The University of Sharjah has partnered with IBM on a new mobile application called My FarmWell, which is designed to promote sustainable agriculture in water-stressed regions across the MENA region.
My FarmWell is built using IBM Environmental Intelligence and the University of Sharjah’s Welly Chatbot. This innovative app integrates IBM Cloud technology with region-specific water and climate data, providing farmers with timely, farm-level insights. The app aims to optimize irrigation strategies and enhance understanding of local regulations, offering a comprehensive toolkit for sustainable agricultural practices.
One of the standout features of My FarmWell is its bilingual interface, available in both English and Arabic. This user-friendly design ensures that farmers can easily access vital information, including well-specific data such as current water levels, historical groundwater trends, and water quality indices (IWQI). These insights empower farmers to make smarter decisions in increasingly water-scarce environments.
During the launch, UoS Chancellor His Excellency Prof. Essam El-Din Ajami expressed pride in this scientific achievement, highlighting the collaborative research conducted with IBM. He stated, “This milestone aligns with the university’s strategic commitment to serving local and regional communities through impactful research that addresses environmental challenges.” His vision extends beyond the UAE, positioning the University of Sharjah as a leading model for sustainability in the entire Middle East and North Africa region.
UoS Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies, Prof. Maamar Bettayeb, emphasized the university’s commitment to collaborating with various entities to conduct research that benefits society. He noted that “My FarmWell represents a practical application of cutting-edge innovations in sustainability, offering solutions to pressing environmental challenges.” This initiative is a concrete step toward fostering smart, resilient, and sustainable agriculture.
Dr. Adewale Giwa, the Principal Investigator of the project, underscored the app’s transformative potential, stating, “My FarmWell equips farmers with crucial insights that facilitate smarter water use and long-term sustainability.” This sentiment resonates with the overarching goal of the app: to enhance agricultural productivity while conserving vital water resources.
Shukri Eid, General Manager of IBM Gulf, Levant, and Pakistan, remarked, “My FarmWell is a great example of how IBM technology can help businesses of all sizes manage through environmental risks.” He highlighted that the app empowers farmers with data-driven insights on water management, illustrating how Cloud and AI technologies can unlock progress across various sectors, enhancing resiliency and reducing costs.
Other Key Features of My FarmWell include:
- Intuitive app screen: Provides weather information based on user location, a quick overview of selected well details, links to agricultural regulations, food market prices, and a University of Sharjah-developed chatbot for farming and well-related advice.
- Comprehensive weather information: Powered by IBM Environmental Intelligence, offering current temperature (high, low, and perceived), weather conditions, humidity, wind speed and direction, precipitation forecast for the next 24 hours, and a 10-day weather forecast.
- Well water monitoring and insights: Allows users to track historical groundwater changes, assess trends over time, and evaluate the severity of well water scarcity.
- Crop recommendations: Suggests suitable crops to grow based on specific water quality indices (Integrated Water Quality Index levels).
- Farm water consumption calculator: Helps estimate water needs for crops, trees, and livestock, optimizing farm water usage.
- Educational hub: Provides comprehensive resources on groundwater conservation and climate adaptation.
- Market price integration: Links to global food market prices, enabling farmers to align irrigation strategies with market trends.
My FarmWell exemplifies a strong partnership between academia and industry, designed to tackle critical regional challenges through innovative solutions. The project aligns with the mission of the IBM Sustainability Accelerator, a social innovation program that leverages IBM technologies, such as hybrid cloud and AI, to enhance and scale initiatives by nonprofit and government organizations, thereby accelerating environmental and economic impact.
