Tuesday 29 / April / 2025
Muscat: Sultan Qaboos University, in partnership with the Ministry of Energy & Minerals and committee members which include bp Oman, CC Energy Development Oman, OXY Oman, Daleel Petroleum, OQ, and Petroleum Development Oman, launched the Jinan Tech project, which is a smart, IoT based remote monitoring and controlling system for sustainable greenhouses crop production in Oman.
This project focuses on designing, constructing, and optimising Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) structures to boost crop production and energy efficiency in various governorates of Oman.
The greenhouses construction will include three CEA designs, each equipped with sensors to monitor microclimate effects. The three designs include the traditional type of design used by most Omani farmers, a Med-Tech technology design, and a Hi-Tech equipped with smart IoT design. The first phase of the project focused on understanding the challenges faced by Omani farmers by conducting local community visits. They also explored the latest Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technology through international visits researching greenhouse construction designs. This facilitated the design of three greenhouses construction types, which will commence installation and construction work in the second phase of the project.
Additionally, as part of the project, the research team at Sultan Qaboos University aims to conduct training workshops to highlight the project's outcomes, targeting 200 participants, including school students, university graduates, farmers, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and other employees once the greenhouses are completed.
Hager Al Azri, CSR Advisor at the Ministry of Energy and Minerals commented, “This project reflects our priorities at the Ministry of Energy and Minerals and Oman Vision 2040 in optimising the utilisation of Oman’s natural resources and renewable energy available, contributing to our nation’s economic diversification. The project plays a vital role in introducing modern technologies and innovative solutions to our local communities and farmers to further enhance the farms’ efficiency and productivity.”
Dr. Yaseen Al Mulla, Jinan Tech’s project supervisor further added: “This project directly contributes to one of the main pillars in Oman’s vision 2040, which is food security, as it sets the ground fostering the production of the targeted crops. By utilizing the new technology such as IoT and WSN, the project outcome will also lead to reduced energy demand, reduced water and nutrient applications, enhanced maintenance and control of the crop cycle. This project intended to experiment with optimising technology development and promotion of CEA technology among farmers leading to improved production. This project will also create job opportunities for Omanis to work in this field during the implementation of the project and encourage SME start-ups in this field.”
