University of Sharjah and IBM launch My FarmWell mobile app to promote sustainable agriculture in water-stressed regions
Empowers farmers with groundwater monitoring and data-driven irrigation insights to address water scarcity challenges in arid areas.
Sharjah, UAE – The University of Sharjah (UoS), in collaboration with IBM (NYSE: IBM) through the IBM Sustainability Accelerator, today announced the launch of My FarmWell, a mobile application designed to tackle water scarcity challenges and transform sustainable agriculture across the UAE and the broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
Built using IBM Environmental Intelligence and UoS Welly Chatbot, My FarmWell integrates IBM Cloud and region-specific water and climate data to provide farmers with timely, farm-level insights. From optimizing irrigation strategies to understanding local regulations, the app offers a comprehensive toolkit to support more sustainable and productive agricultural practices.
With its bilingual (English and Arabic) user-friendly interface, My FarmWell equips farmers with access to well-specific data such as current water levels, historical groundwater trends, water quality indices (IWQI), and crop recommendations supporting smarter decisions in increasingly water-scarce environments.
Speaking on the launch, UoS Chancellor His Excellency Prof. Essam El-Din Ajami expressed his pride in this scientific achievement, which stems from collaborative research conducted with IBM. He emphasized that, 'This milestone aligns with the university's strategic commitment to serving local and regional communities through impactful research that addresses environmental challenges'. He added that the University of Sharjah is dedicated to advancing sustainability efforts in a way that benefits not only the United Arab Emirates but also positions the university as a leading model for the entire Middle East and North Africa region.
UoS Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies, Prof. Maamar Bettayeb, affirmed the keenness of the university's research sector to collaborate with various entities and institutions in conducting research of tangible societal benefit. He noted that 'My FarmWell represents a practical application of cutting-edge innovations in sustainability, offering solutions to pressing environmental challenges.' He added that it is also a concrete step toward smart, resilient, and sustainable agriculture.
Dr. Adewale Giwa, Principal Investigator of the project, underscored the app's transformative potential, saying, "My FarmWell equips farmers with crucial insights that facilitate smarter water use and long-term sustainability.'
"My FarmWell is a great example of how IBM technology can help businesses of all sizes manage through environmental risks', said Shukri Eid, General Manager, IBM Gulf, Levant, and Pakistan. 'Here we are empowering farmers with data-driven insights on water, but Cloud and AI can unlock progress for all sorts of organizations, helping them boost resiliency and lower costs."
Other Key Features of My FarmWell include:
Intuitive app screen: Provides weather information based on user location, quick overview of selected well details, links to agricultural regulations, food market prices, and a University of Sharjah-developed chatbot for farming and well-related advice.
Comprehensive weather information: Powered by IBM Environmental Intelligence, offering current temperature (high, low, and perceived), weather conditions, humidity, wind speed and direction, precipitation forecast for the next 24 hours, and weather forecast for the next 10 days.
Well water monitoring and insights: Allows users to track historical groundwater changes, assess trends over time, and evaluate the severity of well water scarcity.
Crop recommendations: Suggests suitable crops to grow based on specific water quality indices (Integrated Water Quality Index levels).
Farm water consumption calculator: Helps estimate water needs for crops, trees, and livestock, optimizing farm water usage.
Educational hub: Provides comprehensive resources on groundwater conservation and climate adaptation.
Market price integration: Links to global food market prices, enabling farmers to align irrigation strategies with market trends.
My FarmWell reflects a strong partnership between academia and industry, designed to address critical regional challenges through innovation. The project exemplifies the mission of the IBM Sustainability Accelerator, a social innovation program that applies IBM technologies, such as hybrid cloud and AI, and an ecosystem of experts to enhance and scale nonprofit and government organization initiatives, accelerating environmental and economic impact.
The app is available for download here: Android | iPhone
ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF SHARJAH
The University of Sharjah (UoS) stands as a premier institution in the UAE, recognized for its academic excellence and research prowess. Ranked #1 in the UAE and #4 in the Arab region by U.S. News & World Report, UoS showcases its commitment to quality education. UoS ranks 53rd worldwide for Research Quality and 69th in the Times Higher Education Worldwide Young University Rankings 2024. The university offers over 120 programs across 14 colleges, emphasizing disciplines like engineering, health sciences, and business. Its expansive campus boasts over 200 advanced laboratories, state-of-the-art sports facilities, and dedicated research centers. Strategic partnerships with esteemed institutions such as McMaster University and the University of Sheffield further enhance its global footprint. For further details, please visit the official website: https://www.sharjah.ac.ae/
ABOUT IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs, and gain a competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.
About the IBM Sustainability Accelerator
Launched in 2022, the IBM Sustainability Accelerator is a social innovation program that supports communities facing environmental and economic stress around the world, through technologies like AI and an ecosystem of experts. Each year, the program selects five new projects to develop and scale technology and AI solutions addressing topics like sustainable agriculture, clean energy, water management, resilient cities or sustainable consumption and production.
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