Challenge Overview: Agriculture

To advance smart and precision agricultural technologies, a holistic strategy incorporating Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) is crucial. These technologies empower farmers to refine production processes, elevate crop quality, and minimize expenses. IoT sensors capture essential data on soil conditions, enabling precise applications of fertilizers and pesticides. Robotics can undertake various tasks remotely, including planting, weeding, pruning, and harvesting. GPS and GIS facilitate accurate mapping and spatial analysis, contributing to informed decision-making. AI processes field images, manages fertilization and pest control, and identifies weeds and pests. Cloud-based farm management systems integrate data from IoT devices, employing big data analytics to optimize agricultural practices, enhance crop quality, and reduce costs. Blockchain enhances traceability, and remote technologies like drones cover expansive areas, collecting data and facilitating informed decision-making.

Smart agricultural machines can be developed for profitable crop production by utilizing robotics, ICT, and precision farming techniques. These machines can help farmers monitor crop health, adjust spraying/fertilizer ratios, and control pests through the use of drones and unmanned helicopters. Smart agriculture also involves the use of autonomous tractors, which can plant seeds, apply fertilizers, and harvest crops with precision and efficiency. The integration of satellite technology and sensors into agricultural machinery can provide real-time data about soil conditions, crop health, and other important metrics, allowing for optimized resource allocation and reduced environmental impact. The benefits of smart agriculture include increased productivity, reduced labor costs, improved yields, and increased farm profitability.

The agricultural sector, particularly the onion market, faces significant challenges due to fluctuations and uncertainties in demand and supply. These variations can lead to either surplus or shortage, affecting prices and stability in the market. The problem lies in the current inability to accurately predict these changes in demand and supply. This project aims to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-based forecast model specifically for the onion market. The model would utilize historical data, market trends, environmental factors, and consumer behavior to predict future demand and supply with greater accuracy. The challenge is to create a reliable, adaptive, and efficient AI model that can handle the complex variables influencing the onion market, ultimately leading to more stable pricing, reduced waste, and improved economic outcomes for both producers and consumers.

In Bangladesh, managing water resources efficiently is crucial due to the country’s frequent experiences of both water scarcity and flooding, driven by seasonal monsoons and climate change. Agriculture, vital for the nation and reliant on a steady water supply, faces challenges adapting to these extreme water conditions. The key challenge is to ensure consistent water availability, which calls for innovative solutions like advanced irrigation techniques, rainwater harvesting, and improved water storage. These measures must be sustainable, adaptable to changing climates, and supported by strong policies and community involvement, ensuring the resilience of both water resources and the agricultural sector.

In Bangladesh, a robust soil health management system is essential not only for sustaining agricultural productivity but also for reinforcing food security in the face of escalating challenges. The country’s agricultural sector, a base of its economy and a primary source of livelihood for a significant portion of its population, heavily relies on the health and fertility of its soils. Effective soil health management involves maintaining and enhancing soil fertility, structure, and biodiversity, which are fundamental for achieving higher crop yields and developing resilience against diseases and pests. Additionally, healthy soil plays a pivotal role in combating climate change. It acts as a significant carbon sink and enhances water retention capabilities, which is critical in managing extreme weather events like floods and droughts. However, the challenge lies in implementing sustainable soil management practices that address the unique agro-ecological conditions of Bangladesh, ensuring that these practices are both economically viable and environmentally sustainable. This necessitates a comprehensive approach that includes the development of innovative farming techniques, widespread education and training for farmers, and supportive government policies that encourage sustainable practices and provide necessary resources.

In Bangladesh, where the weather is often unpredictable and changing because of climate change, there’s a big challenge in growing food all year round. To deal with this, Greenhouse and Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) can be really helpful. These are ways of farming where you create a special environment for the plants, like in a greenhouse, where you can control things like the temperature and how much water the plants get. This is great because it protects the crops from bad weather, like too much rain, really hot days, or attacks from pests. The challenge is to set up these greenhouses and controlled environments in a way that works well in Bangladesh. This means making sure they’re not too expensive to build and run, and that they really do a good job of keeping the plants safe and healthy. By doing this, farmers can grow food all the time, no matter what the outside weather is like.

In a country like Bangladesh, where there are lots of people and the climate is changing, there’s a big problem with having enough water. Water is super important for growing food, but if it’s not used carefully, there might not be enough for everyone. The challenge is to use water in the best way possible for farming. This means making sure that the crops get just the right amount of water at just the right time. If farmers can do this, they can grow more food without wasting water. This is really important because it helps make sure that there’s enough water for both people and farms, even when there’s not a lot of rain or when it’s really hot and dry. So, the big task is to figure out how to use water in a smart way that helps grow lots of food but also saves as much water as possible.

Bangladesh faces a big challenge with its farming because of climate change. This country gets hit hard by things like rising sea levels, big storms called cyclones, and changes in when and how much it rains. All of these can really hurt farms and the crops they grow. Since a lot of people in Bangladesh rely on farming for their income, and because so many people need the food that these farms produce, it’s super important to find ways to keep farming even when the weather and climate make it tough. This means changing the way farming is done so that crops can survive things like too much water from floods, salty water from rising sea levels, or not enough rain during dry times. Figuring out how to do this is key to making sure that there’s always enough food for everyone in Bangladesh, no matter what the climate throws at them.

In Bangladesh, a lot of people eat pulses (like lentils, beans, and peas) as a big part of their diet. But there’s a problem: many people don’t get enough important minerals like zinc and iron, which are really needed for good health. So, there’s this big challenge to create special kinds of pulses that naturally have more zinc and iron in them. This can be done by breeding plants in a special way or by changing their genes. The goal is to help people get more of these minerals just from eating their regular food. For doing so, these new fortified pulses must actually give enough of these minerals in a way that people’s bodies can use. Then, the plants still need to grow well and be good for farmers to plant, just like regular pulses. And it’s also important to make sure that growing these new kinds of pulses is safe for the environment. This challenge is all about using science to make basic food more nutritious, which can really help improve people’s health in Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, there’s a big challenge in keeping food stored properly so it doesn’t go bad or get wasted. A lot of food gets spoiled because it’s not stored in the right conditions, like the right temperature or humidity. To fix this, there’s a need for smart storage technologies. These are special ways of storing food that can automatically check and change the conditions inside, like cooling things down or keeping the air dry, to keep the food fresh for longer. The system must be something that people can afford and use easily, no matter where they are in Bangladesh or what kind of weather they have. These smart storage solutions are really important because they can help make sure that more food gets to the people who need it, without getting spoiled along the way. This can help stop so much food from being wasted and make food security better in Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, the substantial food wastage during the packaging phase highlights the urgent need for smart packaging solutions, particularly those employing biobased and biodegradable polymers. Addressing this issue involves developing packaging that not only reduces spoilage but is also environmentally sustainable. The challenge is to enhance local knowledge and application of such smart packaging technologies to effectively curb post-harvest losses and improve overall food preservation. Solving this problem is vital for enhancing food security, minimizing waste, and promoting sustainable practices in the agriculture sector.

The challenge we face is developing a sustainable system to recycle and purify ablution water, which is used for religious washing practices, into clean, potable water. In many regions, especially in areas with water scarcity, the reuse of ablution water presents an opportunity to conserve this vital resource. However, the process of converting used ablution water into safe drinking water involves overcoming significant technical, health, and social hurdles. The system must effectively remove contaminants and ensure the water meets safety standards for drinking, all while being energy-efficient, cost-effective, and culturally acceptable. This problem statement focuses on finding innovative and feasible solutions to treat and repurpose ablution water, contributing to water conservation and addressing the pressing need for accessible clean water in areas with limited water resources.
How to develop Pest and Disease Management system: Managing pests and diseases in crops is a really big deal, especially in places where lots of people depend on farming to make a living. When pests or diseases damage crops, it can be bad news for farmers because they might not have as much to sell, and that can affect how much money they make. Also, if there’s a lot of pests, farmers might use more chemical pesticides to try to get rid of them. But those chemicals can be harmful to the environment and to people’s health. So, the challenge is to find ways to keep crops healthy and fight off pests and diseases without relying too much on these chemicals. This means looking for methods that are safer for the environment and for people, like using natural pest controls or different ways of farming that help prevent diseases. Doing this can help make sure that farming stays a good way for people to earn a living, and it’s also better for the planet and everyone’s health.

There’s a big challenge in using special machines called IoT-based smart dryers to keep food good and nutritious while drying it. These dryers use the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, which means they can be really smart and precise in how they dry food. The goal is to dry foods like fruits and vegetables in a way that keeps all the important nutrients in them, stops them from going bad, and makes them last longer without needing a fridge. This is really helpful in places where people don’t have easy access to refrigeration and where a lot of food gets wasted. But to make this work, these smart dryers need to be set up just right. They must dry the food effectively without using too much energy, and they also need to be easy for people to use. Developing this kind of system is important because it can really improve the way we keep food fresh, especially in areas where keeping food from spoiling is a big problem.

Bangladesh often faces really tough weather like big floods and sometimes droughts where it doesn’t rain for a long time. This is a huge problem for farming, which is super important in Bangladesh for both the economy and making sure everyone has enough food to eat. The weather can destroy a lot of crops, and that means farmers lose money and people might not have enough to eat. To deal with this, it’s really important to have crops that can survive these extreme weather conditions. These are called resilient crops, and they’re tough enough to handle lots of water from floods or survive when there’s not much rain. By growing these kinds of crops, farmers can still get a good harvest even when the weather is bad. This helps make sure that there’s always enough food for everyone and helps the farmers keep earning money. So, the big challenge is finding and growing these resilient crops to adapt to the changing climate in Bangladesh.

Creating a special aeroponics system to grow more potatoes and sweet potatoes is a big challenge in our country, where we don’t have a lot of land for farming. Aeroponics is a way of growing plants in the air, without soil, and it uses less space and water. This could be a great solution for two big problems we face: illegal price increases of food and not having enough food for everyone. With a system like this, we could grow a lot of potatoes and sweet potatoes in a small area. This would help make sure that there’s enough food for people and help stop prices from going up too much. But to make this work, we need to figure out the best way to grow these plants using aeroponics. This includes making sure the plants get the right amount of water and nutrients, and that they can grow well in different weather conditions. It’s about finding the perfect balance for everything the plants need to grow big and healthy. This way, we can use new technology to grow more food in a smart and sustainable way.

Bangladesh has a really big population, which means there’s not much land available for traditional farming. This makes it hard to grow enough food for everyone. One way to solve this problem is through vertical farming. This is a different way of farming where plants are grown in stacked layers, often inside buildings. It’s like having many small farms on top of each other, which means you can grow a lot of food in a very small space. This is really useful in a place like Bangladesh where land is scarce. Vertical farming also has another big advantage: it can protect crops from the weather. Bangladesh often faces floods and cyclones, which can destroy crops grown in the traditional way. But with vertical farming, since the crops are grown inside and in controlled environments, they’re much safer from these climate-related problems. The challenge is to set up these vertical farms and make them work well so that they can provide enough food for the country’s people.