His Excellency Lieutenant General Engineer Issa Saif Mohammed Al Mazrouei, Chief of Staff of the UAE Armed Forces, visited the university’s pavilion at #آيدكس , where he viewed the projects of the Elite Program students, including technologies for security and defense

The UAE is taking a leaf out of the Netherlands’ book in attempting to persuade young Emiratis to take up farming by using advanced technology – including artificial intelligence – to drum up interest in the agricultural sector.

UAE professors and government officials from the environment and education ministries recently met diplomats, private companies, farmers and academics in the Netherlands to discuss food security before Cop28, which will be held in Dubai this November.

The meetings were part of a series of dialogues to gain knowledge of how the Netherlands has retained its role as the world’s second-largest exporter of agricultural produce after the US.

During field visits, experts from the Netherlands explained how AI, using real-time analysis of data, can monitor crop health round-the-clock.

AI systems can also help improve the quality of a harvest and detect disease in plants, with sensors providing detailed information to increase efficiency, forecast temperatures and predict the yield.

Agriculture no longer ‘old fashioned’

Leo Marcelis, professor horticulture and product physiology at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands, said it was a struggle to capture the attention of young people.

“Students and young people are traditionally not so interested in agriculture because they think it’s old-fashioned,” he said.

“But when they see new technology, they say, ‘Wow, this is innovation.’

“The young take sustainability really seriously and it attracts them to come here to study.

“With international collaboration we can ensure food is produced for people in the whole world in a sustainable way.”

Ranked among the world’s top agricultural research institutes, the university is known for cutting-edge studies and works with companies using greenhouses to employ technology to reduce water consumption and control the environment so crops can thrive.

Students have the option to study in applied agricultural science colleges or vocational schools that teach agricultural skills. Training and education is also available for farmers.

“We need to make farming attractive for young people. No farmers, no food,” said one poster at an education institute.

Change the perception of young people

Oscar Niezen, senior adviser for international projects with the Lentiz Education Group, said it was important that UAE students understand the quality of life farmers could have.

The group organises training programmes for international students in the Netherlands that run from a week to nine months.

Students visit farms for internships and work in greenhouses growing vegetables and flowers.

“They see the life of the grower is comfortable, cool even,” Mr Niezen said.’

“They understand it’s not dirty. It’s good for young people to actually see this because for students all over the world, agriculture has a bad name.

“Young people don’t want to be farmers any more.

“But then they see how profitable it can be, that the grower has a nice car and house. Yes, he works hard but it’s a good job.

“The technology used in modern greenhouses can help change the perception of young people.

“When they see all this, it comes alive.”

Tech for the UAE

The UAE is aiming to become self-sufficient and produce fresh food locally.

Charbel Tarraf, chief of operations and development at the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture, said that, to achieve this, a strategy was required to build vocational agricultural schools in the UAE to train young people.

The ICBA, based in Dubai, works with more than 50 countries, conducting crucial studies to improve the resilience of trees, irrigation efficiency and crop genome research.

“The UAE is at the start of its agricultural journey, the Netherlands is advanced and so we need to see how to learn from them,” he said.

“To have successful agriculture, you need manpower, human capital.”

He said sometimes in the Arab world, farmers are not as valued as they should be.

“But when you talk about entrepreneurship, technology that requires skill and bringing this to farms – that will definitely be an incentive for the young.”

Elke Neumann, a professor of plant nutrition in United Arab Emirates University‘s College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, said exchange programmes would build knowledge on both sides.

The UAEU in Al Ain is the only institute in the country that offers higher education programmes in horticulture, food sciences and agribusiness.

UAE citizens make up the majority of about 160 students in specialised agriculture programmes at the university.

“Most students join not because they don’t find anything else to study but because they are really truly interested in agriculture,” she said.

“More and more students are finding jobs in new private companies.”

Over the past few years, the UAE has used technology to produce locally farmed salmon, berries and quinoa.

Vertical farms use a hydroponics system in which plants are grown in nutrient-rich water instead of soil.

Ms Neumann said the task before researchers was to develop unique systems to tackle harsh climate conditions.

“This requires confidence that we can find solutions specifically tailored to UAE requirements,” she said.

“We need intrinsically to do something for our country and not always modify a solution that is imported.

“We require a massive expansion of our agri-research capacity and it absolutely can be achieved.”

Disease detection

UAEU has joined forces with Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi to develop robotic technology for agriculture.

Irfan Hussain, assistant professor in Khalifa University’s mechanical department, is keen to use AI to guard against the spread of diseases in plants.

“This is the future and is much needed for the UAE,” he said.

“I do believe we can get the next generation excited because of the tech element and the promise of innovation.”

Extensive research by Dutch students who were trying to reduce climate control costs in greenhouses bore fruit when their findings were used by horticultural companies in the Netherlands trying to keep energy costs down.

In a massive greenhouse, home to one of the oldest and largest lily cultivators in the Netherlands, pink lights on the ceiling are trained on rows of green pots.

The lights gradually brighten and dim, mimicking the cycle of sunset and sunrise.

Experts say variable lighting has vastly improved the quality and yield of the pink and white flowers, and has also reduced energy usage compared to traditional high-pressure sodium lamps.

“Energy prices were so high and we made a decision to switch to LED lights when production was hit last year,” said Michel van Kester, sales manager at Van Schie, which grows more than three million pots of lilies and a million chrysanthemums annually, mostly for export.

“We were testing the LED option but the energy crisis sped up decisions.

“With the old lamps, it was either on or off. Now we can dim or increase it like the sun.

“There is no stress on the plants. It’s as if the plants like it, they say to us, ‘Let it always be natural like the sun.’”

This is only one example of how students have collaborated with companies to cut energy costs at horticultural companies.

University studies were rapidly put to use over the past year by companies hit by skyrocketing energy bills after Russia restricted gas supplies in response to western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.

Horticultural businesses in the Netherlands were forced to switch off lights in their greenhouses or delay planting. Supplies to overseas markets were affected when some growers shut down or cut production of crops including tomatoes, cucumbers and flowers.

Sense of urgency

The energy crisis was a wake-up call for the Dutch industry and has prompted renewed experimentation.

“The energy crisis is so big that nobody can solve it on their own,” said Raymond Hedges, horticulture manager at Inholland University of Applied Sciences, whose students were involved in the LED energy research.

“It is an example of how people need to work together as there are complex problems that you cannot solve yourself.

“You have to listen to each other, really listen and understand and only then you can move forward to work on complex problems.”

Across the country, several strategies to save energy pioneered by students at institutions such as Wageningen University and Research were enacted by agricultural companies.

These strategies included using LED lights that change colour, more robust insulation of greenhouses, and the use of additional screens and curtains.

Despite its relatively small size, the Netherlands is a powerhouse in vegetable, fruit and flower exports.

At its core is a decades-long collaboration between companies, universities and government.

This is put to the test daily at the World Horti Centre in Westland, the heart of the country’s horticultural production.

The centre is where on-site research conducted and classes take place, and it also brings together businesses, which have permanent booths.

Collaboration between the UAE and the Netherlands

A team of UAE government officials and university professors recently visited horticultural centres in the Netherlands as part of an ongoing dialogue on educational co-operation.

The Emirates is keen to collaborate and learn from the recent challenges faced by the Dutch.

The meetings with diplomats, university heads and private companies encouraged joint projects in the lead-up to Cop28 that will be held in the UAE in November.

Lakmal Seneviratne, director of the Khalifa University Centre for Autonomous Robotic Systems in Abu Dhabi, hopes to work with Dutch universities to make agriculture more sustainable and profitable.

High temperatures in the UAE as well as limited arable land and natural water resources make growing food challenging.

Developing new technologies will allow researchers to produce food economically and with a low carbon footprint.

Khalifa University researchers are exploring robotic solutions with companies in the UAE.

“We are looking at the application of AI [artificial intelligence] and robotics for farming particularly for indoor farming – greenhouse and vertical farming,” said Mr Seneviratne, a professor of mechanical engineering.

“We can use robots to inspect soil in farms, use robots for precision targeting of pesticides and also harvesting and sample collection.

“Using robotics can make agriculture efficient and cost effective.”

Afra Al Doobi, an assistant project manager with the UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, said close teamwork between different sectors in the Netherlands was a revelation.

Water security will be among key green initiatives taken up by the UAE and the Netherlands ahead of the Cop 28 climate summit in Dubai later this year.

Diplomats from both countries said the work will have a global impact.

Jamal Jama Al Musharakh, the UAE’s ambassador in the Netherlands and Gerard Steeghs, the incoming Dutch envoy, told The National about taking on challenges related to water, energy and food.

“When it comes to collaboration with the kingdom of the Netherlands, the focus on water is very important and the next is food security,” Mr Al Musharakh said in an interview at the UAE embassy in The Hague.

“The number three collaboration is helping countries in need to face the challenges of climate change.

“That is a very integral part of Cop28 which the UAE will host at the end of the year.

“The projects in the pipeline include a focus on water in particular.

“I can’t reveal much in terms of the what the outcome will be but we are very hopeful that such a collaboration will lead to something that will benefit greatly not only our two countries but countries beyond.”

Details of the project will be announced later.

Mr Steeghs also spoke of taking the partnership to new heights.

“The Netherlands is a land that is very much engaged in the field of water,” said the Dutch diplomat who takes on the ambassador’s post in Abu Dhabi in July.

“We are looking at Cop28 and at the great contribution we can make in the field of water and adaptation with regard to climate change.”

Frederik Vossenaar, special envoy at the Netherlands’ agriculture ministry, said co-creation was vital to both countries that are small in size but keen to deliver on sustainability promises.

“It is about dialogue, discussion, co-creation and learning,” he said.

“Co-operation with the UAE is based on a sustainable vision for the long term,” he said. “By putting our ideas together we can achieve the best results so other countries can profit from this in the long run.”

Stepping stones to climate action

Cop28 will take place from November 30 until December 12 and as the host, the UAE has outlined its ambitions to unite the world on climate action plans with bold and practical solutions to pressing global challenges.

Mr Al Musharakh said historical ties with the Netherlands on agriculture and technology were building blocks to future partnerships.

“It’s a growing conversation that is becoming in-depth on global issues,” he said.

“So our conversations are not only of the bilateral nature but to take on global challenges through private companies, government entities.

“Constant conversations on how to strategically plan around not only food security but nutrition as well – that is something the Netherlands has pioneered.

“Usually when food security is spoken about, it’s about how to secure crops but how you secure healthy crops is important.”

The Netherlands is an agricultural powerhouse and the second largest global exporter of food after the US.

The total value of goods and services trade between the Netherlands and the UAE was €10.2 billion (Dh40.8 billion) in 2022.

Dutch exports to the UAE are largely of food, animals, machinery, transport equipment and chemicals.

Mr Al Musharakh also met a group of UAE government officials and professors visiting the Netherlands.

He spoke about the need to involve young people and to introduce young Emiratis to exchange programmes with universities in the Netherlands.

Reaching young Emiratis

Mr Al Musharakh said it was crucial that cutting-edge research was not confined to laboratories, and that awareness should spread to Emiratis and residents about how they can be involved.

“It’s about how to raise awareness among all segments of society to care more for the environment, be more aware of the challenges, how to face them and how to mitigate future risks,” he said.

“It’s how to accustom our future generations to be aware of significant differences one can make by adjusting their lifestyle to secure a more prosperous future for generations to come.”

The UAE has made strides in efforts to feed its population, with local horticulture companies growing a range of vegetables and fruits, from lettuce and tomatoes to blueberries and strawberries.

Dutch companies work closely with UAE agribusinesses by exporting technology and know-how to build greenhouses.

“We have a lot to offer each other and these conversations are being held at the highest levels,” Mr Al Musharakh said.

“What we have in common with the Netherlands is that both our countries have taken on the environmental climate challenges which our countries’ experience and transformed this into an advantage.”

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, met Wopke Hoekstra, the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs in the UAE in January.

The ministers pledged to combat climate change and enhance partnerships in fields including energy and food security.

Energy transition in cities of the future

Mr Steeghs, the Netherlands ambassador-designate, said he was excited to further develop ties with the UAE.

“I think the UAE is doing great experiments in building green cities,” Mr Steeghs said.

“How you deal with the energy problem and transport in these cities – there we can work together.

“The objectives the UAE has set for itself in going over to a climate-neutral economy are challenging.

“The world knows the UAE as a supplier of hydrocarbons, gas and oil.

“So it’s incredibly important that the UAE is saying we still should make that climate policy, we should make the energy transition.

“Hosting Cop28 is showing the planet that this is what is important, this is what we have to get on top of.”

He looked forward to soon begin his ambassadorial role in the Emirates.

We are thrilled to announce that our paper titled ” Aquaculture defects recognition via multi-scale semantic segmentation ” has been published in Expert Systems with Applications Elsevier Journal (IF: 8.5, Scopus Percentile: 96th (top 4%))! 🎉


Paper Link: https://lnkd.in/dESkXdKq

Many Congratulations to, Dr. Waseem Akram, Dr. Taimur Hassan, Hamed Toubar, Dr. Muhayy Ud Din, Prof. Lakmal Seneviratne and Prof. Irfan Hussain for their remarkable achievement in developing an autonomous net pen defect detection system. Their innovative multi-scale semantic segmentation approach effectively identifies biofouling, vegetation, and hole issues in the aquaculture environment.

Thank you, Khalifa University and Khalifa University Center of Autonomous Robotics Systems, hashtag#KUCARS for the continuous support.

Video Link: https://lnkd.in/ddTth4UR

The Khalifa University-Beijing Institute of Technology team Fly Eagle has become one of the five finalists for the Maritime Grand Challenge, part of the AED11-million Mohammed Bin Zayed International Robotics Competition (MBZIRC) series.

The KU-BIT Fly Eagle team received US$100,000 prize money, as well as a robotic arm worth US$50,000 for performing well in the Simulation Phase which required teams to develop the proof of concept while completing inspection and intervention tasks in simulation. The simulation environment included a large coastal region, UAVs with different sensor configurations, a USV model, a robot manipulator, and multiple target vessels.