Precision Agriculture For Long-term Regional Sustainability In The Middle East

The scarcity of freshwater in our region is a major contributor to population movement, as well as to the spread of poverty and famine. Additionally, by 2050, it is predicted that we would have lost up to 14% of our combined GDP owing to water scarcity. We're feeling the effects of climate change as well; the Middle East is warming at a rate twice the world average. As you can expect, agriculture is profoundly impacted by all this. And the fact remains that there is not enough food being produced in the Middle East right now. Around 35% of the local workforce is involved in agriculture, and this sector accounts for 13% of our total economic output. Still, about half of the food consumed in the Middle East is imported; in some countries, this number is even more than 90%.

Rising household incomes and populations mean that food production will need to be significantly increased to meet future demand. The consequences of climate change are reducing the amount of land that can be farmed and increasing the difficulty of finding clean water in many parts of the world. As such, technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) play a crucial role in guaranteeing sustainable production, which is crucial for the future of the agricultural sector.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the engine behind smart farming, linking together smart tools and sensors installed on farms to make agricultural processes data-driven and, thus, more efficient. Appearing for the first time in the late 00s, "smart farming" has the potential to lessen agriculture's negative impact on the environment while also fostering greater productivity, cost savings, and efficiency.

The number of Internet of Things (IoT) connections is expected to more than double in the region between now and 2025, with licenced cellular IoT connections reaching more than 70 million by 2025, as stated in the most recent Mobile Economy Middle East and North Africa (MENA) report by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA). The Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and other disruptive technologies will have a significant impact in strategic industries like agriculture.

Some of the most developed mobile marketplaces are found in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), making this area ideal for introducing mobile technology into farming. By 2025, the number of people using smartphones will have surpassed 500 million, thanks to the widespread adoption of cheaper models. Smart farming applications are now only available to huge agricultural corporations, but this is set to change as smartphones become more widely available to smallholder farmers.

Statistics that are crucial to understanding MENA's agricultural sector

Agriculture plays an important role in the local economy by providing money, jobs, and ensuring the availability of nutritious food. In Morocco, the sector accounts for 12% of GDP and 33% of employment, whereas in Egypt, those figures are 11% and 21%, respectively. Agricultural goods like citrus fruits, strawberries, and market vegetables are major exports for both Tunisia and Morocco to European markets.

Less than 5% of the land is arable in the region's majority of countries. Most countries in MENA continue to extract groundwater at rates that surpass their own renewable internal freshwater resources, making this the world's most water-stressed region. 85% of the water in this area is consumed by the agricultural sector. Crop agriculture is feasible with an annual average rainfall of 400–600 mm; nevertheless, sustained, high yields necessitate irrigation.

Food security in the region is largely dependent on the work of smallholder farmers, who provide the majority of the food consumed in the country. But they are extremely susceptible to the consequences of climate change. Supporting their livelihoods and preserving food security in the region depends on their ability to adapt to changes in the agricultural sector brought on by climate change.

Rising population, fast urbanisation, shifting diets, and economic expansion all increase the demand for water, food, and energy, making the water-food-energy nexus critical to sustainable development. Water and energy savings can be achieved through the implementation of efficiency measures brought about by technology improvements across the entire agrifood chain.

Innovation in agricultural technology in the region to ensure safe water supplies

The 1960s' launched "Green Revolution" greatly improved worldwide food security and incomes. The widespread adoption of ICTs in farming has been heralded as the third Green Revolution. In this context, smart farming is the most recent success story of digital agriculture in developing nations.

Optimizing irrigation with cutting-edge technology, often known as precise or smartirrigation, helps farmers save water by targeting their watering rather than flooding entire fields. Smart irrigation systems that make use of technological advancements are crucial in this area. Markets where the agricultural sector is based on smallholder farming (e.g., North Africa) and markets where the sector has a higher degree of mechanisation and generally technology adoption have different needs. This is because MENA includes both upper-middle income (UMIC) and low and middle-income countries (LMIC).

Smart farming is a national initiative in Morocco. "the implementation of the new technologies and the digitisation of agricultural services" is one of the goals of the government's "Green Generation 2020-30" policy, which was released in 2020. More than 100,000 solar-powered water pumps will be put into service as part of the plan. One agritech startup that stands to gain from this push to digitise the industry is AgriEdge. The company has a precision agricultural platform that analyses data from multiple sources, such as weather, satellite imagery, and drone footage, to calculate the precise amount of fertiliser and water required for each crop.

Egypt is the agricultural powerhouse of the region and has the greatest irrigated area among the eleven Nile Basin countries. Egypt relies heavily on the Nile for its water supply, yet agriculture uses more than 85 percent of this precious resource. As part of a plan to upgrade irrigation practises across the country, Egypt launched a trial run of a new mobile-based system in December. The MSA University in Cairo collaborated with the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation to develop a portable instrument for gauging the moisture content of agricultural soil. The gadget will send a text message to the farmer's phone when the water level gets low, so they may make informed decisions about their crops.

The private sector is instrumental in advancing smart farming in Egypt. The Dutch created an app called IrriWatch that employs "virtual sensing" technology to measure the radiation emitted by various thermal satellites to identify soil water potential and soil moisture data, allowing farmers to better control their irrigation systems. Compost production, which the Egyptian startup Baramoda hopes to use to address the country's water crisis, can lead to a 30% reduction in irrigation requirements. Vodafone Egypt, a major mobile provider, is using its extensive network to send daily text messages (SMS) with agricultural advice to smallholder farmers in the country. The Egyptian Farmers service is a joint effort between Vodafone and the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture.

One can find many forward-thinking farmers in Tunisia. Ezzarya is a startup that stands out because it puts sensors in irrigation pipes and ground. Farmers may control soil salinity and inject any mineral salts that may be needed to increase crop yields with the use of a wireless box connected to software. The device can detect drip leaks and provide central control over irrigation and fertilisation activities.

In the region's more developed economy, more complex use cases like vertical farming are appearing. Robinson Agri, a renowned producer of greenhouses, has introduced smart irrigation technologies, and a Lebanese startup called Ground Vertical Farming reduces water usage by as much as 90 percent daily through water recycling.

Governments in the United Arab Emirates are making significant investments in agritech because the country imports 80% of its food. As the initial phase of a wider $272 million agritech support programme, Abu Dhabi has announced a $100 million investment in four agritech companies. Aerofarms, a US-based vertical farming company; RDI (Responsive Drip Irrigation), a startup developing a new irrigation system that makes it possible to grow plants in sandy soil; and RNZ (Resources New Zealand), a startup developing fertilisers to grow more food more efficiently, are all examples of such businesses.

Top-tier methods developed internationally that can be applied in MENA

The GSMA's landscape report "Digital Agricultural Maps, 2020 condition of the sector in low and middle-income countries" details various smart farming and water management pioneers. Kenya, a leading centre of agritech innovation in Africa, is highlighted as one of the countries included in the research.

SunCulture, a Kenyan agritech business, has had their solar-powered irrigation solution for smallholder farmers called RainMaker2 on the market for a while now. As a pay-as-you-go method, it allows farmers to buy the tools in instalments using mobile money. Drip irrigation systems are another optional efficiency booster.

One such agritech firm operating in Kenya is Illuminum Greenhouses. It offers a product that may be used in greenhouses to control the water supply and monitor environmental conditions with the help of solar-powered sensors. Growing conditions in the greenhouse may be tracked by farmers, who will receive text notifications when action is required. They can even activate or deactivate the sprinklers with a text message.

Nano Ganesh, a company based in California, has an irrigation automation system that has been on the market in India for some time. Farmers can monitor and control irrigation pumps from afar using mobile phones thanks to a small electronic device installed in the starter panel. An easy-to-use phone call or text message interface is used for interaction with the system. MimosaTek is a modern smart irrigation system for crops in Vietnam that aims to reduce farmers' needless water consumption. It is an Internet of Things (IoT) platform for precision agriculture that collects data from sensors installed on farms (to detect things like soil moisture, rain, wind, and light) and uses that information to devise an accurate, real-time watering schedule. Anytime, anyplace, you may use the mobile app to automatically activate the irrigation system.

These pioneers face similar obstacles, and some of them have already found a road to commercial viability and expansion. In late 2020, for instance, SunCulture attracted the backing of investors including Energy Access Ventures (EAV), Électricité de France (EDF), Acumen Capital Partners, and Dream Project Incubators (DPI) to the tune of $14 million, enabling the company to expand into Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, Senegal, Togo, and Cote d'Ivoire.

Mobile operators play a crucial role in facilitating the expansion of digital agriculture solutions in developing economies around the world. As SunCulture demonstrates, scalable and economically viable solutions rely heavily on the integration of mobile operator assets like IoT connectivity and mobile money for digital payments. Mobile operators can facilitate the widespread delivery of data-driven agricultural advising services to smallholder farmers, as demonstrated by Vodafone Egypt's Egyptian Farmersservice.

To implement data-driven strategies in agriculture, IoT-based smart farming solutions need to be piloted and launched, and mobile carriers play a crucial role in both processes. Sensors placed in the fields by Telefónica and the FAO to measure agronomic variables served as the basis for a prototype project that integrated monitoring, control, and prediction. After the data is analysed, the farmers receive alerts on their smartphones that inform their choices regarding optimal irrigation. Together with Dacom, Orange is working to provide farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa with IoT-based solutions for water monitoring. Both Saudi Arabia and Sudan are now receiving this service from Orange.

As We Move Forward

If the MENA region receives investments in an environment that facilitates digital agriculture breakthroughs, the region might reap significant benefits. Enhancements to the region's water efficiency and crop yield can be achieved by further research, technology development, and transfer. However, a clear value offer and a clear pathway to commercial sustainability are essential for providers of digital agriculture solutions, such as agritech firms and mobile carriers, to attract investment and scale up. In particular, mobile operators will be crucial in easing widespread adoption.

IoT solutions show that agriculture in MENA may benefit from technology advances, but for those gains to be fully realised, policymakers must back regulatory frameworks that allow innovation to thrive. Policymakers must place rural sector development at the centre of their own digital transformation agendas if they are to fully capitalise on the smart farming opportunity and reap the social, commercial, and economic benefits it offers.