Can Egyptian farmers tackle climate-related challenges with high-tech precision agriculture? Rising temperatures, water scarcity, and soil deterioration mean some Egyptian farmers are seeing a decline in the yield and quality of their crops. That’s hurting Egyptian farmers in the pocket and even forcing some to sell their land, as well as contributing to rising food prices — with worrying repercussions for the country’s food security. In this week’s Going Green, we take a look at how tech-driven precision agriculture — which uses tools from data analysis to satellite imaging and AI — could help local farmers adapt to some of the worst effects of climate change.

Farming is getting harder thanks to climate change: Global farming productivity is set to decline 15% worldwide by 2050 as a result of rising temperatures and unstable weather patterns, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Key local crops including wheat, rice and maize could see productivity decline by 11-19% by 2050, according to Egypt’s Human Development Report 2021 (pdf). In recent years, Egyptian farmers have been forced to adapt to help tackle that decline, planting more heat-resistant crops like cotton and delaying the planting of more sensitive crops including tomatoes as summer temperatures increase.

Local farmers are leaving land fallow thanks to the heat: “Some farmers didn’t cultivate all of their land this summer because of the heat wave,” Visual and AI Solutions (VAIS) co-founders Mohamed El Helw and Karim Amer told us.

How can precision agriculture help? Precision agriculture or smart farming is a farm management approach that uses data from high-resolution satellite imagery, remote sensors, machine learning algorithms, and other tech to provide customized advice on what, when, and how to grow. It can also alert farmers to incoming weather, pest, and disease threats that might affect crop yields or livestock welfare, says a UNDP report (pdf).

This data-driven app roach can increase the overall profitability of farming, cut down on physical labor requirements, and minimize overall environmental footprint by reducing the need for artificial fertilizers and pesticides. With monitoring, data collection, and communication often delivered via smartphone, precision agriculture could be an affordable and accessible approach for farmers in emerging countries, writes UNDP.

We’re behind the pack when it comes to agritech: Many emerging markets have seen five to ten years of agritech development, but Egyptian farmers still lack access to advanced, affordable, and accessible agritech tools, Walid Nasr, CEO of digital agriculture and precision farming platform Zr3i, told Enterprise. Where local players are using tech solutions, they’re largely imported, according to Muhammad Salim, CEO of smart devices solutions provider Tomatiki. “If you look into the agriculture sector, there’s no real technology at all,” Salim told us. “If you ask the farmers that are smallholders or large agricultural producers, you’ll find they depend on technology coming from outside.”

Some Egyptian startups are creating homegrown solutions using satellite data: VAIS combines virtual field probing using data from commercial and public satellites with AI algorithms. The company monitors plant growth, stress, and signs of disease, and supplies climate-related event predictions, irrigation scheduling, and disease scouting. It currently works over some 1k acres of medium- to large-sized farms in Egypt, with an additional 30k acres in the pipeline, Amer said. A similar service from Zr3i has helped farmers increase their yield production by 10%, resulting in a 20-30% profitability increase, CEO Nasr told Enterprise.

Sensors are another way to go: Tomatiki uses sensors and microcontrollers in greenhouses to automatically control the temperature, humidity, sunlight, and CO2 levels, helping determine irrigation and fertilization schedules for optimal plant growth.

Local startups are also working on data-driven ins. products: To mitigate some of the risks of unpredictable and extreme weather, Zr3i plans to introduce satellite data-informed crop ins. in collaboration with state-owned firm Misr Ins. Holding. Using historic satellite imaging of farms and weather patterns from up to three years prior, Zr3i can provide detailed risk assessments to help ascertain the appropriate ins. premium for a farm. In the case of an incident, Zr3i will also provide data from before, during, and after the event that will inform an ins. payout. The company is currently in talks with UNDP to sponsor the first 30 crop ins. policies expected to begin in September.

Technological and legal limitations persist: High-tech solutions in agriculture make sense with the influx of new farmers from non-farming backgrounds, Zr3i’s Walid Nasr told Enterprise. However, Nasr and other industry insiders that spoke to us also stressed that precision agriculture is held back by technological limitations. Poor Wi-Fi in particular complicates the use of potentially easy-to-install and cheap hardware, while legal restrictions on drones make a potentially valuable tool inaccessible.

Where are the VCs? The local farming industry should be a promising field for investors, yet not many are interested, VAIS’ El Helw told Enterprise. Zr3i’s Walid Nasr put the notable absence of venture capital firms in agritech down to a perception of the industry as high-risk. Accelerators do exist — but they’re more useful for building networks than attracting investment, said Nasr. And while funding from major development institutions is available, the process is lengthy and arduous, El Helw said.

Agritech’s struggle to draw investors in the current climate is a global problem, writes the Financial Times, with VC investments in the agritech and foodtech sectors plummeting 44% y-o-y in 2022 amid rising interest rates, costs, and concerns over startups’ business models.

Your top green economy stories for the week:

  • The future Sohag wind hub is growing: Orascom Construction, Engie and Toyota Tsusho have land in Sohag for their planned 3-GW wind farm.
  • Financial close for Acwa’s Kom Ombo solar plant: Acwa Power has achieved financial close for its 200 MW solar project in Kom Ombo, the largest privately-owned solar plant in the country.
  • Fourth Dabaa reactor approved: The Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority gave the all-clear to Rosatom and co. to proceed with the construction of the fourth 1.2-GW reactor at the Dabaa nuclear plant.
  • Another step towards a local carbon credit market: The Financial Regulatory Authority released its carbon credit verification and certification standards, a key part of the regulatory framework for the anticipated voluntary carbon market.
  • SCA inks new agreement with Maersk: The Suez Canal Authority signed an agreement with multinational shipping giant Maersk to collaborate on green transformation projects, tugboat construction, ship recycling, and workforce training.
  • Green hydrogen council set to arrive in cabinet: The cabinet-approved council will be tasked with overseeing the implementation of the government’s green hydrogen strategy.
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