Dr. Ali El Battay Side event Biosaline agriculture as an approach for combating salinity in marginal agricultural systems organized by ICBA - the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture, in the framework on the Seventh Global Soil Partnership (GSP) Plenary Assembly at FAO HQ, Rome, Italy on 5 June 2019.

1. Innovative Technologies for a
better Management of
Agricultural Systems
Dr. Ali El Battay
GSP Plenary Assembly - Seventh Session (Side Event)
Roma 5th Jun. 2019

2. Where
ICBA/FEDS
are active in
the Drone
Market
Environment
2018/2019
Map source:
droneii.com

3. Source: https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/risk/solutions/crisis-and-resilience-services.html last accessed 26 Nov. 2018
Stage of the crisis lifecycle
.
DATA
DATA
DATA
DATADATA
DATA
DATA
Risk(s)
Identify
Assess
Prevent
PrepareRespond
Recover
Learn /
Emerge
Stronger

4. Timely, Reliable,
Recurrent, Precise,
Affordable and
Actionable Data

5. FROM THE SIZE
OF AN INSECT
WITH MINUTES
OF ENDURANCE

6. DJI M600 Pro
DJI Inspire 2 ProDelair DT18senseFly eBee SQ
senseFly eBee X seseFly eBee Plus Flyability Elios
DJI M210
Anafi Work Parrot Bebop Thermal DJI Agras MG S-1

7. To a size of regular planes with months of endurance
HALE AIBUS Zephyr T: HAPS
TO THE SIZE OF
AIRPLANE WITH DAYS
AND MONTHS OF
ENDURANCE

8. Drones Swarm

9. Second category are Drones which carry precise field Operations (require
accurate location)
DRONES FOR
CRISIS
MANAGEMENT:
TWO MAIN
CATEGORIES
First category are drones which collect data and
generate Information (provide accurate data)

10. First category are drones which collect data and
generate Information (provide accurate data)
Second category are Drones which carry precise field Operations (require
accurate location and qualitative and quantitative data on crop and soil )
DRONES FOR
AGRICULTURE:
TWO MAIN
CATEGORIES

11. A better integration and
standardization of data from
various UAV sensors for a
better interoperability in
space and time towards
effective and reliable On-
Demand Data Collection

12. More efficient and effective
effort using drone
technology.

13. 13
Remote Sensor Resolution Considerations
Spatial Spectral Temporal
The size of the
field-of-view, e.g.
10  10 m or
5 x 5 cm.
The number and size of spectral
regions (or frequencies) the sensor
records data in, e.g. blue, green,
red, near-infrared, shortwave
infrared, thermal infrared,
microwave.
How often the
sensor acquires
data, e.g., every
30 days or 30
minutes.

15. Satellite / Drone image comparison

16. Satellite / Drone image comparison

17. Satellite data
Individual palm image
extracted from satellite data

18. Drone data
Individual palm image
extracted from drone data

19. Fruit Bunch!

20. Terrain and Soil
1. Soil type and quality
2. Soil Compaction
3. Plowing Efficiency
4. Salinity Level
5. Elevation Map
6. Albedo and Radiation
Maps
7. Drainage Repair Map
8. Water Harvesting
Map
9. Planting lines in
sloping fields

21. Seasonal Row Crops at
Emergence Stage
1. Monitor the
transplant of seasonal
row crops
2. Evaluating crop
emergence / torn
Plants
3. Plant count reports
4. Determine Sowing
quality
5. Weed Analysis (size
and location of weed
infested areas)
6. Stand Count
7. Stand Gap

22. Seasonal Row Crops at
Growth Season
1. Scouting and Stress
detection
2. Prescription maps for
variable rates for fertilizer
and/or pesticide
3. Assessment of Fertilizer
Efficiency
4. Assessment of Irrigation
Efficiency
5. Assessment of pesticide
Efficiency
6. Assessment of flowering
levels/growing stage
7. Assessment of damage
after an extreme weather
event
8. Determination of Perfect
harvesting date

23. Fruit Tree
1. Counting / Population
2. Tree-planting efficiency
3. Stress detection
4. Vigor Maps
5. Flowering Levels
6. Pollination Levels
7. Classification by types
8. Classification by age
(sapling, mature,
decline, snag)
9. Treatments Efficiency
10. Damage Assessment (in
case of fire or other
accident).

24. Drones and AI Paired for
complete Red Palm Weevil
Surveillance

25. The main challenge to effective and sustainable management of RPW
is the complexity of detecting infection at an early stage
Red Palm Weevil Rhynchophorus Ferrugineus

26. • Around 90% of the world’s dates
are grown in the NENA Region.
• Nearly 50 million farmers’
livelihoods affected by the RPW.
• Euro 480 million worth of date
palms destroyed in the
Mediterranean countries.

27. Stage of the crisis lifecycle to identify, assess, prevent, prepare, respond and recover from crises
Source: https://www.oxfamblogs.org/fp2p/wp-content/uploads/concept-resilience-jan06.gif
Identify
Assess
Prevent
Prepare
Respond
Recover

28. LINKAGES WITH INFORMATION AND DIGITAL
TECHNOLOGY USED IN THE AGRICULTURAL
SECTOR APPLICATIONS; AI AND IoT
PERSPECTIVE!

29. • Computer Vision (Fruits counting and stress
identification)
• Drones Swarm (data/operations)
• Different operations for same plot at same time
• Real time data acquisition, analysis and action
Source: droneii.com

30. Multispectral Image Isolation of Vegetation Cover NDVI
Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) = 8 cm

31. Objects Attributes

32. Land Surface Temperature

33. Normal / Healthy
Palm trees
Abnormal
Palm trees
Date Palm Status

34. Watch the video: https://youtu.be/3p0wek33Gms

35. Irrigation Systems Efficiency

36. Total area 1,760 sq.m
Nbr of wasted drippers: 681
Average daily wasted water (Ha): 23 m3/Ha
Average season wasted water (Ha): 4,140
m3/Ha
Irrigation Systems Efficiency

37. Crop management

38. Byproducts
NDVI
TDVI
LAI
Chl.
Nitrogen Balance Index
Crop management

39. Soil amendments assessment

40. Soil amendments assessment

41. Salinity Mapping Using
Remote Sensing
Absence
Surface Soil Salinity Scale
Extreme
Example of Salinity Maps using Landsat 8 EO Satellite
Imagery for the Kingdom of Bahrain
The map was validated with field sampling and laboratory
analysis for both soil samples and spectral signatures in
SWIR

42. ICBA Data Driven Agriculture
 Testing and understanding potential of drones in agriculture : effect of BRDF, Best
Practices GSD/flying time/Application, Data analysis and Integration, workflow
optimization.
 Pairing of various sources of data (satellite, drones, ground sensors) and data analysis
schema in an AI perspective to unlock critical information on time.
 Understanding policy aspects and socio-economical aspects for smallholders in marginal
agricultural systems and the value added products and services.
 Knowledge generation, sharing and dissemination and capacity building via partnership
at various levels

46. Synergistic Strategic Alliance
Thank You
Dr. Ali ELBATTAY
Senior Scientist Remote Sensing and Drones Technology-
ICBA
a.elbattay@biosaline.org.ae
Chief Innovation Officer – Falcon Eye Drones
Ali.Elbattay@feds.ae
+971 508156365