ONE MAN , ONE MACHINE. / myLot

December 13, 2016 7:18am CST

I was reading a very interesting article recently about a 400 hectare organic farm in rural France, operated by one man and a tractor. On the farm, crops include, lavender, thyme and other aromatics; wheat fields and olive groves. The only occasion which necessitates hiring two or three workers is during harvesting of the olives - and all that is required of the workers is to shake the olives from the tree. Everything else is done by one person -- who by the way, holds a master's degree in environmental science. His tractor is equipped with attachments which do all the plowing,planting and most of the harvesting, while another machine threshes the wheat and extracts the olive oil. I have written on several occasions about the impending loss of jobs through advanced technology. However, there is no immediate need to panic. A full-scale robot take over is still far away.

10 people like this

10 responses

DianneN

@DianneN (254949)

• United States

14 Dec 16

That is amazing. Thank goodness for modern society to help that man with all his crops!

3 people like this

Kandase

@Kandae11 (57233)

•

14 Dec 16

I expect that in the future most farmers will be able to purchase such equipment.

3 people like this

DianneN

@DianneN (254949)

• United States

14 Dec 16

@Kandae11 And there go the jobs of the poor laborers.

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ShannyBananny

@shaggin (74988)

• United States

14 Dec 16

Wow that is amazing one man and one tractor are able to do all that.

3 people like this

Kandase

@Kandae11 (57233)

•

14 Dec 16

Yes. Isn't it great?

1 person likes this

Always smiling

@allknowing (153544)

• India

21 Mar 17

Mechanisation is the only way out due to shortage of labour. We are all feeling it here.

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Always smiling

@allknowing (153544)

• India

21 Mar 17

@Kandae11 Which people? They have all disappeared opting for white collared jobs. I have a small garden with fruit trees including areca, and coconuts. What it was and what it is now when we just shifted here in terms of availability of labour says sit all.

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Kandase

@Kandae11 (57233)

•

21 Mar 17

@allknowing Every year for the past decades thousands of Caribbean farm workers travel to the United States and Canada to work on farms. - it is a program which has been going on for years, The workers are able to send home money to support their families - and when their stint is up , they may be rehired along with new applicants.

Kandase

@Kandae11 (57233)

•

21 Mar 17

There is the feeling in some quarters however, that mechanisation will put people out of jobs.

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Judy Story

@jstory07 (148715)

• Roseburg, Oregon

14 Dec 16

You will need man to keep everything up and running.

2 people like this

Kandase

@Kandae11 (57233)

•

14 Dec 16

That is true.

Judy Evans

@JudyEv (381760)

• Rockingham, Australia

14 Dec 16

Although robots haven't taken over, I would think this farmer would once have employed several workers year-round.

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Kandase

@Kandae11 (57233)

•

14 Dec 16

Education in technology will be very important for all in the future.

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Cristy

@magallon (19279)

• Philippines

14 Dec 16

Really amazing.. because of modern technology works become easy and could be managed by less people too..

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Cristy

@magallon (19279)

• Philippines

14 Dec 16

@Kandae11 yeah, that will happen for sure...

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Kandase

@Kandae11 (57233)

•

14 Dec 16

That is the future.

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Joanie

@Freelanzer (10782)

• Canada

14 Dec 16

I guess you could say the machine is a robot of sorts doing the job of possibly 10 people.

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Kandase

@Kandae11 (57233)

•

14 Dec 16

That is so, and even though it may put people out of work, the man and his machine would be more productive. He can work as long as he wants without the bother of workers arriving late, falling sick or having accidents on the job.

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