EU grants FIGARO consortium €6 million for precision irrigation research
In February 2013 the European Union confirmed a grant of about €6 million to FIGARO, a research consortium coordinated by the Israeli drip-irrigation company Netafim. The money came from the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) and was meant to fund new precision technologies that help farmers grow water-hungry crops with less fresh water.
The plan was a software platform that would turn sensor readings, weather forecasts and crop models into irrigation schedules adapted to each crop and field, instead of fixed calendars. The announcement was made in Tel Aviv.
Two arguments were put forward at the launch. Lior Doron of Netafim, the project coordinator, said that precision scheduling could also save energy, fertiliser and pesticides, and that farmers would be able to judge the investment with a cost-benefit analysis. Pasquale Steduto of FAO, who was responsible for links with end users, pointed to the wider benefits: water returned to rivers and aquifers downstream, and farming better adapted to drier summers.
The context was a European water balance under pressure, with population growth and recurrent droughts reducing the fresh water available for agriculture.