The National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space sciences experts: smart system that reduces 30% of water use in rice crop cultivation

A group of experts from the National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences confirmed the Authority’s success in inventing a smart system that contributed to reducing 30% of water use in rice cultivation, in cooperation with the Electronics Research Institute and the Ministry of Agriculture, and funded by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology.

Experts pointed out - in statements to the Middle East News Agency - that there is a close relationship between smart or precision agriculture applications and confronting and mitigating the effects of climate change, as they work to reduce the waste of water, fertilizers and pesticides and reduce the emission of "methane, nitrogen and carbon dioxide" gases, in addition to improving the quality of agricultural crops based on an electronic technical system and the use of the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence technologies.

Dr. Abd El Aziz Bilal, Head of the Agricultural Applications, Soil and Marine Sciences Division at the Authority, said that the state began two years ago to move towards applying smart or precision agriculture in national projects, referring to the agreement between the Egyptian and Canadian governments to implement a project to enhance climate-smart agriculture and agricultural biodiversity to enhance the adaptive capacity of rural communities most affected by climate change in the old and new lands of the Nile Delta and Upper Egypt, at a value of 10 million Canadian dollars.

He added that intelligent or accurate agriculture depended on information management and analysis systems to make the best possible production decisions, at the lowest cost, as well as to automate agricultural processes such as irrigation, pest control, soil control and crop control.

He explained that the application and implementation of smart agriculture technologies in Egypt succeeded in reducing irrigation water for rice crops by 30%, based on the smart system that was developed in cooperation with the Electronics Research Institute and the Ministry of Agriculture. He pointed out that an agreement is currently being made with one of the parties to start producing it and applying it on a commercial scale and registering a patent for it.

He added that a project was also implemented in which remote sensing technologies were used to track the wheat crop, determine the appropriate irrigation times, and determine the extent to which part of the crop was infested with pests.

He stressed the success of applying precision or smart agriculture in many different countries of the world in increasing agricultural productivity, noting that the initial cost, which some may see as relatively high for smart agriculture applications, will be compensated by reducing production costs later, in addition to improving the quality of agricultural crops, which may lead to self-sufficiency in crops. He called for cooperation with research centers and universities to produce this technology locally to reduce the cost of importing it.

Dr. Abd El Aziz Bilal pointed out that Egypt recently hosted the activities of the Third International Conference on African Precision Agriculture, which is organized by the International Society for Precision Agriculture, the African Society for Precision Agriculture, Mohammed VI University of Technology, and the African Institute for Plant Nutrition. It is held in parallel in 9 African countries in addition to Egypt, and experts from various universities and specialized research centers participate in it to review the most important research in precision or smart agriculture that depends on satellite images, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and computing.

From his side. Dr. Adel Shalby, head of the Environmental Studies and Land Use Division at the authority, confirmed that the authority participates in the most important projects of the national state, including the new Delta Project and one and a half million acres and cooperates with all relevant ministries, governorates and international bodies, noting that all studies and research carried out by the authority serve the plans of the 2030 development goals.

Dr. Adel Shalby said that smart agriculture means remote control of additions or inputs in agricultural production to achieve sustainable development goals, by achieving food security to increase production per unit area.

He added that it plays an important role in protecting the environment, reducing pollution, and reducing the effects of climate change, as it contributes to maximizing the return on water use and saving, and reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides to achieve the highest possible production of agricultural crops. Dr. Adel Shalby revealed the implementation of a project next year in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with funding of up to 2.5 million dollars to study the lands of the New Valley Governorate and the groundwater reservoir using modern technologies to determine the extent of water renewal and choose the most appropriate crops that suit the environmental conditions in the governorate, such as palm trees, olives, soybeans and sugar beets; to ensure the sustainability of water and soil resources. In turn, Dr. Abd El Raouf Masoud Ali, Assistant Research Professor at the Agricultural Applications, Soil and Marine Sciences Division at the Authority, highlighted the Authority's success in inventing a smart system for managing rice crop water in cooperation with the Electronics Research Institute and the Ministry of Agriculture, which contributed to saving 30% of water for rice crops using Internet of Things technology and sensing technologies. He pointed out that a patent for this smart system has been submitted to the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology.

He stressed that by using smart agriculture techniques, the productivity of agricultural crops, especially strategic crops such as rice and wheat, is predicted, and the moisture content, temperature and salinity of the soil are also estimated, which supports decision-makers and officials in the country with information in various development sectors. Dr. Abd El Raouf Masoud pointed out that by using modern technology in agriculture and irrigation, the emission of gases and pesticides is reduced and the use of fertilizers is reduced, which contributes to reducing pollution rates and thus reducing the effects of climate change.

Dr. Mohamed El-Sayed Galhoum, a researcher in the Department of Soil Sciences and Agricultural Applications at the Authority, also pointed out the Authority’s major role in implementing national projects in the country using remote sensing technologies, including the inventory, classification and reclamation of about 4.5 million acres across the country, including Toshka, the New Valley, the southern Paris Oasis, the Upper Egypt and New Delta axes, Marsa Matrouh and North Sinai, in cooperation with the General Authority for Reconstruction Projects at the Ministry of Agriculture.

Dr. Mohamed El-Sayed Galhoum called for spreading the culture of precision agriculture and using sensing applications due to their importance in increasing and improving productivity and preserving the environment, which benefits farmers and growers across the country.