Israel is marketing its new digital irrigation system with an ultimate aim of helping farmers cut down on water waste according to the Agriculture Ministry.
This system tells farmers how much water to use based on the most accurate weather information and will save growers unnecessary water costs while preventing produce damage.
A simple web interface allows wine producers and amateur grape growers to use data from the Ministry’s own weather stations and is tailored to gather data based on conditions in each area. This accuracy aims to prevent wasting water.
The system sends WhatsApp alerts to the vintners and connects directly to the irrigation systems to order the precise amount of water.
Growers enter data such as location, grape varieties, desired level of wine quality, and the number of dunams.
Also, the grower will provide the frequent watering frequency every day, every week and even every two weeks. All this data will be stored in the system.
Depending on the data entered and the evaporation data updated in the system daily, the system will calculate for the grower the exact amount required to achieve the best results.
The system will also collect for the grower the water usage data for irrigation purposes so that the grower can know at each stage how much watering to do according to the time frame he has set.
Agriculture Minister Oded Forer stressed: “Investment in innovation, development and research is an investment in our future.
Precise agriculture, rich in knowledge and technology is the ultimate solution to the climate crisis and the promotion of food security at the national level.
Through it we can preserve and even improve the capabilities of local agriculture, produce resistance to weather challenges, and establish sustainable Israeli agriculture with a minimum of environmental damage.”
