Irrigation technology increasingly important for water management
Monitoring and controlling the use of water through the use of sensors and software will become increasingly important for producers in Chile and other countries, according to David Berrios, commercial manager for Chile-based LemSystem.
Berrios, who is speaking at the Agricultural Water Summit on April 20, said in a news release that 70% of agricultural production depends on crop irrigation.
“We all agree that water is important, but almost no one measures it, and if they do, they measure badly,” Berrios said in the release. “We think that it’s a serious problem.”
By measuring more precisely, growers can reduce costs and make their operations more efficient and sustainable, in addition to improving their yields, Berrios said in the release.
It is important to be able to measure water consumption across all the farm through a network of sensors that can provide key information to the grower in real-time, he said in the release. Current technology offers a sophisticated and integrated telemetric system that can measure water levels and usage from the wells through all the irrigation canals and all other processes, according to the release.
He said there tends to be a stronger demand for the technology for high-value crops, such as avocados, blueberries, citrus, cherries and walnuts.
Berrios said LemSystem’s solutions are based on the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.
With technology, he said in the release that growers can see an average 10% increase in yields and about 30% reduction in water consumption.
“In Chile, there’s not really a shortage of water except for in some areas,” he said in the release. “Today, 84% of water is lost into the sea, and I think that a big part of the problem is that the water is badly managed."
In the northern region of Copiapo, an area that doesn’t have rivers, growers are well prepared for drought and are very good at managing water. In contrast, Berrios said in the release that water management in Chile’s central region is much less advanced.
