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Unfortunately, a significant amount of water is wasted during irrigation operations Despite research and technological progress, there is still much to be done. The causes of this wastage are many: water leaks in pipes, inefficient or antiquated irrigation systems, and excessive watering times that result in excess water that is harmful to both plants and soil.
Technological solutions to reduce water waste in agriculture already exist. Old pipes have been replaced with new PVC HDPE pipes, drip irrigation systems have been installed (where possible), and remote control systems allow irrigation systems to be automatically activated only when needed, in base to soil moisture data. Satellites are also increasingly being used, helping to provide useful information to optimize water use even on a large scale (providing water stress indices, for example).
Despite the advanced state of development of all these technological solutions, water waste in agriculture is still high. The cultural transformation needed to remedy the situation has not yet reached the entire agricultural sector.
This year (2022) of drought has kept us all on our toes and made the entire agricultural sector realize how important it is to use such a crucial resource efficiently. If years like this were repeated, farmers would become increasingly aware of the smart use of water in agriculture. But it will take time for everyone to become aware of the problem and for concrete actions to be implemented for the proper use of water in agriculture.
Why does it take so long to realize the importance of saving such a precious resource? One of the main reasons has to do with correctly perceiving the value of water and correctly quantifying its cost.
But what is the value of water? D'Odorico et al. (2020) sought to answer this question in an article titled "The Global Value of Water in Agriculture." The authors pointed out that putting a price on water could help make better decisions in terms of infrastructure investments and water use in general. However, water markets are rare, consequently prices only exist in a few areas of the world, making this a particularly daunting challenge.
The European Commission is moving in this direction. One of the most important innovations introduced by the EU Water Framework Directive is the introduction of a system of pricing: "Adequate water pricing acts as an incentive for the sustainable use of water resources and thus helps to achieve the environmental objectives under the Directive."
What we can expect in the future in Europe is a demand for better use of this resource through pricing.
Considering the challenges that agriculture is facing and will face in the future, xFarm has developed the Irrigation module to support farmers in managing water resources on the farm. The Irrigation module enables improved crop irrigation by increasing the efficiency of irrigation interventions, enabling farmers to irrigate only when, where, and when needed by combining crop needs with environmental data collected in the field. As a result, water use efficiency and end-product quality will increase, as well as substantial resource savings.
References
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2005835117
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-framework/info/intro_en.htm
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