The Regional Chamber of Agriculture Fez-Meknes organized, Wednesday in Fez, an awareness day on “digitalization at the service of irrigation management in Fez-Meknes” on the occasion of the World Day of the water.
Organized in partnership with the Sebou Hydraulic Basin Agency (ABHS), the National Water and Forests Agency (ANEF), the National School of Agriculture (ENA) in Meknes and the Association of Science Teachers of la vie et de la terre (AESVT), this meeting which also takes place on the occasion of the International Days of Forests and Trees, was an opportunity to raise farmers’ awareness of the importance of preserving water resources and to present new advances in the digitalization of irrigation systems and water saving, reports MAP.
The vice-president of the Chamber of Agriculture of the region of Fez-Meknes, Abdelali Damri, underlined, at the opening of this meeting, that “the orientation towards the digitalization of the agricultural sector, in particular in the field of irrigation is no longer a simple alternative to traditional agriculture, but an urgent necessity in the face of climate change, marked by the scarcity and irregularity of rainfall as well as water scarcity”.
For him, the experiments carried out have shown that the digitalization of irrigation could increase productivity, improve profitability and reduce production costs by saving water, adding that this approach also opens up investment prospects for young people in the agricultural sector and contributes to improving its attractiveness.
In a statement to MAP’s M24 continuous news channel, Abouabdillah Aziz, teacher-researcher at the National School of Agriculture (ENA) in Meknes, stressed the importance of digitalizing water management. irrigation in a context marked by the scarcity of water resources.
“Farmers increasingly need precise information on the quantities of water needed by their crops to optimize their production,” said Mr. Aziz, who presented “Irrismart”, the new free mobile application developed by the ENA of Meknes, and which allows farmers in all regions of the country to know daily the quantities of water, the duration and the frequency of irrigation necessary for their crops.
This innovative application, based on satellite images, takes into account the specificities of each region, such as soil types, climate and specific crops. The goal of this initiative is to improve water productivity, especially for fruit and vegetable crops grown in the region.
This meeting was also an opportunity to present a “Firma Tech” technological farm, the first of its kind at the national level, which aims to promote modern and efficient agriculture in terms of water and energy efficiency.