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A Study at UoB Calls for the Establishment of a Uniform National Data Network to Collect Agricultural Data
A Study at UoB Calls for the Establishment of a Uniform National Data Network to Collect Agricultural Data
University of Bahrain (Jasmine Khalaf)
March 19, 2022
A study conducted at the University of Bahrain stressed the importance of establishing a uniform national data network to collect and analyze different agricultural data, and communicate findings thereof to users, according to their needs, as well as linking agricultural institutions to each other on the one hand and to farmers on the other hand. The study stressed the necessity of enhancing Bahraini farmers’ awareness of the importance of agricultural data and paying attention to the field of agricultural data analytics, as part of the work of agricultural institutions in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The study, entitled “AGRO Big Data: Towards Smart Farming in the Kingdom of Bahrain”, was conducted by the researcher at the College of Science Mohammed Essam Ghanem, as part of the requirements for a PHD degree in Environment and Sustainable Development. It was presented at the International Conference on Information Technology and Smart Agriculture, by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), under the theme “AgroBahrain: A Conceptual Framework for Agriculture Big Data for Bahrain”.
The study discussed the importance of using modern technologies such as remote sensing, soil sensors, big data technologies, and others, to advance the agricultural sector in terms of production, conserving resources, and supporting fields of agricultural research. The study called for taking advantage of cloud services, including those provided by Google, through which different forms of data can be collected (images, texts, etc.) using various tools, and then saving them in the cloud data warehouse (Google BigQuery).
The researcher divided sources of agricultural data in the Kingdom of Bahrain into owners and users, and classified them into categories including farmers, farm owners, officials, non-governmental institutions, agricultural researchers, and traders. He pointed out that the development of the mobile application shall facilitate registration and display of data for all users. It can also be used to display official notifications, and provide the service of the agricultural expert, to respond to all agricultural inquiries.
The researcher stressed the importance of providing big data in agriculture to secure sustainable agriculture through data analytics, obtaining future findings, and rationalizing the consumption of natural resources such as water and agricultural nutrients, to increase production and improve the quality of crops. He pointed out that the volume of available data will provide an opportunity for agricultural scientists to study many factors in an easier and faster manner, such as studying soil quality. He noted that this study supports some of sustainable development goals, such as zero hunger, climate action, and responsible consumption and production.
