- Title: In Tunisia, agriculture is making its digital revolution
- Date: 19th May 2021
- Summary: AUTONOMOUS COMPUTER THAT THEY USE IN IRRIGATION GROWING SYSTEM
- Embargoed: 2nd June 2021 11:22
- Keywords: Agriculture Environment Farming Technology Tunisia Water scarcity
- Location: AIN DRAHEM, JANDOUBA AND TAKELSA, NEUBEL AND TUNIS, TUNISIA
- City: AIN DRAHEM, JANDOUBA AND TAKELSA, NEUBEL AND TUNIS, TUNISIA
- Country: Tunisia
- Topics: Africa,Climate Adaptation and Solution,Climate Change,Environment,General News
- Reuters ID: LVA002EDMOJ11
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: In Takelsa at north-eastern Tunisia, Mahmoud Bouassida, 46, checks his oranges while looking worried due to water shortages in past years affecting his 12-hectare farm.
"In recent years, we notice a great shortage of dam water, and as we know that agriculture is the largest consumer of water in Tunisia and in the whole world," says this enthusiast who abandoned a career in the oil industry ten years ago to buy a land and start a farm where he cultivates different varieties including sweet oranges and clementines.
To mitigate the great risk of drought, Bouassida has turned to technology. He installed sensors in irrigation pipes and in the soil connected to the software of Ezzayra Solutions, an AgriTech start-up, to help manage his farm.
The system regulates the salinity of the soil and injects necessary mineral salts.
The system also connects the farm to a station that automates the irrigation and fertilisation processes using information sent by the software.
Ezzayra Solutions co-founder, Yesser Bououd says that the Irrigation Growing System (IGS) software his startup is developing is an "intelligent system".
"It allows the farmer to get a report of what's happening in his soil and to have real-time data from the ground and the weather station, in order to make a decision on when and how much to irrigate and when is the most important time to irrigate, helping in optimising water resources in terms of irrigation," he said.
Forecasts in Tunisia point to longer droughts, a reduction in water resources and an increased number of fires over the next decade.
The agriculture industry represents between 9 and 11 percent of GDP and nearly 15 percent of employment in the North African country.
(Production: Jihed Abidellaoui, Hamuda Hassan) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2021. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains computer game or software screenshots. User is responsible for obtaining additional clearances before publishing this clip.