There are several countries around the world that have entered the cherry industry, producing, importing and exporting this fruit that is so appreciated worldwide. Countries such as China, the United States, Chile and Turkey work all year round on its production and eagerly await its flowering and events such as the first harvest.
But getting the fruit to its final destination is a continuous process that requires several steps, one of the most important being fruit selection. Quality, color and appearance are some of the main points when selecting, as this can define its appreciation in the markets that acquire and consume the cherry.
Today, as incredible as it may seem, this is a process that in many countries is still done manually. It is the human eye that registers hundreds and hundreds of kilos of fruit and selects which ones will continue their course on the cherry route. But how effective is this system?
This is one of the many questions that have arisen in recent years and that the application of new technologies has been able to answer. In conversation with Smartcherry, Patricia Maraboli, who is an agricultural engineer and specialist in cherry and apple processes at Dole Food Company, an international fruit and vegetable production and marketing company, tells us about the benefits of the arrival of technologies such as robotics or Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the food industry.
“The technology, which is already well developed by the companies that provide these services, prevents people from being the ones to select. Instead, the ones who select are cameras that, through many photos taken of the cherries, create a pattern that makes the selection of the fruit. The problem is that a person only sees about 3% of what has passed through their selection table, therefore, this is mainly reduced to discarding the less optimal fruit. So, the development of this technology, whether in cherries, blueberries, apples, citrus, avocados, etc., helps you to have a better quality product and it does not have to be the human eye that selects.”
You were there and were inspired by the advances in Europe, the United States and other countries that have already made progress in this area. What were you able to observe there and how has that been replicated in countries like Chile?
“It is very good to go out. I have been in Europe, the United States and New Zealand. In Europe itself, they are always advancing and developing new technologies. We in particular are going to look at what we can apply locally and how to do it, since at first the models were replicated as they came, but it was not the most appropriate, since we have much longer export trips, and other aspects that had to be made compatible.”
And what is the perception that remains with them?
“We are at levels very similar to those of countries like New Zealand or the United States in terms of technology. In other words, we are at the top of technology.”
Humans vs technology
In recent years, technology and how it is applied in different areas of society has become a real concern that has gone beyond discussions between people and speculations to take over the political agenda of various countries that are already asking themselves how to control its use and avoid collateral effects. One of these effects: the replacement and exclusion of human beings.
Although one of the things that is heard most about this is how and how much workers will be affected by the automation of processes and systems, specialists assure that this is not entirely true, since the human factor will continue to be key for any work environment, as well Experts such as Karim Lakhani explain it, a Harvard Business School professor specializing in workplace technology and particularly AI, who theorizes that technology will not replace humans, but rather will replace those humans who do not have the technology.
This is something that Patricia agrees with, although she does acknowledge that the reduction in staff is real. “It is true that they do not compete with each other, although it is true that if you apply technology you will reduce the amount of labor you need, since it is estimated that a complete robotics of a company, according to measurements made in Europe, is between 40% and 50% fewer people, although you do need the remaining percentage, collaborators and labor are necessary. In addition, techniques such as Artificial Intelligence have to be reviewed and monitored by people because otherwise they can do anything.”
Along these lines, his call is not to be afraid and to understand this new era of the agricultural industry as part of a new process of compatibility between yesterday and today. “Let us not be afraid of Artificial Intelligence, or automation, or robotics,” he concludes.
