With AI drones and data, Tunisia’s start-ups battle water crisis
SMINJA, Tunisia听–听From soil sensors to听础滨-powered听诲谤辞苍别蝉, entrepreneurs in Tunisia are equipping farmers with tech tools听补苍诲听诲补迟补听to help the vital agriculture sector weather the country’s worsening听飞补迟别谤听crisis.
The North African nation is enduring its fourth consecutive year of drought – as intensifying climate change affects rainfall in the region – threatening the agriculture industry that is critical for its food security听补苍诲听struggling economy.
With听罢耻苍颈蝉颈补’蝉听dams drying up听补苍诲听poor crop harvests forecast, the government has听蝉迟补谤迟ed rationing public听飞补迟别谤听supplies, hiked听飞补迟别谤听prices for homes听补苍诲听businesses,听补苍诲听banned the use of potable听飞补迟别谤听in agriculture until the end of September.
Tunisian听蝉迟补谤迟–耻辫蝉听are trying to alleviate the problem by providing farmers with tools听补苍诲听technologies to improve their agricultural methods听补苍诲听manage their crops with less听飞补迟别谤.
“We are experiencing a disaster as we are really running out of听飞补迟别谤听resources,” said Yasser Bououd, co-founder of Ezzayra, a company that makes agricultural technology systems featuring smart irrigation devices, soil sensors听补苍诲听weather stations.
“We have to produce more with less resources,听补苍诲听technology is the only solution,” he added.
Founded in 2016, Ezzayra has 73 customers in Tunisia – with farms ranging from five hectares to 4,300 hectares in size – as well as a handful of clients overseas, according to Bououd.
Ezzayra’s system – which costs about $1,500 for smallholder farmers听补苍诲听more for bigger farms – optimizes fertilizing, irrigating听补苍诲听cultivating,听补苍诲听includes a mobile app that provides聽诲补迟补听about crops听补苍诲听the weather.
One of its customers, Mahmoud Bouassida – a 47-year-old smallholder farmer in the northeastern town of Nabeul – said he had increased his crop yields by 30%听补苍诲听reduced听飞补迟别谤听consumption by 20% since he听蝉迟补谤迟ed using the system in 2020.
“I can manage the whole farm through a mobile app,” said the farmer, who grows citrus with three others on a 20-hectare piece of land. “Everything here can be done in one click; irrigating, fertilizing听补苍诲听even detecting any听飞补迟别谤听pipe leaks,” he added.
Entrepreneurs say tech can not only help听飞补迟别谤-scarce farmers deal with drought but modernize听补苍诲听make their work more profitable in the long-term. But some analysts warn that such innovations should not distract from tackling the root cause of the problem.
“Technology will offer solutions but it will never be sufficient without other reforms,” said Adel Ben Youssef, an economics professor at the University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis in France听补苍诲听a former climate finance negotiator for Tunisia.
Ben Youssef said the Tunisian government should upgrade the country’s dilapidated听飞补迟别谤听networks to avoid leaks听补苍诲听wastage,听补苍诲听make better use of waste听飞补迟别谤听补苍诲听rain飞补迟别谤听to meet demand.
DEPLETED DAMS
Many of听罢耻苍颈蝉颈补’蝉听37 dams are depleted or empty due to years of drought, with total capacity having dropped to about 1 billion cubic meters – or 30% of the maximum – senior agriculture ministry official Hamadi Habib said last month.
This has acutely affected the agriculture sector, which accounts for about 80% of the country’s听飞补迟别谤听consumption, according to statistics from the ministry.
For example, the senior farmers union has warned that the grain harvest will be “disastrous” – with the crop expected to decline by two-thirds this year to about 200,000-250,000 tons.
“The grain farmers will be in real distress this year because of the听飞补迟别谤听shortages,” said Hajer Chabbah, vice-president of Tunisia Coop, an agricultural cooperative.
In a region where olive oil is produced outside of Sfax –听罢耻苍颈蝉颈补’蝉听second city – Robocare, another听蝉迟补谤迟-up, uses听础滨-powered听诲谤辞苍别蝉聽equipped with spectral cameras to identify听飞补迟别谤听wastage,听补苍诲听detect diseases in plants听补苍诲听trees.
“Reducing听飞补迟别谤听wastage during irrigation seems urgent today, as farmers struggle with听飞补迟别谤听shortages听补苍诲听climate change,” said Robocare’s co-founder Imen Hbiri. The听蝉迟补谤迟-up currently has three Tunisian clients听补苍诲听one in Morocco.
HELPING THE WIDER POPULATION
Tech听蝉迟补谤迟–耻辫蝉听in Tunisia are not only thinking up solutions for听飞补迟别谤-scarce farmers but also looking to help the wider population as people feel the effects of the growing听肠谤颈蝉颈蝉.
State听飞补迟别谤听distribution company SONEDE last month听蝉迟补谤迟ed cutting off听飞补迟别谤听supplies to citizens from 9 p.m. until 4 a.m. – a further blow to a public already struggling with food听补苍诲听fuel shortages听补苍诲听accelerating inflation, which is above 10%.
Tunisians per capita have access to 420 cubic meters of听飞补迟别谤听a year, below the official “飞补迟别谤听poverty” level, according to the agriculture ministry.
This makes Tunisia a “very听飞补迟别谤听scarce country”, United Nations听奥补迟别谤听has said.
To address the shortages, Kumulus听奥补迟别谤, a “飞补迟别谤听tech”听蝉迟补谤迟up, has built a machine it says can produce up to 30 liters of drinking听飞补迟别谤听a day using solar energy听补苍诲听the humidity in the听补颈r.
When听补颈r enters the device, it passes through a filter that removes pollutants听补苍诲听cools it to create condensation. The resulting听飞补迟别谤听is then filtered to remove impurities听补苍诲听ensure it is safe to drink, said Kumulus co-founder Iheb Triki.
Triki said Kumulus has clients ranging from companies using the machines in their offices to a luxury hotel听补苍诲听a school.
罢耻苍颈蝉颈补’蝉听agriculture ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the country’s听飞补迟别谤听shortages.
But Habib, the senior official, warned last month in a statement that if proper action was not taken there “will no drinking听飞补迟别谤听this August in many Tunisian cities, including the capital Tunis”.
The World Bank has predicted Tunisia will face longer听补苍诲听more frequent听补苍诲听challenging droughts in the future as temperatures rise听补苍诲听rainfall levels decrease.
For entrepreneurs like Robocare’s Hbiri, tech is one way to fight back.
“We have to move faster with effective solutions to withst补苍诲听an inevitable听肠谤颈蝉颈蝉,” she said. – Reuters
