The second session on the topic ‘irrigation automation’ was truly mind blowing just as the previous one. Three experts share their journey learning and understanding of the subject.
A question was raised at the end of the session but I think that question was the driving force of the entire discussion. The question was ‘will there be no more people who work on the farm in 10 to 15 years?’
After a quick introduction it was recognised that everyone mostly has coconut and betel nut farms on the lines of which Ramya Akka shared an easy technique of mulching to have effective irrigation along with the right number of fertilisers dispensed over a long time. The mulching must be done around the area of the coconut farm in rows and columns, then the drip irrigation dispenses water in the mulch. This type of mulching can preserve the soil strength and the amount of water used too. As the water doesn't evaporate very easily, and it soaks the mulching completely., retaining moisture.
Next Mr Benjamin Raja shared his journey in irrigation automation. He did extensive research in different countries and their farming techniques. The point that bothered him was Why is India having very low yield with a lot of wastage even though there is a larger area for agriculture. He said the three golden rules to effective farming are
1 To maintain as water balance in soil
2 Irrigate recording to the plant farmed
3 to follow rule number 1 and 2 properly
He also talked about sub-surface irrigation to irrigate without the drastic changes in weather. He expressed his concern that the automation of irrigation systems must be done by using the right sensors at the right time. The design of the irrigation system is a basic and fundamental need for effective farming. This ensures that all the resources are used completely without any people monitoring it. The system must work according to the climate conditions and weather forecast.
The last speaker Mr Dhanasekar had highlighted the problems in drip irrigation and what it actually is. After his sharing many farmers identified that they are actually using tap irrigation and not drip irrigation. The simple explanation he gave was that drip irrigation has a smaller amount of water dispensed but it is done over a large amount of time. While the tap irrigation is done in a shorter time period but larger amounts of water are released.
The availability of water, current and motor capacity are features in any kind of irrigation. The management of these resources are the result for effective irrigation.
He explained elaborately about the service is done by Mobitech (an Indian irrigation automation company) from the switching on of the motor with a missed call to controlling the entire farm on an app. After his explanation all the farmers were desperate to know solutions to the problems they are facing on the farm.
Focused on the future technologies, the session was very fast-moving with many clarifications. Overall, irrigation automation is a very important topic every farmer must be aware of in order to manage the farm in the long run.
Well, nicely written
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