Chameleon Soil Sensor

Summary

Farmers need information about water in their soil.  Water scarcity, both actual and perceived, fuels conflict and undermines attempts to equitably govern and share water.  The Chameleon soil water sensor provides simple, colour-based information about whether a farmer’s crops are thirsty or not.  Since 2017, the Virtual Irrigation Academy Ltd (VIA), which developed the solution, has deployed over 50,000 sensors to thousands of farmers across 20 countries, and almost all farmers have grown more food with less water and reported reductions in conflict over water.
 

Challenge/Problem

With the increasingly uncertain rainfall patterns in many parts of the world, irrigated agriculture is going to have to feed an ever-increasing proportion of the world’s growing population - but supplies of fresh water are dwindling.  Much of the increase in food production will need to come from smallholder farmers in rural areas of Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), where approximately 80% of the population relies on the Agri-Food system for their livelihoods.  Improving small-scale farming in these countries will contribute to the alleviation of poverty, hunger, youth unemployment and forced migration for millions.  However, the combined challenges of climate change and water scarcity mean that new solutions need to be implemented to help smallholder farmers increase their food production in an environmentally sustainable way. Farmers need information about the water in their soil.  Water scarcity, both actual and perceived, fuels conflict, and conflict undermines attempts to equitably govern and share water in the contested world of managing common pool resources.  Technological solutions are not a silver bullet in themselves, and this is not just a tech-fix problem. Growing more food with less water is a people problem.  VIA is challenging deep-seated traditions around the way things have always been done.
 

Solution

Over the last ten years, the Virtual Irrigation Academy has tested a big idea: what if  smallholder irrigation farmers were given simple information about whether their crops were thirsty or not?  The charity developed the Chameleon soil water sensor - buried in the ground and attached to a light - that shows blue when the plants have plenty of water, green when things are ok and red when they need a drink.  How that is different? The use of colour makes it universal, and understandable for any education level, not requiring written literacy. The colour tells the farmer how happy the plant is, and they can act accordingly.  This allows farmers to optimise irrigation scheduling, preventing unnecessary waste of time, fuel, fertiliser and water that comes from over irrigation.

The solution was first implemented in Tanzania and has continued to expand across sub-Saharan Africa and into Asia, primarily in collaboration with national and provincial Departments of Irrigation. The simple information from the Chameleon sensors can be collected and shared to help build the capacity of farmers and other stakeholders.  This people-centred learning approach allows practical experience and best practice examples to be imparted.  Sensor data can be collated, analysed and shared across locations, regions and countries. This has additional value to public sector institutions who are seeking to monitor and evaluate the ongoing performance of infrastructure and ensure best practice methodologies are applied at scale within their jurisdictions. Building local knowledge and in-country capacity is key to showing that the solution is credible and relevant to the local environment.

Esnert Maliko is a dedicated farmer and the President of the Nachiperi Scheme in rural Malawi. She recently acquired a Chameleon Sensor System, which has helped her to reduce her field routine from irrigating three times a week to just once per week, saving water, labour, and other expenses associated with more frequent irrigation.

Esnert, who supports her three children through farming and makes sure they get the education she wasn't able to receive, has discussed the positive effects that the introduction of tools has had on both her farming practice and her personal life.

Results

To date VIA has built and deployed over 50,000 sensors to thousands of farmers from over 20 countries, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Information has been collected from over 2000 farmers who have used the products and the results are overwhelmingly positive.

- 64% of users reported improved yields
- 74 farmers from 4 schemes in Malawi saw yields increase from average of 0.87t/Ha before using the tools to 0.96t/Ha in first year and 2.2t/Ha in second year
- Irrigation scheme in Mozambique with 38 farmers saw average green maize yield increase from 4.4t/Ha to 16t/Ha after introduction of the tools
- 73% of users reported saving water
- Irrigation scheme in Mozambique with 38 farmers saw average number of irrigation events for green maize yield reduce from 10.5 to 7.8 events per season after introduction of the tools
- Irrigation scheme in Ethiopia saw median water application for wheat reduce from 562mm for control plot to 431mm for Chameleon plot
- 36% of users reported saving fertiliser
- 60% of users reported improved farm income
- 74 farmers from 4 schemes in Malawi saw income increase from average of USD58/Ha before using the tools to USD153/Ha in first year and USD862/Ha in second year
- 49% of users reported improved off-farm income
 

Specific project or country examples include:

1. Transforming Irrigation in Southern Africa (TISA) project involving over 800 farmers.  In Mozambique 79% of users reduced irrigation frequency and 63% increased on farm income.  In Tanzania, maize farmers saw a 46% increase and rice farmers saw a 22% increase in yields.  In Zimbabwe, participants saw a 30% reduction in water use and over 76% of farmers had at least a 25% increase in crop yield. 
2. A project with over 200 wheat farmers in Ethiopia saw an average 35% reduction in irrigation and up to 20% yield increases.
3. Malawi deployment to over 1400 farmers in 8 districts saw average of USD155 increase in income per farmer per season.
4. Pakistan deployment to 200 farmers in Punjab. Gross benefit of up to USD858 per Hectare per season.

Lessons Learned/Potential for replication

One important lesson discovered during initial user deployment was the social and community value of the information provided by the sensor. Perceived scarcity over water fuels conflict and conflict undermines attempts to equitably govern and share water in communities.  The sensors are not a silver bullet in themselves, and this is not just a tech-fix problem. Growing more food with less water is a people problem.  the Chameleon sensor, and the simple technology related to it, is challenging deep-seated traditions around the way things have always been done.  Water is typically managed at community level, and VIA has found that improving water use efficiency also must be promoted through a community approach.  The Chameleon sensor is designed to be deployed and used in community.

Building local knowledge and in-country capacity is key for building trust so farmers and stakeholders understand how the sensors work, and how to troubleshoot and carry out repairs and maintenance.  These sensors are applicable to between one and two hundred million of the poorest farming households in the world.

Next Steps

Irrigation is going to be a major part of adapting to climate change and most of this is going to have to be on small farms in low-income countries. Our technology is designed for these farmers and has been shown to work.  VIA believes that the information systems for sustainable water management and productivity should be used by all irrigation farmers.  The Charity is seeking to partner with governments and NGOs across LMICs who are deploying, or have deployed, irrigation infrastructure to smallholders.  Use of these sensors has been proven to improve return on investments on public/donor irrigation infrastructure projects.