Smart Farming for rural smallholder farming is about finding affordable and clever ways of boosting crop production while using natural resources efficiently and without harming the environment.

That’s precisely what FAO’s “Smart Farming for the Future Generation” project is about.

The USD 3.4 million project, funded by the Government of the Republic of Korea, is helping dozens of rural families in Uzbekistan and Vietnam improve their agricultural production in greenhouses in ways that enable them to produce more food with less pesticides, less mineral fertilizers, less water, less labour and more safety.

Using sound scientific advice and evidence-based solutions, whether traditional or modern, the project is turning greenhouse farming into successful businesses, providing their owners with higher incomes and increasing employment opportunities for communities, as well as offering more diverse, affordable and safer food, all year round.

Water management was improved using drip irrigation systems consisting of electric water pumps, filters, water tanks and drip lines through which soluble nutrients are applied more efficiently, reaching the plants’ roots directly.

In addition, each beneficiary was given instruments to measure the quality of the water. According to tests, the water used for irrigation in all three pilot areas was found to have high pH levels. This is now being brought under control by adjusting fertilizer levels and adding special acids to the water.

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