Hamza-8/AI-Assisted-Rice-Freshwater-Shrimp-Automated-Hybrid-Aquaponics-System

A smart aquaponics system optimized for Egypt's environment and rice and fish species. # AI-Assisted-Rice-Freshwater-Shrimp-Automated-Hybrid-Aquaponics-System A smart aquaponics system optimized for Egypt's environment and rice and fish species. **1 Project Rationale** **1.1 Background** **Rice cultivation in Egypt** Rice is a major stable crop in Egypt and is primarily cultivated in the northern Nile Delta region. Key rice-producing governorates include Kafr El Sheikh, Beheira, Damietta, and Sharqia, where the water availability and soil conditions allow for large-scale production (SJP Tours, n.d.). The primary challenge with rice cultivation is its large water demand, considering Egypt’s water scarcity. Most farmers rely on the traditional flooding method for rice, where the fields are submerged for almost the whole season (SJP Tours, n.d.). This puts pressure on the limited water supply and sparks competition between sectors (agriculture, industry, households, etc.). The Egyptian government has been implementing policies to reduce rice cultivation areas and boost water-saving practices; however, managing food and water security remains an issue. In Hussein's (2021) assessment of water usage for rice irrigation across the nation, they report an average consumption of 6563 m3 per feddan, and estimate that rice cultivation consumed 7.9 billion m3 of water in 2020, roughly a third of total summer crop usage. Hussein (2021) also found that shifting to modern short and medium-duration rice varieties greatly reduces water consumption. **Water-saving rice irrigation method: Alternative Wetting and Drying (AWD)** Alternative Wetting and Drying (AWD) is a modern method for controlled rice irrigation designed to manage water usage while maintaining yields. It involves the flooding of fields to depths of about 3-5cm, then letting them dry until the water level reaches about 10-15cm below the soil surface, after which the field is reflooded (Mote et al.,2020). Despite the variance of AWD performance by soil and climate, it’s safe to say that it results …