Commission introduces initiative to modernize irrigation systems technology
Headline: The National Irrigation Technification Program: Boosting Agricultural Efficiency and Water Sustainability
The federal government has launched the National Irrigation Technification Program, a new initiative aimed at improving water management and irrigation efficiency in agriculture. The program, supported by financing from institutions like MIDAGRI and the Agroperú Fund, aims to produce more food with less water resources.
The National Irrigation Technification Program is a key component of the National Hydrological Plan 2024-2030, a comprehensive plan headed by the National Water Commission (Conagua). The plan includes a series of technical actions such as training producers, changing varieties and crops, and more rational use of water resources.
To achieve its goals, the program will implement advanced irrigation technologies and tools for better water management. These include the use of satellite data, AI-based monitoring, and performance assessment frameworks that help in diagnosing irrigation system efficiency. Incentive mechanisms, like those from PNIA, will be used to encourage adoption among smallholder farmers and irrigation districts.
Expected results by 2025 include improved water use efficiency in agriculture, better irrigation system performance, enhanced water quality through wastewater treatment and reuse, and robust decision-making supported by advanced monitoring technologies. The program also aims to understand and quantify the impact of irrigation technification on water savings and crop yields through the use of tools such as the Irrigation Performance Assessment Tool (IPAT) and satellite-based monitoring.
In a recent development, irregular and illegal water extraction is set to be stopped due to the regularization of water concessions. Conagua has already regularized 75% of water concessions in the last eight months.
Julio Berdegué Sacristán, the Secretary of Agriculture, emphasised that water is a human right and a common good, and that water resources are a matter of national security. The Secretary also called for compliance with the Socially Responsible Agave Agreement and participated in a forum with governors, legislators, and officials from the water sector. The forum was attended by the governors of Jalisco and Querétaro, Pablo Lemus and Mauricio Kuri, respectively.
The investment for the technification of 200,000 hectares is expected to be 60,000 million pesos. The plan includes lining canals, installing gates, automating telemetry systems, and adapting drip and sprinkler irrigation. However, no new investment or technification plans for irrigated land were discussed in the current paragraph.
It is important to note that 76% of water is currently allocated to food production, and half of that amount is wasted without generating a single kilogram of food. The National Irrigation Technification Program is a significant step towards addressing this inefficiency and ensuring a sustainable future for agriculture in Peru.
[1] Irrigation Performance Assessment Tool (IPAT): https://www.fao.org/land-water/en/topic/irrigation/subtopics/ipat/ [2] Satellite-based monitoring: https://www.fao.org/land-water/en/topic/irrigation/subtopics/satellite-monitoring/
Note: This article has been generated by a model and may contain minor inaccuracies or errors. It is always a good idea to double-check facts and figures before using them in any official capacity.
- The National Irrigation Technification Program, aimed at boosting agricultural efficiency and water sustainability, will utilize the Irrigation Performance Assessment Tool (IPAT) to understand and quantify the impact of irrigation technification on water savings and crop yields.
- As part of the National Hydrological Plan 2024-2030, health-and-wellness programs focused on nutrition may be implemented alongside advanced science and technology initiatives, such as satellite-based monitoring and AI-based monitoring, to ensure a sustainable future for agriculture in Peru.
