Smart Irrigation Systems- The Way Ahead

A smart Irrigation system can tailor the watering requirements based on time, and can automatically control the amount as per the landscapes. This is a way forward for making the irritation system more efficient. During Irrigation almost 50% of the water is wasted due to the overwatering which are a result of inefficiencies in the traditional irrigation system. Unlike the traditional irrigation methods that only work on a set preset that is programmed based on schedule and timmers the smart irrigation system also monitors various other factors like soil conditions, weather, plant water use and evaporation to automatically adjust the watering schedule. For eg: as the outside temperature rises or if there is a decrease in the rainfall, the smart system will consider these variables to alter the watering schedule and time. There are two types of smart irrigation controllers: on-site soil moisture sensor-based and weather-based. The right type can be chosen based on the landscape and the geographical location. The experts majorly agree that the smart irrigation systems conserve water somewhere around 30-50% as compared to the traditional systems.

The international smart irrigation market is anticipated to reach approximately 1.87 billion USD by 2023, and is growing at 18.6% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). The smart irritation market is globally expanding due to the rapid increase of IoT- based architecture in the system. The IoT based system is helping the farmers in curbing the water wastage and in the overall improvement in crop growth. It has further benefits that it is cost effective and leads to better or optimum utlization of resources. The adoption of smart irrigation system can help in eliminating certain glitches by using controllers that can help in analysing and detecting the problem that one faces with the traditional irrigation systems and can help in taking the corrective measures immediately. 70% of the water is wasted into the traditional irrigation process and 30% of the world population is suffering water scarcity. If we consider this factor the smart irrigation market is set to increase multi-folds in the coming times with further advancements.

The market has been segmented on the basis of component, technology, application and region. On the basis of component, the market can easily be segmented into software and hardware. On the basis of technology it ha two segments evaporation based or soil moisture based. On the basis of application, it can be segmented commercial or non-commercial and on the basis of the region, it can be classified on the basis of geographical location, North America being the most dominant power since the major key players like the Toro Company, Hunter Industries, Rain Bird Corporation, Stevens water Monitoring systems, are based out of North America. There are companies which also collaborating to operate or have a better reach like WaterBit and AT&T have collaborated to deliver efficient and automated irrigation solutions. The global smart irrigation market is highly dominated by the US. Also, countries like US and Canada have the resources and can make high investments and are early adopters of the technologies. However, Asia Pacific is also expected to reach a good CAGR due to the water preservation concerns and increased focus on adopting digital technologies.

The demand for smart irrigation system increases with the introduction of IoT based architecture and the government’s strict policies regarding water conservation. However, there are few challenges or hindrances as well that may hamper or could be the declining factors for this market, High installation cost and lack of technical knowledge and awareness among the farmers being the major contributor. Not all farmers have the capital to upgrade to modern equipment and are barely able to make their living. Technical knowledge and awareness can still be worked upon by the government or authorities.

Research Source: Market Decipher (a market research firm)