The Future of Food Production Speaker Profile: “Farming requires a long-term approach, where you need to see things through other key performance indicators”

With The Future of Food Production Summit taking place in a little over two weeks, we’re getting to know our expert speakers a little more intimately. Here we catch up with Greg M. Jaeger Chong, Founder of Cyber Farms in Hamburg, Germany.

At The Future of Food Production Summit – which takes place in just over two weeks on 15/16/17 November 2022 – there are two exciting Start-up Pitch Symposiums featuring six innovative young companies, among them Cyber Farms. Company Founder, Greg M. Jaeger Chong, says his company is an enabler and an educator of smart agricultural practices. “My aim is to provide cutting-edge technology such as Data Analytics, Computer Vision, Digital Twins, IoT with Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality (AR) and robotics to increase the quantity and quality of food,” he reveals.

“I’m a third-generation farmer so I was born into the agricultural business,” Jaeger Chong continues, who for the record is a quarter Chinese, a quarter German and half Mexican. “I was born and raised on a coffee plantation in the southern part of Mexico, near the Cuxtepeques region, on the rainforest high lands. Unfortunately for my family, I was the weird nerd guy with a technical affinity for engineering and languages,” he laughs.

I was born and raised on a coffee plantation in the southern part of Mexico, near the Cuxtepeques region, on the rainforest high lands. Unfortunately for my family, I was the weird nerd guy with a technical affinity for engineering and languages

Impressively, he spoke two languages by the age of seven and perhaps more impressively built his first robot at 19. Eventually, after 14 years of experience working in different countries in fields such as energy, automation, data science and AI, he was drawn back to his roots. “So, I built my own semiautomatic aquaponic system and found a job in vertical farming. Now I am designing sustainable data-driven solutions inspired by nature.”

Jaeger Chong explains that he has developed a series of skills throughout his life that are “complex to acquire”. Further, he adds that he feels “a social responsibility” to do something about the challenges we will face with feeding the planet not just in the future, but today. So that’s what he is doing with Cyber Farms. “Myself and the nerds on my side can provide the future and current generations with the same experience I had while growing up, having access to nutritious, delicious and locally grown food,” he continues.

Blockchain and AR/VR technologies will, he predicts, have a great impact on future food production efficiency, sustainability, and resilience. After all, AI-driven analytics and automation in varying degrees has already been tested, proven useful and implemented in different industries. What is missing for Jaeger Chong is the awareness of the advantages of hyperlocal urban farms. “I believe having a digital ledger will aid when it comes to adding a layer of trust on the current processes,” he says.

“AR/VR is going to play a critical role in enabling new people to become what I like to call ‘cyber farmers’,” he adds. “We need people to always have the last call on what the machines do, just like a traditional farmer walks around his or her land and checks the quality of the crops. Full automation, even though it reduces your operating costs, reduces the interaction with the crops, which is the fun part for farmers. Consumers who are not aware [of the sustainability issues in food production] will be willing to pay for regenerative high-quality food produced hyperlocally. I think when everyone uses AR-/VR-enabling tools with AI-driven analytics, the world will become more conscious of what it means to be organic and sustainable.”

We need people to always have the last call on what the machines do, just like a traditional farmer walks around his or her land and checks the quality of the crops

As the climate changes, especially in the global north, so, too, is farming. “You cannot live on salads or solely as a producer,” Jaeger Chong says. “Energy costs are increasing and so is the risk of food security. We need to understand the sustainable impact of different types of solutions and the advantages of having a multi-revenue stream while being regenerative and using off-the-shelf technology.”

With a global population projected to reach 10 billion by 2050, it is not unreasonable to ask how we are going to feed all these people. More to the point, how are we going to feed all these people, without causing further damage to the planet? Jaeger Chong’s main concerns going forward however are more political and bureaucratical. “The generation making most of the decisions does not understand the natural implications of micro and macro organisms and are mostly focused on short-term profits, including most VCs,” he says. “Farming requires a long-term approach, where you need to see things through other key performance indicators – for example water saved and healthy kids that can focus on learning.

“We have reached a point where, with off-the-shelf technology such as sensors, robotics, cameras, AR and AI analytics, we could feed everyone, everywhere today. It’s just not profitable as energy prices soar and supply chains become ever-more challenging. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel – we just need to keep being creative when it comes to how we design new farms with low carbon footprint, high yields, all inspired by natural cycles of regeneration. Nature does not design itself based on turnkey solutions – it has to be circular by design based on the local needs of the community, just like the chinampas on Tenochtitlan.”

Jaeger Chong hopes his kids will have the opportunity to taste fresh, delicious, locally grown food just like he did when growing up in Mexico. “They may not be sitting down in the tropical and sunny Chiapas region like I was, but they can get it even in Germany sustainably. It’s not rocket science.”

The Future of Food Production Summit is a virtual conference and takes place 15/16/17 November 2022. It features more than 75 speakers, 50 presentations, seven panel discussions and two start-up pitch symposiums. Even if you can’t attend live, you can access all the content – more than 20 hours’ worth – on-demand. Tickets are priced at just US$495. Click here to secure your seat!