Agricultural Engineers signal new opportunities for British manufacturers and farmers based on novel developments with sensor technology

Immense challenges face scientists and researchers in the agricultural sector  was  the key message from a lecture given by Dr Abdul  Mounem Mouazen,  presenting the first of a series of future farming lectures at Cranfield University organised by the Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE) .

Sustainable agriculture is of enormous interest to researchers and with the development of new technologies, there is considerable  potential to further optimise production with increasing precision, while taking into account the impact of production processes on the land and surrounding ecosystems, said Dr Mouazen.

Developments in the use of sensors are creating a whole new horizon of opportunities for controlling and managing agricultural production systems.  The technology can even be applied to individual plants but the big step comes in combining or fusing sensors.  This is particularly useful for more complex biological processes such as growing crops as opposed to monitoring straightforward physical factors such as temperature and speed.

But Dr Mouazen stressed the necessity for sensor research is now undeniable when taking into account issues such as food security, rising prices, increasing population, environmental protection, climate change and bio-fuels.

There needs to be a balance between theoretical and applied research.  Technologies such as sensor fusion systems need to be adopted but they must sit alongside more traditional farming practices, said Abdul.

As these new technologies find their way into practice, farmers will be able to manage the expensive fertilisers and the soil with even greater precision.  This will feed directly to the bottom line of the business and minimise environmental impacts.

Dr Mouazen a senior lecturer in Agriculture and Environmental Engineering at Cranfield University supports the IAgrE in its belief that agricultural engineering can and should be an influential force once more.

The vision is to combine cutting-edge sensor and system control technology with predictive modelling of the soil-plant-water system at field scales.  I guess you could call this second wave precision agriculture, concluded Dr Mouazen.

1. IAgrE is the professional body for scientists, technologists, engineers, academics, managers and students working in the landbased sector and has an international membership base.

2. As a licensed body of the Engineering Council (UK) and a founding Constituent Body of The Society for the Environment, IAgrE registers suitably experienced professionals as Chartered Engineers, Chartered Environmentalists, Incorporated Engineers and Engineering Technicians.

Dr Mouazens background is in the application of engineering principles to soil and water management, with specific applications in soil dynamics, tillage, traction, compaction, soil remediation and management.

Abdul graduated in Agricultural Engineering at the University of Aleppo in Syria and subsequently studied for a diploma of high studies (MSc) in horticulture at the University of Aleppo.  He also achieved a PhD in soil tillage machinery from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

He is an associate Editor of Soil & Tillage Research and has a strong track record of publishing high quality research papers.