Harnessing Digital Technologies for Smarter Water Management in Agriculture 2025

FIGURE 4 Building blocks for agricultural water resilience Key challenge: Lack of accessible, high-quality public data. -Build a multi-source data collection system -Ensure accuracy & consistency -Create standardized data-sharing frameworks -Improve interoperabilityExample Kenya Agricultural Data-Sharing Platform enables real-time access to water, crop and weather data for farmers.1 Key challenge: Weak internet infrastructure in remote farming areas. -Deploy LPWAN1 & satellite-based IoT networks -Adopt edge computing for offline analytics -Invest in rural broadband expansion & cloud integration -Encourage public-private collaborations for last-mile connectivity2 Example Edge computing in India’s irrigation projects allows real-time AI decisions without constant internet reliance. Key challenge: Low adoption due to lack of technical knowledge. -Develop hands-on digital literacy programmes -Create mobile-friendly training modules -Establish farmer-led knowledge-sharing groups -Integrate advisory services into public agricultural programmesExample Ethiopia’s national soil & agronomy data-sharing policy integrates AI recommendations into farmer training. 3Key challenge: High cost of IoT sensors & digital solutions. -Introduce water credit mechanisms -Develop shared infrastructure models -Expand public-private financing programmes -Scale-up modular, affordable IoT solutions 4Example PepsiCo’s Precision Conservation Management programme funds irrigation tech for farmers in Nebraska.Establish data infrastructure for smart agriculture Lay the digital foundation for data-driven water management.Expand connectivity in rural areas Ensure seamless digital communication & data flow across farms. Upskill farmers to leverage digital technologies Build farmer capacity to effectively use smart water management tools.Make smart agriculture affordable & scalable Reduce financial barriers & drive widespread adoption of water-smart solutions.Building blocks to achieve water resilience in agriculture Note: 1. LPWAN stands for Low-Power Wide-Area Network, a type of wireless communication technology designed for long-range, low-data-rate communication between IoT devices. Harnessing Digital Technologies for Smarter Water Management in Agriculture 20