IIC


$5 million for irrigation innovation


Industry and academia collaborate to advance research, development and adoption of water-efficient technologies.


— BY ANNE BLANKENBILLER — I


rrigation and water-use research took a giant step into the future with the launching of an Irrigation Innovation Consortium on April 27. The project was made possible through an initial $5 million grant


awarded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. This grant was matched by industry and university participants for a total initial investment of $10 million to support research and collaboration costs over five years.


This new IIC is a collaborative research effort to accelerate the development and adoption of water and energy-efficient agriculture and landscape


30 Irrigation TODAY | July 2018


irrigation technologies and practices through public- private partnerships. Public sector researchers and industry partners will co-develop, test, prototype and improve innovations, equipment, technology, and decision and information systems designed to equip “farms of the future” with cutting-edge technologies and optimization strategies to enhance irrigation efficiency.


Initial research priorities include water and energy efficiency, remote sensing and big data applications for improving water management, irrigation technology acceleration and technology transfer.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48