Operating Group: Smart Almond

Increased irrigation efficiency. The technology developed in the project will allow farmers to schedule irrigation more efficiently, which should translate into reduced water waste and better use of available water resources. This milestone will be measured by calculating the kilograms of kernels per cubic meter of water applied. Increased almond productivity. The improvement in irrigation efficiency should also lead to increased crop productivity and is therefore expected to have a positive impact. This milestone will be measured as the quantity of almonds produced per unit area, also taking into account quality parameters such as size and number of unopened hulls. Reduction in energy and water costs.

The technology developed in the “Smart Almond” project also aims to help farmers reduce the costs associated with irrigating almond crops. Metrics for measuring this impact could include energy savings or a reduction in billed water consumption, in the case of irrigation communities, compared to the cost of implementing the technology on each farm. Improved technology adoption is another key metric. The technology developed in the project (platform, sensors, IoT, remote sensing) was designed to be user-friendly and accessible to farmers. A key metric for measuring the project's impact in terms of farmer training is the level of technology adoption by end users, especially considering the number of farmers beyond the initial pilot farms requesting to join the platform. Finally, the project aims to improve the trend toward efficient irrigation.

One of the project's objectives is to generate a positive impact by changing farmers' attitudes toward efficient irrigation and sustainable water resource management. This will be measured by conducting surveys before and after the project's implementation to assess farmers' perceptions of using smart irrigation technologies and the importance of efficient water use.