Question from a student: How effective truly is automation in agriculture/manufacturing?

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August 23, 2025

by an member from Northern Virginia Community College in Fairfax, VA, USA

Currently, I've been researching agriculture in foreign markets, and one of the most obvious levers / "low-hanging fruit" seems to be automation. In more underdeveloped countries, processing seems to rely more on human labor. I've found a flour mill in Pakistan that still relies on human labor for packaging/weighing/QC. However, im assuming implementing this change is not as easy as it seems. Off the top of my head, some costs are Consulting cost Training employees/potentially replacing or hiring additional people Equipment cost + fitting to meet processes Meeting regulation/compliance. Another thing I've been thinking about is the tradeoff for spending on automation vs staying with labor, as unskilled labor is relatively cheap in Pakistan, so I would have to think about the payback horizon for actually implementing the machines, and if the ROI is worth it (given a 5-7yr hold). For operators who have experience in this/around this, did automation deliver the returns you expected, or did you find other levers to be more efficient? (supply chain, sales, etc). Thank you!
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