The insight that current cultivation systems for food are largely unsustainable, leads to an urgent need for the development of new sustainable, biodiverse cultivation systems with accompanying mechanisation. The (bio)logic of the cultivation system should become leading and the mechanisation/robotisation will have to follow.
Biodiverse cultivation systems align with the increasing focus in society on healthy, local food and preservation of natural wealth. They allow communities to build back a close relationship with their food, increasing the food quality, self-sufficiency and security.
The possibility to utilise positive plant interactions is the most important reason for developing biodiverse cultivation systems. There are historical and current sources anecdotally describing positive interactions between crops, but they often contradict each other. It needs a lot of experimentation to verify assumptions and taking into account many variables of influence. Read further: Robots for Biodiverse Cultivation Systems.
