HEC provides Rs10.2m to IU for research on smart farming

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Research and Development Division has awarded a research project worth Rs 10.2 million to the Iqra University (IU).

According to a press statement issued by the IU, the grant had been provided for a three-year project entitled Smart Farming: An approach towards the development of efficient and effective urban cultivation testbed using smart technologies to improve farming by incorporating advanced technology. The project was submitted for funding by Dr Masroor Ebrahim of the IU.

The research project was aimed at increasing and improving agriculture growth, ensuring food security, increasing productivity, catering to a wide variety of nutrition and organic products at low cost and providing business opportunities by applying urban farming techniques with smart technology.

“The research project will not only aid urban farming but will also change the concept of traditional farming. It is a great initiative that will help us overcome various issues in the agriculture sector, and it would help positively impact Pakistan’s economy,” the vice chancellor and president of the IU, Dr Wasim Qazi, said.

“I’m proud of our team at the IU for this initiative and grateful to the HEC research and development division for recognising the potential in the project. I’m positive that the outcome of the proposed research will help us positively impact Pakistan’s economy.”

The research project was aimed at developing an urban farming testbed based on Hydroponics techniques. Incorporated with smart technology, it would provide an efficient, controlled and autonomous environment with the ability to cater to a wide variety of different plants. The key outcomes of the proposed research project include immunisation to weather and climate change, reduction in water usage and improvement in the environment.

It would also support the government’s initiative of a green Pakistan by reducing human effort and improving plant health monitoring that would help yield better quality products and increase farmers’ profit due to increased market reach.