Electronic application for flexible irrigation at rural ... - Newsbeast.gr

An electronic application for agriculture, which aims to “equip” farmers with accurate and updated recommendations irrigation for optimum water use and crop productivity would occur formally at an international meeting in Kavala .

As the AMPE, this electronic application called FIGARO and is an innovative international project with European funding, which began field testing a new innovative irrigation system precision level rural culture, while in nine European countries.

The initial results of the project and the software application created will be officially presented at the meeting of the project partners, Kavala, from 3 to 7 June 2013. In the context of this meeting included a visit to the Municipality Abdera, where the pilot farming project, which monitors the Department of Environmental Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace.

During the visit will become and system demonstration both project partners, and the relevant territorial local government agencies and local producers. The online application will be tested simultaneously in Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.

support the dissemination of project results locally and in policy proposals to extend the application of irrigation precision expressed through statements to ANA-MPA mayor of Kavala and president of the Regional Association of Municipalities of East Macedonia and Thrace (PAE AMTH) Kostis Simitsis, noting that the inefficient use of water resources in agriculture threatens not only the viability of the primary sector and overall economic growth.

On his part, the mayor Abdera and vice FTI I-AM Claus Tsolakides featured conducting field tests as a “important milestone to the efforts of FIGARO to develop a innovative system that will improve irrigation management for increasing of productivity in water-intensive crops».

How works the FIGARO

The new system FIGARO incorporates a number of computational tools in order to provide a level rural farming a decision support system for farmers. The components of this model system include an advanced program decision support software for data direction in the system, a development model crops developed by the World Organization for Agriculture (FAO), sensors that monitor plant growth and moisture ground resolution satellite imagery, weather stations and cameras and specialized prediction algorithm.

The system collects from the environment and the culture data, which feeds agronomic models and provide accurate and reliable recommendations about how and when farmers should irrigate.

Who participates in the program

The FIGARO, is an international partnership of 17 different organizations from eight countries, which in finance of the General Directorate Research of the European Union focuses in developing new precision technologies for improve the management of irrigation, with purpose the increase of productivity on water-intensive crops.

In the corporate shape include eight university and research institutes, seven SMBs with high specialization how in issues irrigation Precision, the World Organisation Agriculture (FAO), while the Regional Union Municipalities Eastern Macedonia – Thrace constitutes the unique partner that originates by Local Authorities.