Transforming Agricultural Science, Research and Technology Generation

Transforming Agricultural Science, Research and Technology Generation

Irrigation of a fruit tree as a case study

Ehud Gelb

Center for Agricultural Economic Research

9 Hagalil St., Rehovot, 76601, Israel
Tel: +972 8 9411677, <>

Abstract

This paper reviews a case study of ICT transforming agricultural science, research and technology generation and the constraints involved in adopting applications which could feasibly achieve significant development impact. The case study outlines routine relevant to these applications up take by economically and technologically developing countries into their national agricultural sectors. The example includes a rural region infrastructure model which has long-term potential for such a development impact. It details an immediate development pathway with a focus on stakeholder participation in ICT Adoption. Generalizing this case study suggests that agricultural science, research and technology generation together lack a focus on "How to Adopt' in-hand innovations, in addition to research results and the ongoing commercial efforts to promote relevant products. This paper recommends three such focused priorities – all with ICT comparative-advantage:

·  Focus on end user/stakeholder needs by including "bottom up" involvement;

·  Integrate all agricultural and rural ICT related areas in priority definitions;

·  Adaptation of existing innovations and applied agricultural research results is a potent regional priority.

Introduction

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) supported Irrigation is demonstrated here as "application of water to a tree based on monitoring each tree's needs to optimize its yield". To circumvent abstract generalities Fig 1 illustrates and details the specifics of the current state of the art: ICT monitors each tree's real time water and nutrient consumption and needs. The system in turn remotely activates an ongoing, optimized supply of water and nutrients suited to the current climate, soil conditions and the farmer's production plan. This process continues till season end. This ICT frontier application example, if practiced properly, elicits optimized economic and long term cultivation results. Such ICT supported Precision Agriculture is a classic example of ICT transforming agricultural science, research and technology generation as detailed below.

Fig 1. The Agro Naan irrigation evaluation and application system.

a. Sensors placed within the tress’s dense root system measure physical and chemical information such as moisture, nutrient and oxygen uptake and their rate of uptake;

b. A online computer "ingests" the tree’s data, adds climate readings and forecast, calculates irrigation and fertilization needs and instructs the system accordingly ;

c. The system remotely activates irrigation and fertilizer applications via pressure compensated non-drainage drip lines or drippers to each tree individually.

(Source: www.naandanjain.com and Goldschmidt, Lakso 2007)

Background

"Water" is and will continue to be one of the most, if not the most important element of agricultural production, rural viability, economic and social structure and environmental concerns. The contribution of ICT to all aspects of "water" cannot be overemphasized in facilitating efficiencies of traditional production practices, adoption of revolutionizing innovations, forming new management structures and creating new knowledge.

With agricultural science ICT are at the forefront of development and improvement of water resources, water engineering, technicalities and knowledge water application fine points to plants, social and technical collaboration to share knowledge, manage irrigation facilities and water application, generation of new knowledge and sharing with horizontal (number and scope of participants) and horizontal (water source to product in the market place) partners via collaboration, cooperation and development at local, regional, national and international levels. In many instances this is accompanied by changing political and social traditions, community hierarchies and regional organizations. Appendix A demonstrates the direct economic potential for science and technology development in the international "Water applications" market. The overall economic impact is larger by far.

Irrigation from early civilization (source of civilization?) encompassed the best of human engineering ingenuity while in turn establishing comprehensive social entities and fabric, management hierarchies, communities and shared knowledge systems. The result was that by supplementing irrigation to rain fed agriculture, comparatively spectacular and reliably consistent yields were attained. These results supported urban societies, scientific endeavors and "progress". Irrigation logistics frameworks were simple: supply water to crops – for a fee or tax – payable to the "public" entity which built the necessary facilities and cared for their upkeep. Basically this equation is still prevalent worldwide notwithstanding agricultural inefficiencies, waste of water and foregone superior irrigation alternatives.

Agricultural science is traditionally intimately involved with all aspects of horticulture. "Water" research is at the forefront of such research which provides an ongoing stream of innovative updates of crop growing technologies and knowledge bases. These are flexible and adapted to all varieties and types of fruit trees - their characteristics, physical constraints, economic considerations, resource availability, alternatives, environmental considerations and cultural norms. ICT as applied to "Water" research furthermore enhances a deeper understanding of biological fundamentals translated into incremental, sequential improvements or paradigm innovations - their dissemination, adaptation, and adoption. These in turn support the economic and social mechanisms that enable fruit adoption tree growers to benefit from them.

The conceptual irrigation scenario was and remains straightforward: how to get the maximum economic and social return from a unit of water - per a unit of land, labor and/or capital invested within an existing geographical, political and social framework. Science, research and technology are dedicated to this goal. In this case by Cultivating (1.1 million Google references) and/or growing (3.2 million Google references) fruit tress.

Fruit trees are a perennial agricultural endeavor, a long term investment, sensitive to market and demand dictates, adapted to all countries, climates, geographical regions soils, water quality and cultural dictates regardless of a country's social and political affiliations or arbitrary definitions such as a developing, developed, industrialized or emerging economy. Fruit tress can support economically viable rural communities by providing growers and the "market" a practically endless variety of "healthy" products that can be consumed fresh, preserved, as dietary supplements, raw materials for other products, industrial input and more.

One way to help understand and address the unique contribution of ICT to transforming agricultural science, research and technology generation - their direct and indirect impact, considerations and ongoing solutions for e.g. economically and technologically developing countries - is to extract and focus on some specific aspects of a defined ICT case study for example ICT adoption for irrigation of fruit trees. The following aspects selected for this paper demonstrate this unique ICT contribution;

1.  Equalizing achieved results

2.  Facilitating irrigation practice,

3.  Rationalizing a regional water program

4.  Consolidation of a regional institutional infrastructure

Irrigation state of the art

Irrigation, by supplementing rain fed agriculture can attain spectacular and reliably consistent yields. Irrigation enables the farmer to control the crop's rate of growth, its maturation schedules, soil nutrient management (in addition to fertilization) and adaptation of crops to seasonal variations.

Since the pre-historic norm of flooding fields irrigation's state of the art progress has evolved within a (very simplified) generalized sequence:

·  Indiscriminate flooding crop areas till soil saturation:

·  Replenishing the whole crop area with the measured amount of water utilized;

·  Replenish the measured amount of water used but only to the plant's root area;

·  Measure the plant's ongoing water consumption directly and replenish it;

·  Measure the change in the rate of evapotranspiration, use of nutrients, etc and

e.g. drip irrigate/fertilize re prescribed formulas - usually all by remote control.

All these irrigation modes and their numerous variations are currently practiced worldwide. They reflect variable levels of efficiency, management capabilities, knowledge availability and utilization, extension support and the adoption of the continuously challenging agricultural science innovations. All these potentially improve irrigation results, sometimes substantially – at least by attaining higher "average" yields and income while edging ever closer to realizing the crop's (fruit trees) genetic potential. At present medium and long term adoption of the most innovative ICT supported irrigation applications is to a large extent dependent on market forces – see Prahalad 2004. Short term adoption efforts are often delegated to national and/or regional extension services and farmer organizations. These market forces are not necessarily indifferent to farmer's constraints. For example the systems illustrated in Fig. 1, 2a and 2b were initiated, developed and are now owned by farmers. Taragula and Gelb 2007 surveyed in detail the reasons for different rates of ICT adoption in Horticulture (cost, illiteracy, better alternatives, tradition, and more).

Fig 2a. demonstrates PhytTech ICT supported irrigation frontiers and options:

(Source http://www.phytech.com PhyTech Phytomonitoring systems)

Fig 2b. demonstrates Galcon ICT supported irrigation frontiers and options:

(Source: http://www.galcon.co.il Grove and regional irrigation systems)

1. Equalizing achieved results:

Fig 3 compares the average amounts of water needed to grow a ton of crops in different countries. In this context of variable results for the "same" crop ICT's contribution to transforming agricultural science, research and technology generation has many, well known, proven, common knowledge, straightforward attributes. They include for example

a.  ICT enabled methodologies for transferring data, information and knowledge which increase awareness of what others have attained, details of how to duplicate the results – in production and economic returns; transfer of knowledge, transfer of technique, transfer of proficiency and identifying attainable goals;

b.  ICT enabled identification of production bottle necks including knowledge gaps, surmountable production constraints – such as matching recycled water details with fruit quality, marketing deficiencies, information timing inadequacies;

c.  ICT enabled transfer of horticultural technique and the proficiency to use them; and more.

To a large extent Fig 3 illustrates that these ICT attributes in transforming agricultural science, research and technology generation are country and geography neutral. This is mainly due to current ICT proliferation characteristics, ubiquitousness and cost benefit ratios. The Fig 3 comparison demonstrates that agricultural science's potential can deliver results at various regional, national and international levels. Why then are the results so different between countries if science can alleviate the constraints? In turn what can ICT contribute to stimulate research that will obliterate these constraints enabling all countries to achieve these best attained results?

,

Fig. 3 (Source: www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13447271)

To be vey specific - if e.g. fruit tree genetics can craft cultivars that provide solutions to constraints that were identified, extension knows how to ensure awareness to these proven cultivars which are locale specific, affordable and available why are they not the standard? In terms of the paper theme - how can ICT cause Science, Research and Technology to do better – by getting better results via better solutions - improved and stakeholder friendly - with innovative ICT supported disciplines (such as bioinformatics, nanotechnologies, genomics) and their adoption. (Appendix B lists several points for consideration regarding ICT's contribution in general to this science, research and technology generation imposition).

2. Facilitating irrigation

Fig 1 focuses this question further. It defines the water application zone of a tree – any tree among many in a groove, each with its specific characteristics within the context of Fig 2b. ICT supported sensors measure, monitor and collate vital tree statistics and calculate from them the tree's water requirements subject to the producer's production plan e.g. what size should the fruit be and when the fruit should mature, what nutrient reserves should be carried over to the next fruition period, etc. Obviously an optimized match between the tree's genetic potential with an ongoing optimized supply of water and nutrients, both suited to the climate, soil and production plan should produce the "best" results. This being the case and state of the art refining the following issues re ICT's contribution to adoption of innovative irrigation is helpful:

a.  why is this state of the art not universally adopted;

b.  what is the contribution of ICT to the attempts by Agricultural Science, research and technology to provide solutions to the core issues and identified constraints standardizing and adopting state of the art applications;

c.  which available ICT supported irrigation practices could feasibly achieve development impact through take-up into national systems in economically and technologically developing countries;

d.  how would ICT help facilitate such long-term potential for development impact when there is a lack of an immediate development pathway?

(For a general overview of these issues see Gelb, Offer 2007).

One model of a regional water program which answers some aspects of these issues follows.

3. Rationalizing a regional water program

Rationalizing a regional (fruit tree) irrigation program involves close regional collaboration in assigning fruit tree research priorities. This has to be based on comprehensive and accurately verified data sets of seasonal water availability including recycling, water quality and water resourcing options, knowledge gaps in water utilization and innovative technologies – e.g. nanotechnology, fruit production plans and demand expectations, collective marketing feasibility evaluations, and more. A region where these issues are incorporated into the overall fruit growing considerations is in the Israeli Upper Galilee see Appendix D.

The collaborative regional water program addresses in practical terms the above issues. These go beyond irrigation and water management technicalities and involve a focus on the rationalization of inner community (Kibbutz and Moshav) collaboration and the ongoing collaboration of these communities together. It recognizes that to succeed ICT research issues biased towards agriculture must incorporate the contribution of ICT to the social sciences. Specifically they should be geared to facilitating the inner and inter community relationships and reflecting their interaction with the agricultural issues involved. Understanding such abstraction and interaction generalities needs demonstration. It is provided by a current, illustrative and informative review which relates utilization of innovative nanotechnology to rural agricultural and social "clean water" program issues in detail See the SciDev Site at

http://www.scidev.net/en/nanotechnology/nanotechnology-for-clean-water.

The review explores the challenges of nanotechnology for clean water with a special assertion that stakeholder involvement is a prerequisite for success. This supports the above ICT research focus – namely that a regional water research program as part of a comprehensive, long term regional irrigation program must have inherent communal aspects in order to succeed. Implementation of this water infrastructure program and its interaction with e.g. fruit tree irrigation research is a major concern of the Upper Galilee regional agricultural research entity Migal as detailed at www.migal.org.il.