The irrigation sector has a key role to play in ensuring food security in the current global context, marked by a changing geopolitical situation, climate change and the scarcity of water resources. Thus, agricultural irrigation is facing new challenges that mean irrigation associations will need to digitalize their processes. Initiatives such as Spain’s PERTE (Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan) to digitally transform irrigation water user associations, promoted by the European Next Generation EU funds, are an example of the widespread digital transformation that the sector is set to experience in 2024.
Therefore, irrigation water user associations are expected to implement holistic platforms that include remote control and decision support. Other new trends which are set to take root in the agricultural irrigation sector in 2024 include better water governance, the implementation of geographic information systems, remote sensing targeted at soil moisture, and improved energy efficiency.
Better water governance through monitoring
The first of the trends for 2024 in the digital transformation of agricultural irrigation is better water governance to improve the sustainable management of this precious resource. In response to the scarcity of water resources, growers will be looking to increase control over their water consumption through the monitoring of withdrawals and other public water resources (PWR).
Irrigation associations are obliged to effectively control the volumes of water used in withdrawals, returns and discharges to and from PWR, and to report this information to the competent authority.
The associations will require technologies such as remote reading and technological platforms that enable the connection and exchange of data with third parties, including interoperability with assets in the SARA network (Government Application and Network System) if they are to be able to duly report this data to the competent authorities (Directorate General for Water, water authorities, etc.). In addition, remote reading at plot level enables more accurate consumption information, faster leak detection, fraud control, demand forecasts as well as monitoring the amount of water allocated. This will lead to more responsible use of water and improve hydraulic, operational and energy efficiency in irrigation.
Implementation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Another trend for 2024 in agricultural irrigation is the implementation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in irrigation associations. These GIS can manage data from the different irrigation association management processes through a single tool and in a visually appealing way. This means that decisions can be made directly and more intuitively.
Integration with GIS also enables users to obtain plot information, such as their land registry references and the water inlet code which supplies it. Moreover, as the system is connected to the WMS service, this information is always up to date, is accessible from mobile devices and can be checked quickly and compared with the plots registered in the irrigation association, thus detecting possible discrepancies and correcting them at a later date. This point is of paramount importance in terms of water efficiency, since water allocations must correspond to the actual irrigation area.
In addition, these systems can connect to geospatial data services such as the WMS (Web Map Service) and the WFS (Web Feature Service), to check the cartography of the different public administrations in each region. For example, they can be integrated with layers of areas of special environmental protection, such as Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for birds, and Sites of Community Importance (SCIs), in Europe, as well as with nitrate-sensitive areas, flood zones, and with the digital terrestrial model and the national soil map.
Irrigation association assets can be georeferenced thanks to the GIS. Having this information about pipelines, nodes, infrastructures, hydrants, etc. in a single technological environment facilitates maintenance work, as it provides advance knowledge of the material needed to repair a breakage, avoiding unnecessary trips and, consequently, improving operational efficiency and reducing fossil fuel consumption. Plots with active irrigation can also be monitored at the time of the query and flow rates can be ascertained in real time. Similarly, the integration of the GIS framework in the management platform offers navigation within the map through the association’s management processes, as well as access to the synoptics of each of the irrigation facilities.
Remote sensing for monitoring and controlling soil moisture
Remote sensing will be an effective tool in 2024 for monitoring and managing agricultural areas. This technology brings comprehensive monitoring of crop development, facilitating the assessment of crucial aspects such as plant growth, the presence of water stress and variability in soil moisture. This level of detail provides valuable information for making informed decisions about agricultural practices and resource management.
In addition, time series data can be used to analyze changes in fields over time. Observing how conditions alter over time provides a historical perspective, as well as a solid basis for predicting and anticipating future patterns.
The availability of regular detailed information and over a period of time enables more accurate decision-making and more efficient and sustainable plot management.
Improving energy efficiency
The quest for energy efficiency will be paramount in 2024, in response to the climate change situation. It will therefore be another of the trends that will mark the agricultural irrigation sector this year. In this sense, the use of non-conventional energies will also be driven by technology.
Companies that are experts in the digital transformation of the water cycle will be able to provide irrigation associations with monitoring systems that can calculate energy ratios for different processes and analyze changes in consumption over different time periods and track them constantly. They can also display energy data for each asset in real time, such as the motor load factor, pump efficiency, and pumping rates. This detailed analysis delivers key information about the efficiency of the installation.
These monitoring systems can also be used to configure set-point values to detect deviations and trigger alarms when necessary.
In addition, the installation of solar plants as a non-conventional, sustainable energy source will be promoted as a way to enhance energy efficiency. The installation of floating solar panels on irrigation water storage reservoirs will also reduce water evaporation, diminish the proliferation of algae and sediment deposition, and boost the efficiency of the photovoltaic panels.
Digital platforms can integrate data from solar photovoltaic plants and provide tools to optimize their operation and production. For example, they can provide information about the renewable energy forecast for the following days and about power consumption, compared to the price of electricity in the analyzed period of time.
In short, the digital transformation of irrigation will bring major benefits to the agricultural sector in 2024 at a time when the use of water and energy resources needs to be optimized more than ever. Consumption control through monitoring, as well as the use of remote sensing, will bring more efficient use of water without compromising crop productivity, thus improving sustainability. The progressive implementation of GIS will increase the degree of control over irrigation association assets, facilitating their management and maintenance. If we add the integration of data from energy analyzers into an intelligent platform, the result will be an increasing number of irrigation associations that can make informed decisions, becoming more sustainable and efficient.
Idrica’s Water Technology Trends 2024 report provides a comprehensive list of trends for the industry, including agricultural irrigation.
