The improvement of water management in Andalusian agriculture has become a priority given the increasingly frequent periods of drought that the region faces. In response to this challenge, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development, through the Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training (IFAPA), has submitted the GestIAgua project to the call for grants from the Ministry of University, Research, and Innovation for the development of innovative solutions against drought, within the Andalusian Drought Plan program.
GestIAgua, which has been selected and allocated a budget of 350,000 euros for two years, emerges as a response to the demand of the Andalusian agricultural sector for solutions that optimize the available water resources in a context of drought and reduced irrigation allocations. It will develop innovative advisory tools based on experimentation, sensorization, and artificial intelligence techniques.
The project will offer specific solutions for rainfed and irrigated plantations of olive trees, nuts (almond, walnut, and pistachio), orange, vineyard, subtropical crops (avocado and mango) and berries (strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry), with the ultimate goal of optimizing irrigation application and soil management.
This initiative is structured into three modules, including the Aqua platform with real-time open data from Sensorized Pilot Plots (PPS) distributed throughout Andalusia using field sensors, remote sensing techniques, and information from the Andalusian Agroclimatic Information Network.
The second module focuses on developing advisory tools and decision support centered on irrigation scheduling and soil management using artificial intelligence techniques; while the third module refers to disseminating and transferring the knowledge generated in the project to the sector through innovative communication strategies, seminars, and workshops.
Open and easily accessible platform
The Aqua platform will provide a storage and visualization service for information at different scales in a completely open and easily accessible manner to achieve efficient use of water resources.
At a first level, it will integrate information from European Space Agency (ESA) satellites like Sentinel and crop characterization systems using images from NASA’s Landsat satellites. At a second level, high-resolution spatial information will be integrated using drones.
Additionally, data from the Andalusian Agroclimatic Information Network and information measured by a network of latest generation sensors will be available. To achieve this, a hundred supervised pilot plots (PSS) will be used, located in IFAPA centers and collaborative farms distributed throughout Andalusia.
The goal is to create a platform beyond the project that integrates all available information related to water management in Andalusia, with standardized protocols supervised by IFAPA to serve as a basis for using artificial intelligence in Mediterranean agriculture.
Three support tools
In the described pilot plots, optimized irrigation scheduling and soil management will be carried out based on the farm’s characteristics, available irrigation allocation, and information stored on the Aqua platform. Based on this, three types of decision support tools will be developed.
These tools will be specific to each crop based on information from the pilot plots; specific tools based on digital twins development including daily sensor data; as well as specific tools for each crop using soil water balance.
Lastly, in the third module, the project’s results transfer and dissemination program will involve direct participation from the sector focusing on software applications; working spaces with sector companies, farmers, and technicians; workshops for technical staff and farmers; as well as the tools generated in the project.
Timeline of actions
The project will conclude on December 31, 2026, with the expectation that the Aqua platform will be operational before this summer, the pilot plot network will be operational after the summer, and the first decision support tools will start before the 2026 irrigation season. Finally, the transfer program will begin in the summer of 2025 and extend until the project’s end.
The project partners, including IFAPA, IAS-CSIC, and the Genil-Cabra Irrigators Community, have already started coordination meetings for the selection of pilot plots, sensors, and communication networks to be implemented.