By: Stuart Kite
Ingenium
Waleed Sawan - Drip - A Precision Irrigation System for the Developing World
Photo Credit
Youth Science Canada
Waleed Sawan
Waleed Sawan - London, ON - Oakridge Secondary School
Project: Drip - A Precision Irrigation System for the Developing World
Grade 11 Student Waleed has quite the resume already. In addition to his science fair successes (three medals at CWSF), he is a research assistant at Agriculture Canada, COO at Skillsphere and the co-founder at Whiz Kids, a program that provides mentorship and equipment for STEM oriented projects by students with learning disabilities, among other projects.
His current project is a low-cost and highly efficient precision irrigation system for farmers in developing nations. Using online API’s and data repositories, key points of data are shown to the farmer in real time. It will provide the crop’s current and future irrigation needs along with recommendations on how to optimize irrigation practices, leading to better use of scare resources, create a sustainable farm and improve crop yield.
The system is not only low-cost, but comprehensive and easy to install, making it more accessible to farmers in developing nations. A three-month long pilot where comparisons will be taken from the Drip system and a Basic Water Schedule is scheduled to run with Agriculture Canada in June 2018.
Further reading:
Stuart Kite
Coop Student from Algonquin College's Journalism Program
