The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries announced the bidding for a Smart Agriculture project for vegetable production in Al Kamil and Al Wafi in Sharqiya Governorate.
Smart Agriculture is a system that relies on advanced technology to grow food in a sustainable and clean way. The system involves rational use of natural resources, especially water. Its most prominent feature is reliance on low cost information management and analysis systems to make the best possible production decisions as well as automating agricultural processes such as irrigation, pest control, soil monitoring, and crop control.
Thus, smart farms have a real potential of sustainable and good production based on a resource-efficient approach.
This comes as a part of the Sultanate’s intention to invest in smart agriculture, which is the future of sustainable food security at a time when the world witnesses significant increase in population.
The smart farming can emerge as a right solution to address the concerns of food security as well as the challenges of preserving arable land, especially with the aggravation of climate change problems, depletion of oil resources, and pollution of water and soil.
To keep pace with this steady increase, farmers must increase food production while preserving the environment, and use rational resources naturally, but they cannot do it alone, and traditional farming methods do not enable them to do so.
Dr Hamdan al Wahaibi, Director of Soil and Water Research Center at the ministry, indicated that the ministry seeks to spread the culture of smart agriculture and its applications in the Sultanate.
“In light of climate changes and their impact on water resources besides the problem of desertification and land degradation due to salinity, the Sultanate came out with the concept of smart agriculture the application of which can improve agriculture production and enhance food security in future,” he said.
Zawya
13/05/2020
