In Egypt, AgriCan’s robots make farming smarter, one field at a time
Where once workers would toil under the heavy heat, sleek, wheeled robots glide silently between rows of strawberry plants on Abdel Rahman Abdel Karim’s farm in Egypt’s Nile Delta. Mechanical arm rise and swivel, releasing a fine mist of chemicals with pinpoint accuracy onto the leaves below.
In 2023, when Abdel Karim was battling a severe infestation of powdery mildew and needed an immediate remedy, these robots became a lifeline.
“It was the first time we saw robots outside of the internet,” he told TechCabal. “They sprayed pesticides quickly and with precision, something that would have taken human labor much longer and with less accuracy.”
Each year, around the world, an average of 10 to 28 percent is lost to agricultural pests, driving a global reliance on herbicides and insecticides. These chemicals, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), are among the leading causes of fatal self-poisoning in low- and middle-income countries.
In 2015, Salem Ghanam, then a young engineer, was hospitalized in a rural Egyptian province. Bedridden for days, he encountered dozens of farmers suffering from a number of respiratory ailments, all sparked by excessive pesticide exposure. Years later, tasked to come up with an AI-driven innovative solution while studying for his senior year, Ghanam recalled the plight of these farmers.
“I realised Egypt has a serious problem with the uncontrolled use of pesticides, which can cause cancer,” he explained. “Farmers often don’t wear protective gear due to a lack of awareness, and because spraying usually happens in the summer, the heat makes wearing such equipment unbearable.”
Motivated by this, Ghanam gathered a team of university peers and experts to develop precision pesticide-spraying devices, and what began as a student project grew into a full-fledged agritech startup, and in 2020, AgriCan was born.
AgriCan leverages robotics and smart technologies to boost crop yields and quality by cutting pesticide use and improving crop monitoring. Initially focused on drones, the company shifted in 2022 to ground-based robots equipped with AI and Internet of Things systems. The robots, using cameras and data analytics, would diagnose plant diseases and deliver targeted pesticide doses reducing waste and environmental impact.
Structural barriers
AgriCan’s mission unfolds against a backdrop of deeply rooted challenges. Many Middle Eastern and African countries remain reliant on rudimentary or outdated agricultural techniques, in stark contrast to countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which have advanced in areas such as vertical farming and AI-driven agriculture. Yet, much of the region lags behind, slow to adopt sustainable and productivity-enhancing technologies.
“The issue stems from the dominance of smallholder farmers in Egypt, who rely on traditional practices due to limited financial resources,” UN expert on agricultural sustainability Mohammed Ali Faheem explained. “Additionally, there’s a general lack of technological literacy among farmers, leading to hesitation in adopting new tools.”