Potato Power: Ongoing Philanthropic Collaboration Elevates Research in Sustainable Agriculture

credit: GILLES MINGASSON/ABC/GETTY image

Ahmad Al-Mallahi is a professor of agricultural engineering and sensing technologies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, and he's spent the past five years developing technology that could make it a lot easier for potato farmers in that part of the country to not only grow more potatoes, but also save money on labor and fertilizer, reports the CBC.

His latest project is a partnership with McCain Foods, one of Canada's largest potato processors, as well as Potatoes New Brunswick, a group that advocates for sustainable potato farming.

Al-Mallahi's goal is to develop machines and equipment with precise operations to optimize farm output while producing food.

"After five years, we created three projects that have resulted in prototypes that were deployed in the field and demonstrated to key stakeholders," Al-Mallahi says in a press release.

"In fact, consistently demonstrating our developments proved to be very effective in showing the actual applicability of the research in the field."

One of the projects Al-Mallahi and his team are working on is a potato-sensing device that combines GPS technology with soil sensors, which would allow farmers to not only grow more potatoes, but also save money on fertilizer and labor, says the press release.

McCain Foods' global director of agriculture sustainability says the company Read the Entire Article

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