The agricultural sector in Jamaica faces major problems as farmers lose crops annually due to inclement weather conditions and unsustainable lands. Engineering students in the Department of Physics at The UWI, Mona are working to change this situation. Undergraduate student Ewan Pitter developed an intelligent hydroponic greenhouse system using a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), aimed at giving farmers greater control. The hydroponic greenhouse allows farmers to cultivate plants without using soil and to control growing conditions such as light, temperature, pH, and nutrients concentration. The variables that affect plant growth may be remotely monitored and controlled, eliminating the need for constant human presence.  Such monitoring is done via internet communication platforms and cell phones. 

This system will increase plant yield, reduce the cost of preparing land space for growing crops, reduce plant health risk, and reduce the risk of plants being damaged due to inclement weather conditions such as floods, frost, and hurricane.

Ewan’s project started as an undergraduate final year electronics engineering project and represents the drive of the engineering department to apply engineering innovations to solve some of our nation’s technical problems.  This project was placed first in its category during the National Innovation Competition 2012-13. It was also selected by the Faculty of Science and Technology as one of the research projects with high potential for commercialization.