The Rise of Agribots Reading Answers

The IELTS Reading section includes different passages followed by questions that test your ability to understand information, identify specific details, and recognise paraphrased ideas. “Topic” is one such IELTS Reading passage. 

This article gives you The Rise of Agribots Reading answers along with simple explanations for each question. If you searched for IELTS Reading The Rise of the Agribots Answer, this is exactly the set you need. The passage is from the Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, Academic Reading Test 4. If your practice book has this passage, this is the same one.

The Rise of Agribots Reading passage talks about how robots and automation are changing farming. It covers machines that spray crops with exact precision, pull out weeds without touching the actual plants, and even milk cows on their own. Five researchers are named in the passage, and each one has a different opinion about this change.

You'll need a few different skills to get through this passage well:

• Reading the statements carefully to check what the writer actually says, not what you think is true
• Filling in blanks using only one word taken straight from the passage
• Matching each researcher's name to the one viewpoint that fits them
• Scanning the text quickly to find where an answer is hiding
• Noticing when a question uses different words to say the same thing as the passage

Below, you'll find The Rise of The Agribots Reading Answers with location, so you can check exactly where each answer comes from in the passage. This guide can be your complete set of the rise of the agribots IELTS reading answers, ready to check against your own attempt. 

The Rise of Agribots IELTS Reading Passage

Farming has to produce more food while causing less harm to soil, water, and air, and this passage looks at how robots could help with that. This is the passage behind IELTS Reading The Rise of the Agribots Answer, taken from the Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, Academic Reading Test 4, so we cannot print the original text here. Instead, here is a short overview of what it covers.

• Farms need to grow more food by 2050, but they also have to cut down the harm they cause to soil, water, and air
• Agribots can identify young plants and give them fertiliser, while other machines remove weeds using lasers or pesticides
• Tractors already drive themselves using GPS and can send signals to equipment like ploughs and sprayers
• Simon Blackmore talks about lightweight robots replacing heavy tractors, and Eldert van Henten talks about fewer people willing to work on farms
• Linda Calvin and Philip Martin explain how rising labour costs pushed the raisin industry toward machines
• Lewis Holloway talks about robots changing which cow breeds and crop varieties farmers choose, and Salah Sukkarieh talks about farms being redesigned around robots

The passage runs across 5 paragraphs, and the 13 questions that follow test how well you understood these details.

The Rise of the Agribots IELTS Reading Passage

Paragraph A: The next time you stand at the supermarket checkout, spare a thought for the farmers who helped fill your shopping basket, as life is hard for them right now. This, in turn, inevitably means bigger grocery bills for consumers and greater hardship for the millions in countries where food shortages are a matter of life and death. Worse, studies suggest that the world will need twice as much food by 2050. Yet while farmers must squeeze more out of the land, they must also address the necessity of reducing their impact on the soil, waterways and atmosphere. All this means rethinking how agriculture is practiced and taking automation to a whole new level. On the new model farms of the future, precision will be key. Why use a whole field with chemicals if you can spray only where they are needed? Each plant could get exactly the right amount of everything, no more or less, an approach that could slash chemical use and improve yields in one move. But this is easier said than done; the largest farms in Europe and the U.S. can cover thousands of acres. That’s why automation is key to precision farming. Specifically, say agricultural engineers, precision farming needs robot farmers.

Paragraph B: One day, we might see fields with ‘agribots’ (agricultural robots) that can identify individual seedlings and encourage them along with drops of fertilizer. Other machines would distinguish problem weeds from crops and eliminate them with shots from high-power lasers or a microdot of pesticide. These machines will also be able to identify and harvest all kinds of vegetables. More than a century of mechanization has already turned farming into an industrial-scale activity in much of the world, with farms that grow cereals being the most heavily automated.

Paragraph C: But a variety of other crops, including oranges and tomatoes destined to become processed foods, are also picked mechanically, albeit to a slightly lesser extent. Yet the next wave of autonomous farm machinery is already at work. You probably haven’t even noticed, for these robots are disguised as tractors. Many are self-steering, use GPS to cross a field, and can even ‘talk’ to their implements, a plough or sprayer, for example. And the implements can talk back, telling the tractor that it’s going too fast or needs to move to the left. This kind of communication is also being developed in other farm vehicles. A new system allows a combine harvester, say, to send a call over to a tractor-trailer so the driver can unload the grain as and when necessary.

Paragraph D: However, when fully autonomous systems take to the field, they’ll look nothing like tractors. With their enormous size and weight, today’s farm machines have significant downsides: they compact the soil, reducing porosity and killing beneficial life, meaning crops don’t grow so well. Simon Blackmore, who researches agricultural technology at Harper Adams University College in England, believes that fleets of lightweight autonomous robots have the potential to solve this problem and that replacing brute force with precision is key. ‘A seed only needs one cubic centimeter of soil to grow. If we cultivate just that we only put tiny amounts of energy in and the plants still grow nicely. There is another reason why automation may be the way forward, according to Eldert van Henten, a robotics researcher at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. ‘While the population is growing and needs to be fed, a rapidly shrinking number of people are willing to work in agriculture, ' he points out. Other researchers such as Linda Calvin, an economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Philip Martin at the University of California, Davis, have studied trends in mechanization to predict how US farms might fare. Calvin and Martin have observed how rising employment costs have led to the adoption of labour-saving farm technology in the past, citing the raisin industry as an example. In 2000, a bumper harvest crashed prices and, with profits squeezed, farmers looked for a solution. With labour being one of their highest costs, 42 percent of production expenses in the US. Farms, on average, started using a mechanical harvester adapted from a machine used by winemakers. By 2007, almost half of California’s raisins were mechanically harvested, and a labour force once numbering 50,000 had shrunk to 30,000.

Paragraph E: As well as having an impact on the job market, the widespread adoption of agribots might bring changes at the supermarket. Lewis Holloway, who studies agriculture at the University of Hull, UK, says that robotic milking is likely to influence the genetics of dairy herds as farmers opt for ‘robot-friendly’ cows, with udder shape and even attitudes suited to automated milking. Similarly, he says, it’s conceivable that agribots could influence what fruit or vegetable varieties get to the shops, since farmers may prefer to grow those with, say, leaf shapes that are easier for their robots to discriminate from weeds. Almost inevitably, these machines will eventually alter the landscape, too. The real tipping point for robot agriculture will come when farms are being designed with agribots in mind, says Salah Sukkarieh, a robotics researcher at the Australian Center for Field Robotics, Sydney. This could mean a return to smaller fields, with crops planted in grids rather than rows and fruit trees pruned into two-dimensional shapes to make harvesting easier. This alien terrain tended by robots is still a while away, he says, ‘but it will happen.’

Learn all about: IELTS Reading Test

The Rise of Agribots Reading Answers with Explanations

There are 13 questions in this passage, numbered 14 to 26 in the original Cambridge paper. Here is the rise of the agribots reading answers with location, grouped by question type, so you can check your work and see exactly why each answer is correct. 

Questions 14-17 Yes, No, Not Given Answers and Explanations

This section checks how well you can tell the difference between what the writer says and what you might assume is true. Getting these four right is a big part of scoring well on IELTS Reading The Rise of the Agribots Answer, since a wrong assumption here costs marks fast. If an idea never shows up in the passage at all, the answer has to be Not Given, no matter how reasonable that idea sounds.

Q14. Governments should do more to ensure that food is generally affordable.

Answer: Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph A

Explanation: The writer talks about farmers going through a hard time and food prices going up because of it. But nowhere does the passage say what governments should or shouldn't do about this, so there's simply nothing to agree or disagree with here.

Q15. Farmers need to reduce the harm they do to the environment.

Answer: Yes

Answer location: Paragraph A

Explanation: The passage states that farmers have to grow more food from their land while also cutting down the damage they cause to soil, water and air. That's exactly what this statement is saying, so it checks out as Yes.

Q16. In the future, farmers are likely to increase their dependency on chemicals.

Answer: No

Answer location: Paragraph A

Explanation: This one's a trap if you skim too fast. The passage actually says the opposite, giving each plant just the right amount it needs would cut chemical use, not raise it, while still improving yields.

Q17. Farms in Europe and the US may find it hard to adapt to precision farming.

Answer: Not Given

Answer location: Paragraph A

Explanation: The writer does mention that farms in Europe and the US are massive, and that's part of why precision farming is tough to pull off. But whether these farms will struggle to adjust isn't something the passage actually addresses.

Questions 18-21 Sentence Completion Answers and Explanations

For these four, you're limited to exactly one word, taken word for word from the passage. This is where a good chunk of the rise of the agribots IELTS reading answers get lost, since changing the form of the word or swapping in a synonym will cost you the mark, even if the meaning is right. 

Q18. In the future, agribots will provide __________ to young plants.

Answer: fertiliser / fertilizer

Answer location: Paragraph B

Explanation: The passage mentions agribots identifying individual seedlings and giving them drops of fertilizer. Seedlings and young plants mean the same thing, so fertiliser slots right into the blank.

Q19. Some machines will use chemicals or __________ to get rid of unwanted plants.

Answer: lasers

Answer location: Paragraph B

Explanation: The text describes machines destroying weeds with either high-power lasers or a microdot of pesticide. Since "chemicals" already covers the pesticide side, lasers is the word left to fill in.

Q20. It is the production of __________ which currently uses most machinery on farms.

Answer: cereals

Answer location: Paragraph B

Explanation: According to the passage, farms growing cereals are the most heavily automated of all crop types right now. That makes cereal the answer here.

Q21. __________ between machines such as tractors is making farming more efficient.

Answer: communication

Answer location: Paragraph C

Explanation: The passage talks about tractors that "talk" to their equipment, a plough or sprayer for instance, and get a response back. The passage itself names this exchange communication.

Questions 22-26 Matching Features Answers and Explanations

This is where most people lose marks on the rise of the agribots reading answers with location, mainly because they try to match by paragraph instead of by person. It works better to focus on each researcher one at a time and pin down exactly what they believe.

Q22. Simon Blackmore

Answer: C

Answer location: Paragraph D

Explanation: Blackmore's whole point is that lightweight robots working with precision beat heavy tractors relying on brute force. That's a direct match for the statement about wanting machines that are exact, not more powerful.

Q23. Eldert van Henten

Answer: F

Answer location: Paragraph D

Explanation: Van Henten's concern is that fewer people want to work in farming even though the population keeps growing. This fits the statement about a shortage of workers in the industry.

Q24. Linda Calvin and Philip Martin

Answer: H

Answer location: Paragraph D

Explanation: These two researchers studied how rising labour costs pushed the raisin industry toward machines. Their finding lines up with the statement about economic factors driving new farm technology.

Q25. Lewis Holloway

Answer: A

Answer location: Paragraph E

Explanation: Holloway believes robots will shape which cow breeds and crop varieties farmers end up choosing, since some traits work better with automation. That matches the statement about automation affecting plant and animal species.

Q26. Salah Sukkarieh

Answer: D

Answer location: Paragraph E

Explanation: Sukkarieh's view is that farms will eventually be built around robots, with smaller fields and crops planted in grids instead of rows. That's a clear match for the statement about farmland's appearance changing as automation grows.

How to Solve The Rise of Agribots IELTS Reading Passage

This passage carries three question types together: Yes/No/Not Given for Q14-17, sentence completion for Q18-21, and matching features for Q22-26. If you're working through IELTS Reading The Rise of the Agribots Answer, each type checks a different reading skill, so students who score well here usually switch strategy the moment the question type changes, instead of reading the whole thing the same way from start to finish. 

Understand Yes, No, and Not Given Before You Start

Questions 14 to 17 depend entirely on this distinction, and it's where most marks slip away. The three options don't work the way people usually assume.

• Yes means the writer clearly agrees with the statement
• No means the writer clearly says the opposite
• Not Given means the idea is never mentioned in the passage at all

Q14 is a good example. It talks about governments making food affordable, but the passage never brings up governments anywhere. So the answer has to be Not Given, even though the statement itself sounds like something that could be true.

Stick to One Word Only for Sentence Completion

Questions 18 to 21 allow exactly one word, taken directly from the passage. No exceptions here.

• Use the exact word as it appears in the text, don't change its form
• Don't add extra words even if they feel natural in the sentence
• Check that the completed sentence still makes grammatical sense

Q18 asks what agribots will give to young plants. The passage says "drops of fertilizer," so the answer is fertilizer alone. Writing "fertilizer drops" instead would cost you the mark, even though you clearly understood the passage.

Separate Each Researcher's Viewpoint Early

Questions 22 to 26 fall apart fast if you mix up who said what. Five researchers appear here, and each one focuses on a different angle of automation.

• Simon Blackmore talks about machines being precise instead of powerful
• Eldert van Henten talks about fewer people wanting to work on farms
• Linda Calvin and Philip Martin talk about labour costs pushing farmers toward machines
• Lewis Holloway talks about robots changing which crops and animals farmers choose
• Salah Sukkarieh talks about farms being redesigned around robots

Go name by name instead of paragraph by paragraph. Underline each researcher as you read and jot down their one main point right beside it.

Watch for Paraphrasing

The questions rarely repeat the passage's exact wording. The same idea usually comes back dressed in different words.

• Passage says: "cereal farms being the most heavily automated"
• Question says: "the production of ___ which currently uses most machinery"

Different phrasing, same meaning underneath. Training your eye to spot this kind of rewording is what actually pushes your score up on a passage like this one.

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Common Mistakes in The Rise of Agribots Reading Answers

Most students who work through this passage understand it fine on the first read, but still lose marks on their attempt at the rise of the agribots IELTS reading answers. The slip-ups usually aren't about misunderstanding the passage, they're small habits that creep in under time pressure. Here are the three that show up again and again. 

Mistake: Confusing Not Given with No

This happens most in Q14-17, especially when a statement feels like it should be true even though the passage never actually says it. Q17 is the classic trap here, the passage does mention that farms in Europe and the US are huge, so students assume that means adapting will be hard and mark it as Yes or No.

• Tip: Ask yourself if the passage directly states the idea, not just something close to it
• If the exact claim never appears, it's Not Given, not No
• No only applies when the passage says the opposite of the statement

Mistake: Writing Two Words When Only One Is Allowed

This shows up in Q18-21, where the instruction clearly says ONE WORD ONLY. Students often write "fertilizer drops" instead of just fertilizer, or add an article like "the lasers" instead of lasers alone.

• Tip: Count your words before writing the final answer
• Drop any article, adjective, or extra noun that isn't strictly needed
• Read the completed sentence back to check it still makes sense grammatically

Mistake: Matching a Researcher by Topic Instead of Their Exact Claim

This is the biggest one in Q22-26. Two researchers can both be talking about automation's downsides in a general sense, but their specific point is completely different. Mixing up Eldert van Henten's shortage of workers with Linda Calvin and Philip Martin's rising labour costs is a common example, since both touch on labour.

• Tip: Underline the exact sentence tied to each researcher's name
• Write their core point in your own one line before checking the options
• Don't pick an option just because it mentions a similar theme, match the actual claim

Conclusion

Getting through IELTS Reading The Rise of the Agribots Answer mostly comes down to three things: judging Yes/No/Not Given without guessing, sticking strictly to one word for the completion questions, and keeping five researchers' views apart in the matching section. 

Once you know what Simon Blackmore, Eldert van Henten, Linda Calvin and Philip Martin, Lewis Holloway, and Salah Sukkarieh each stand for, the passage stops feeling confusing.

A few things matter most here:

• Reading each Yes/No/Not Given statement against what the writer actually says, not what sounds reasonable
• Writing exactly one word for Q18-21, taken straight from the passage
• Matching each researcher to their specific claim, not a general topic they seem to share
• Spotting reworded phrases instead of expecting the passage to repeat question wording
• Rechecking the rise of the agribots reading answers with location one more time, since this final pass is what turns a decent attempt into a strong one on the rise of the agribots IELTS reading answers 

Condensed answer key, since this passage is from the Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, Academic Reading Test 4:
 

• Q14: Not Given
• Q15: Yes
• Q16: No
• Q17: Not Given
• Q18: fertiliser / fertilizer
• Q19: lasers
• Q20: cereals
• Q21: communication
• Q22: C
• Q23: F
• Q24: H
• Q25: A
• Q26: D

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