Using Mobile Phones to Irrigate Crops

Farmers in South Africa are using cellphone-based technology to help decide when to irrigate crops. Indications are that the mobile-based initiative can reduce farmers’ irrigation costs by approximately €200/ha. The system, called My Canesim, uses automatic weather stations, the Internet and cellular technology to produce information about when to irrigate. Extrapolating information from real-time environmental data, My Canesim estimates the recent, current and future water balance, as well as the crop status and projected yield of a given plot. It then automatically generates and distributes simple irrigation advice by SMS to farmers’ mobile phones.

via Nubian