉蒙特-多尔蒂地球观测站的气候科学家凯·科恩胡伯牵头完成的报告称，“所有的农作物主产区同时发生歉收会对全球粮食安全构成威胁”。

This warning comes as the world population is expected to reach 10 billion people by 2050, up from eight billion currently, according to the United Nations.

在这一警告发出之际，联合国预计到2050年，世界人口将从目前的80亿增加到100亿。

With increased pressure on crops, at the same time as the global population continues to grow, could AI be key to developing new varieties that can better cope with extremes of weather?

在农作物面临的压力与日俱增，全球人口持续增长的同时，人工智能能否成为培育更好地应对极端气候新品种的关键？

In the city of Arusha in Tanzania, David Guerena, agricultural scientist at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, is leading a project called Artemis.

在坦桑尼亚的阿鲁沙市，国际热带农业中心的农业科学家大卫·盖雷纳正在牵头一个名为“阿耳忒弥斯”的项目。

Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, this is using AI to help breed more resilient crops. Specifically the AI is helping speed up work called phenotyping.

该项目在比尔及梅琳达·盖茨基金会的资助下，正在利用人工智能帮助培育抗逆性更强的作物。具体来说，人工智能正在帮助加快表型分析工作。

This is the visual studying of new crop varieties based on observations of their characteristics, such as how many flowers, pods or leaves that a plant has.

表型分析是通过观察作物新品种的特征而进行的视觉研究，例如作物开出多少花朵、豆荚、叶子。

“Traditionally it takes around 10 years to develop a new crop variety,” explains Mr Guerena. “But given the pace of climate change, this timefrx is no longer viable."

“传统上培育作物新品种需要十年左右”，盖雷纳先生说道。“但考虑到气候变化的速度，这个周期已经行不通了”。

He adds that the phenotyping work traditionally relied on the human eye. “But humans are just not doing this consistently, with the high levels of precision necessary, to make subtle, yet important, plant sextions,” says Mr Guerena.

他补充说，表型分析工作传统上依赖于人眼。“但人类根本做不到持之以恒，也达不到细致重要的作物选种所需要的精准度”，盖雷纳先生说道。

“It can be over 30˚C in the field. It’s just tiring, and fatigue affects data quality.”

“农田的温度可能超过30°C，这工作很乏味，疲劳会影响数据质量”。

Instead, growers involved in the project are taking photos of their crops through an app on a smartphone. The trained AI can then quickly analyses, records, and reports what it sees.

然而，参与该项目的种植者正在通过智能手机上的APP给农作物拍照，经过训练的人工智能可以快速地分析、记录、报告它所看到的内容。

“Computers can count every flower or pod, from every plant, every day without getting tired,” says Mr Guerena. “This is really important as the number of flowers in bean plants correlate to the number of pods which directly influence yields.

“计算机可以每天计数每株植物上的每一朵花或每个豆荚，而不会感到疲倦”，盖雷纳先生说道。“这非常重要，因为豆类植物的花朵数量关系到豆荚数量，后者对产量有直接影响。

“Data can be so complicated, to understand what’s happening, but AI can be used to make sense of that complicated data and pick up patterns, show where we need resources, show recommendations.

“透过数据来了解情况可能非常复杂，但人工智能可以用来理解复杂的数据和掌握规律，告诉我们需要资源的地方，并提供建议。

“Our plant breeders estimate that with the better data from the AI computer vision they may be able to shorten the breeding cycle to only a few years.”

“我们的植物育种家估计，他们借助人工智能计算机视觉提供的优质数据，或许能够将育种周期缩短至几年”。

In North Carolina, Avalo is an agriculture technology or “agri-tech” business also working to create climate-resilient crops. It does this by using AI to help study a crop’s genetics.

Avalo是一家位于北卡罗来纳州的农业技术公司，同样致力于培育气候适应性作物，办法是利用人工智能来帮助研究作物的遗传特征。

“Our process starts with genomic data about crops, for example, the sequences of various varieties,” says Rebecca White, Avalo’s chief operating officer.

“我们从农作物的基因组数据着手，例如不同品种的基因序列，”Avalo公司的首席运营官丽贝卡·怀特说道。

“For example, with different tomatoes, there’s some small differences in genomes that give them different traits, for example different flavours, pesticide-resilient profiles. Our machine-learning programme is able to take these small differences across a number of varieties and see which genomes are important for what traits.”

“例如，不同品种的西红柿在基因组上存在细微差异，使它们的性状各不相同，例如口味、耐药性等。我们的机器学习程序能够识别不同品种之间的细微差异，了解哪些基因组对哪些性状很重要”。

Using their tech they have been able to create a broccoli that matures in a greenhouse in 37 days rather than the standard 45 to 60 days, says Ms White.

怀特女士说，他们利用这项技术得以培育出一种西兰花，它在温室大棚中的成熟周期为37天，而普通西兰花为45-60天。

“Broccoli produced on that timescale can get additional growth cycles, and it saves carbon footprint and improves the environmental impact.”

“这一生长周期的西兰花可以增加种植批次，并且减少碳足迹和对环境的影响”。

Avalo, which works with companies in Asia and North America, is also working to make rice resistant to frost, and potatoes more tolerant to drought.

Avalo公司还与亚洲和北美洲的公司合作，致力于培育具有抗霜性的水稻和耐寒性更强的马铃薯。

“Our core technologies can identify the genetic basis of complex traits with minimal training and, via sequencing and predictive analysis, quickly and inexpensively assess and model new plant varieties,” says Ms White.

“我们的核心技术能以最少的训练来识别复杂性状的遗传基础，通过基因测序和预测分析对新的作物品种进行快速低廉的评估和建模”，怀特女士说道。

“We are creating new varieties for diverse crops that are developed five-times faster and for a fraction of the cost compared to traditional breeding.”

“我们正在为各种作物培育新品种，速度比传统育种快五倍，但成本只是后者的一小部分”。

However, while AI can help mitigate the impact of climate-related weather, and enhance crop resilience, there are a number of challenges when it comes to using AI in agriculture, says Kate E Jones, professor of ecology and biodiversity at University College London.

然而，伦敦大学学院生态与生物多样性教授凯特E·琼斯表示，虽然人工智能有助于减轻气候相关天气的影响，并增强作物的抗逆性，但在农业领域使用人工智能仍面临许多挑战。

“The effectiveness of AI in ensuring food security also depends on addressing challenges such as data quality, technology accessibility… while acknowledging that AI is one tool among many in a comprehensive strategy for sustainable and resilient agriculture.”

“人工智能在确保粮食安全的有效性方面还取决于能否解决数据质量、技术普及度等挑战……但也要承认人工智能是可持续性和抗逆性农业综合战略中的众多工具之一”。