HANDYWATER - Handy tools for sustainable irrigation management in Mediterranean crops

Specific goals: i) To identify and boost low-cost crop monitoring technologies; ii) To redesign new water-saving solutions for improving irrigation efficiency and economic benefits of Mediterranean crops; iii) To optimise the management of the crop at farm scale; iv) To develop an easy-to-use decision-support tool for enhancing irrigation efficiency at farm scale; v) to test and evaluate the DST in different scenarios; vi) to quantify socio-economic and environmental benefits of the proposed irrigation practices; and vii) to overcome barriers in the adoption of innovative irrigation technologies and practices.

The general objective of the HANDYWATER project is to improve water use efficiency (WUE) in Mediterranean agriculture. In this sense, the project is focused on gaining new knowledge and offering low-cost and lean solutions for enhancing the adoption of efficient irrigation innovations by small farmers, for increasing the environmental and economic sustainability of two different crop productions models, both highly water demanding and widely cultivated in the Mediterranean area, such as citrus (as intensive system) and olive (as rainfed system).