Easier watering decisions
With ever-growing populations and increasing food production, water available for irrigation is becoming scarcer. EU policies and regulations require Member States to recover the full cost of water services from consumers, including environmental costs. The EU-funded ENORASIS (Environmental optimization of irrigation management with the combined use and integration of high precision satellite data, advanced modeling, process control and business innovation) project aimed to develop an irrigation decision-support system (DSS). Work goals involved producing, testing and validating the platform and components. Partners achieved project goals, resulting in a DSS that helps farmers monitor water usage and to irrigate only as needed. Furthermore, the system equips water management organisations with tools supporting forecasting and management of water availability. Such tools help organisations meet demand and charge farmers depending on motive. Highlights of the development work included creation of a system combining satellite observations and wireless field sensors into an accurate rainfall prediction model. The model draws on weather and crop characteristics' information to produce daily irrigation advice. Data are sent to farmers via the internet or mobile devices. Farmers can use the information to schedule irrigation in conjunction with other farming activities, while also monitoring water consumption and costs. Water agencies can use the system's data to estimate pressures on water reservoirs and set prices as drivers for sustainable irrigation. Secondly, the system permits agencies to set prices reflecting the true costs of water, in accordance with EU policy. Technical achievements included an extensive list of tools, algorithms and modules. In particular, the team developed friendly system user interfaces for web browsers, mobile devices and geographic information system applications. The system was tested using two cultivation periods, in five locations, for nine crops and under various operational circumstances. The system performed effectively against key criteria. Work yielded six major papers, plus numerous conference and workshop presentations. The ENORASIS project's DSS system helps farmers and water management organisations manage irrigation in compliance with EU regulations. The work optimises use of an important resource, bringing social and environmental benefits.
Keywords
Irrigation, water, environmental, decision-support system, farmers, water management
