“Smart farming,” which utilises cutting-edge robotics and artificial intelligence, could hold the key to an agricultural resurgence in a nation of graying farmers and a general population reluctant to toil in the soil.

Bats provide a service worth an estimated US $1bn (£649m) globally by controlling pests on corn crops, a study has suggested.

Climate change is increasing the risk of severe 'food shocks' where crops fail and prices of staples rise rapidly around the world.