Climate Smart Sugarcane Irrigation Partnerships (CSSIP) (Old ID 24754)

Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment
Role

Principal Investigator

Description

CSSIP will minimise nutrient runoff, improve soil health and increase wetlands water quality by facilitating the adoption of world-class irrigation practices in sugarcane farming systems. Currently, best practice irrigation is assisted by an Irrigation Decision Support Tool (IDST) that provides evidence-based advice. However, IDSTs have not reached their full potential. Firstly, they do not integrate short to medium term weather forecasts (e.g. weekly to multi-weekly forecasts). Secondly, IDSTs do not operate at a spatial scale relevant to farmers. CSSIP will incorporate the Bureau or Meteorology’s new high-resolution climate model into the Irrigation Decision Support Tool. Thirdly, IDSTs require substantial time in manual data entry, which can be alleviated using real-time monitoring via Internet of Things technologies. This will increase irrigation efficiency, reducing excessive runoff into river systems and onto the Reef, and, will help farmers save water and energy costs.

Date

22 Aug 2018 - 30 Jun 2023

Project Type

GRANT

Keywords

Sugarcane;Internet of Things;Irrigation

Funding Body

Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment

Amount

1586884

Project Team

Geoff Inman-Bamber;Wei Xiang;Eric Wang;Yvette Everingham