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A look at nanotechnology and why it’s the new
buzzword in agricultural sustainability
ANDREW JOSEPH
FARMS.COM
NANOTECHNOLOGY
AND ITS PLACE IN
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
A recent press release declared that
“The World Nano Foundation Unveils
Groundbreaking Whitepaper on
Nanotechnology’s Impact on Sustainable
Agriculture.”
Sounds important. Before we get to the ag part you
know and love, raise your hand if you know what
nanotechnology is. For those who are aware of
nanites, the microscopic robots, we can assume that
nanotechnology is also small.
What’s the big deal about small?
If we shorten it to nano agriculture, it is using
nanotechnology’s concepts and principles in ag
science to design, produce, and use structures,
devices, and systems by manipulating atoms and
molecules at the nanoscale.
Nanoscale? It means having one or more dimensions
of the order of 100 nanometers, which is 100 millionths
of a millimeter or less. Keep in mind that a sheet
of paper is about 100,000 nanometers thick =
0.0039370079 of an inch. The point is that it’s small.
While it is the new ag buzzword, we should point out
that it’s been a “thing” for over a decade or more. We
are, however, now better at being small.
The concept of nanotechnology in agriculture could
result in better manipulation of processes to create
more with less input, that’s why the World Nano
Foundation’s recent release of its new whitepaper
titled Commercial Applications for Nanotechnology and
Agriculture is so exciting.
The
World Nano Foundation
, a leading not-for-
profit membership organization dedicated to the
international commercialization of nanoscale
technologies across 16 industry sectors
The Foundation works with companies and people to
gain support and funding to bring the science of the
ultra-small to the world and commerce—and as such,
it is no wonder it wants to promote the largeness of
smallness.
The foundation helps entrepreneurs, inventors,
professors, and professionals from a business-up
perspective develop and hopefully commercialize
new nanotechnologies that can improve the world—
and the world of agriculture is a key sector.
PHOTOS: Dusan Kostic – stock.adobe.com, Monopoly919 – stock.adobe.com