Precision agriculture to save precious water

The agricultural sector accounts for 90 percent of the Kingdom’s water consumption. Consequently, the efficient use of the finite water resources in the Kingdom is essential for achieving agricultural sustainability and in protecting the sparse arable land in the country.
According to Khalid Al-Gaadi, director of the Precision Agriculture Research Chair (PARC) at King Saud University (KSU), PARC has been implementing applied research projects funded by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) to develop a strategy for the efficient utilization of water in the agricultural sector.
Precision agriculture (PA) is still a nascent science in this region and has been established by KSU, represented by PARC as the first initiative of its kind in the Middle East. This field of study explores the best practices in agriculture and how to optimally use seeds, water, fertilizers and pesticides, to avoid depleting these resources.
PA also helps farmers to optimize the use of various resources, resulting in greater agricultural and economic efficiency, in addition to contributing to environmental protection. The science depends on cutting edge technology to assess, manage and monitor spatial and temporal variability in soil properties and crop growth parameters. Some of the devices and the latest technology employed include remote sensing, geographic information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS), information and communication technologies, sensor technologies, wireless sensor networks, yield mapping and variable rate technologies.
Al-Gaadi said that PA research in farmers' participatory mode is being carried out in two commercial farms in Haradh and Al-Kharj regions, one of which belongs to the National Agricultural Development Company. The KSU, represented by PARC, along with NADEC, signed a memorandum of understanding in June 2011 to undertake collaborative research work. The PA research is carried out to implement two projects funded by KACST under National Plan for Science and Technology.
Al-Gaadi explained that constant dialogue with farmers and their involvement is necessary to successfully implement the projects and to drastically reduce the time taken to transfer the technology and information to them.
The farmers are still in charge of carrying out the agricultural operations, which is the reason why their participatory involvement in the experimental designs and their feedback on the research planning is so essential.
According to Al-Gaadi, the initial results of the study are highly promising. The results have indicated that water up to 20 percent (6260 m3 of water/ha/year) can be saved in alfalfa production and 30 percent (2280 m3 of water/ha/water) in wheat, without sacrificing crop yield.
At the national level, this translates to more than 775 million m3 of water per year saved for the cultivation of alfalfa spanning 123,837 hectares (ha) of land. In addition more than 439.5 million m3 of irrigation water will be conserved for a total area of 192,818 ha used to grow wheat.
The Precision Fertigation (PF) techniques resulted in the substantial conservation of irrigation water as well as saving diesel used to operate agricultural machinery.
These savings can effectively help farming enterprises increase their profitability and attain sustainability while protecting and preserving the environment.