System Being Developed To Enhance Water Productivity, Soil Management

Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications is funding a programme to develop sustainable irrigation management information system which would enhance water productivity and soil management.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Aug, 2018 ) :Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunications is funding a programme to develop sustainable irrigation management information system which would enhance water productivity and soil management. This proposed intelligent system would use agro-economic model for an effective reallocation strategy, official sources told here Thursday.

The project, called Sustainable Irrigation Management Information System would not only help uplift living standardof farmers but also improve crop production and reduce water wastage.

Funded through Ignite, a subsidiary of the Ministry, the programme is being executed by University of Agriculture, Faisalabad in collaboration with Telenor Pakistan, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and Punjab Irrigation Department. The estimated budget of the project is Rs.

18.7 million.

Giving further details of the project, official sources on Thursday said the System would use microwave signals information of telecommunication networks to estimate climatic parameters, and optimizing water productivity.

This System will allocate water based on both flat and variable rates for optimum water productivity.

Measurement of precipitation is based on fact that the raindrops on microwave link path attenuate the signal. Hence, a decrease in received signal level generally indicates an increase of rainfall intensity.

Underground sensors integrated with an internet of Things (IoT) network will continuously assess ground moisture. With precise, real-time measurement of climatic data and ground water content, theproposed system would accurately estimate actual irrigation water demand in field.