Dr. Hadi Jaafar speaks at the Berytech Agri-Food Innovation Days AFID 2023
Sustainable Agriculture Production: Technology For A Better Future
AFID is a 2-day yearly stop with 30+ speakers & 15+ business support programs. AFID2023 is in partnership with QOOT Cluster, co-funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Lebanon and ENI CBC MED with the support of the Italian Trade Agency (ITA).
In the fourth edition of the Agri-Food Innovation Days (AFID) 2023 organized by Berytech, Dr. Hadi Jaafar contributed as a panel speaker on the topic of ‘Sustainable Agriculture Production: Technology For A Better Future’. The panel was held on May 24, 2023 at Le Royal Hotel in Beirut.
Berytech is an ecosystem for entrepreneurs, providing a dynamic environment for the creation and development of startups and SMEs, fostering innovation, technology and entrepreneurship in Lebanon.
The panel was moderated by Kassem Jouni, Program Policy Officer at the World Food Program (WFP), and brought together Dr. Hadi Jaafar, Associate Professor and Chairman at the Department of Agriculture at FAFS, AUB, Aline Bsaibes, Entrepreneur at Agtech Expert, and Patricia Hakim Massamiri, Founder and Principal Consultant at DDD Consulting (Distill, Discover, Design). The event gathered prominent figures in the agrifood industry with over 2,500 participants including leaders, corporations, entrepreneurs, farmers, startups, investors, researchers, and visionaries, providing a platform for networking, knowledge sharing, pitching ideas, investment opportunities, and exploring groundbreaking agrifood innovations.
Dr. Hadi Jaafar presented AgSAT, the world’s first mobile application that optimizes food production by calculating and forecasting crop water requirements in near real-time by using remote sensing technology. Dr. Jaafar discussed the pivotal role of AgSAT in empowering farmers and water managers across the globe to optimize their irrigation techniques amidst the challenges of climate change and water scarcity. Smart irrigation technologies such as AgSAT can take the guesswork out of irrigation based on data-driven recommendations.
AgSAT garnered significant attention as it was showcased to an audience of over 2,500 participants, including farmers from Bekaa and Akkar, as well as farmholders. The team delivered a thorough and in-depth explanation of the application’s functionalities, ensuring participants understood how to navigate and harness its capabilities for precise field irrigation.
