After more than a year of serious research, we are glad to announce that the first installation of ONDO in South Africa is already in progress, thanks to our partner for SA Timset Consult (Pty) Ltd. What makes us even more content is that the installation is at the heart of a major agri-innovation project aimed at demonstrating the potential and benefits of farming automation!
The project is already developing in the very strategic location of Camperdown, KwaZulu-Natal. The area has received a lot of local attention and is seeing massive development in industrial, logistical and agriculture sectors, with new road infrastructure, warehouses and farm plots. It is also conveniently positioned between Durban and Peitermaritzburg along the N3 Freeway.
The agri-innovation project, the key investor in which is the Innovative Farming Advancements organisation, owned by Maleshen Konar Pillay “МК”, is aimed at allowing farmers as well as students in agriculture to get practical knowledge of farming automation solutions, and see for themselves the benefits reaped by using them – in terms of savings in all major resources – water, energy, fuel, human resources, savings from human error, and increased quantity and quality of the crop yield. In pursuit of this goal, the centre will hold regular training seminars and practical workshops with both farmers and students, becoming a true Farming Innovation Hub.
The project will involve the set up of a fully functional farming complex where ONDO’s advanced agri-tech equipment will be used to remotely manage and control, in an automated manner, the irrigation, precise fertigation and climate control processes in the farm. The 20 hectares complex will consist of 20 tunnel greenhouses with vegetables, open fields with vegetables, an orchard, a park and a dam for irrigation needs. The process automation will be even further improved and precise thanks to the integration of a monitoring system with numerous soil moisture sensors, and a weather station with local weather forecast and retrieval of real-time sensor data for the local environmental parameters.
We are proud that ONDO’s partner for South Africa – Timset Consult (Pty) Ltd – has not only committed to delivering and setting up the entire ONDO installation for this project, but will also assist with and support all project activities until the full project completion.
“A system like ONDO that automates some of the key farming processes can be very efficient in a country like South Africa, which feeds a big part of the continent and also exports agricultural produce for over 3 billion USD. Despite the fact that some regions of the country have a very well developed agricultural sector, in the majority of those there is absolutely no technological solution used. For us it is essential to create a successful model for partnership between the business and the educational institutions, and thus also convince the local authorities to support our effort to digitally transform the agricultural sector, which would open completely new perspectives for the agricultural development of the continent.” – said Anton Samsonov, CEO of Timset Consult (Pty) Ltd.
We will keep you updated as work on this agri-innovation project progresses. We are excited and looking forward to seeing it take shape!
