The Virtual Irrigation Academy: Helping Farmers Keep Their Thumbs Green, One Plant at a Time
Even those taking care of simple houseplants know how complicated it can be to gauge how much, and how often, to water plants. Scaled up to the agricultural level, it’s a global problem for farmers. How much water is enough, especially since many regions are facing water scarcity? Giving plants more water than they need leaches nutrients out of the soil, wastes energy for pumping, and causes environmental problems such as waterlogging and salinity. The Virtual Irrigation Academy (VIA) is testing a big idea: what if farmers had access to streamlined information about whether their crops were thirsty or not?
When farmers have simple, accurate, and actionable information, they are empowered to make better decisions about their individual water use and – perhaps even more importantly – the allocation of water within their community. Smallholder farms have used VIA data to discuss water usage in town hall meetings. Improved water use leads to improved crop yields, increased income, better nutrition and food security, and the reduction of conflict over water within communities. Perceived scarcity over water fuels conflict, which undermines attempts to equitably govern and share water. Growing more food with less water is firstly a people problem. As such, the premise behind the Australia-based VIA is that by providing an information system that links farmers with higher-level stakeholders who create and manage the systems in which they operate, VIA can transform the irrigated agriculture sector in low- and middle-income countries.
In order to do this, VIA has developed a soil water and solute monitoring system, called the Chameleon, designed specifically to fit the smallholder irrigation sector. The initiative claims to have developed a world-first soil water sensor that is buried in the ground and attached to a light, showing blue when the plants have plenty of water, green when things are okay, and red when they need a drink. This sensor gives a measurement of soil suction which is related to the stress experienced by a plant. Unlike a water content reading, the interpretation is independent of soil type. The data from the Chameleon sensor can be collected manually, through an App, or with a Wi-Fi enabled reader.
VIA’s focus is the smallholder irrigation sector, where there is a long history of institutional failure. Their work is currently implemented in South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Australia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and India, partnering with governments, research institutions, NGOs, and private sector organizations. Since its implementation, VIA has seen impressive results. According to the initiative, surveys of thousands of farmers who have used the products report that 71% saved time, 60% improved on-farm income, and 49% improved off-farm income. More specifically, a study of 183 farmers in Tanzania reported that 75% of users increased yield and 90% of users reduced water use. The same study of 175 farmers in Malawi reported 66% of users increasing yield and 71% reducing water use. Impressively, 41% of users report reduced conflict over water.
But there’s nothing better than hearing directly from the farmers themselves. “Thanks to an introduction to upland crops and the Chameleon card, I was able to continue farming on my paddy land for 4 months in the dry season,” one farmer in Vietnam stated. “Otherwise I would have to find a part-time job elsewhere.”
Learn more about The Virtual Irrigation Academy.
Written by Sarah Souli
Photos provided by The Virtual Irrigation Academy
