Abid and Co-Authors Test New Technology to Improve Water Management in African Agriculture

A new study by TSYS School computer scientist Riduan Abid points out that modern agriculture is facing increasing challenges related to the efficient management of water resources and the optimization of agricultural productivity, both exacerbated by global climate change. As the authors add, these challenges have motivated the development of an intelligent irrigation system using advanced technologies. In response, Abid et al.'s new study, which appears in the March 2025 issue of Scientific African, develops a real-time smart irrigation system using IoT and embedded technology, achieving efficient water management and supporting sustainable agriculture in Africa. Their system works to improve irrigation management by enabling real-time monitoring of climatic conditions and crop requirements and minimizing excessive water use while maximizing crop yields, taking into account environmental constraints and economic pressures. To achieve this improvement, the authors develop an intelligent irrigation system architecture that exploits the capabilities of embedded systems to collect data (utilizing sensors that detect soil moisture, water levels and atmospheric conditions) and send real-time updates to a web server that is continuously updated. This approach, they argue, results in more stable and predictable crop yields while reducing the risks associated with droughts and floods.