iVeg
Greenhouse tomato supply chain based on IoT technology and decision support system (DSS) in the Almeria SmartAgriHub
Description
The Almeria SmartAgriHub is a pioneering project that aims to promote innovation, sustainability and competitiveness in the agrifood sector in Spain. Located in the Almeria region, the region of Spain with the highest concentration of greenhouses in the world, the project is an ecosystem of innovation that brings together farmers, technology providers, researchers and other stakeholders for the creation, testing and implementation of innovative solutions. Among the solutions developed to date is iVeg, an application that combines various data sources to optimize the production of greenhouse crops, providing real-time information about the state of the crops, including soil moisture, temperature, humidity and other key parameters. The application aims to optimize also greenhouse management in terms of water, fertilizer and energy use.
Technology
A FIWARE IoT application collects and analyses data garnered from various sources, such as the weather stations, soil sensors and drones used by the iVeg application, and combines them with other data sources from different time scales such as climate control sensors, weather forecasts, grower decisions, as well as agricultural and environmental public authorities. The aggregated output is a web-based decision support system (DSS) that can be shared between farmers, technical engineers, production planners, the handling and transport sector, retailers and customers. Moreover, the FIREWARE IoT app has been integrated with a novel service called the Greenhouse Model as a Service (GMaaS) that runs on the Matlab Production Server, in which greenhouse models are available for the estimation of indoor climate, crop production and irrigation values. The GMaaS option offers Cloud-based models for all of the greenhouses registered on the app, with no software or device dependence.
Target
The application is used by participants in the “Internet of Food and Farm 2020: Chain-integrated Greenhouse Production” project – a Horizon 2020 project. The main users of the application are family farms operating around 2 ha of land in Almeria, Spain. Almería is often referred to as the "European market garden" due to its 33 100 ha of vegetable production, of which 24 900 ha is carried out in Mediterranean greenhouses.
Business model
The project was developed with funding under the Horizon 2020 project.
Impact
The iVeg application allows farmers to adjust their irrigation schedules, fertilization regimes and other aspects of crop management to achieve higher yields and better quality crops, and to reduce their environmental impact. The iVeg application also enhances transparency and quality standards, and provides details of products and processes in every link on the supply chain, thus contributing to the standardization and interoperability of information.
Partners
University of Almería; COEXPHAL; ValorItalia
Four Betters
Better production
Better environment
