🌱 WIDHOC IS REVOLUTIONIZING WATER MANAGEMENT WITH ITS SMART IRRIGATION PROJECT
21st-century agriculture faces one of its greatest challenges: how to produce more with fewer resources, especially water. In this context, the technology company WIDHOC SMART SOLUTIONS S.L. has successfully completed an innovation project co-funded by the European Union that aims to transform the way farmers manage irrigation on their farms.
The project, developed over several months of intensive fieldwork, has demonstrated the enormous potential of the thermo-radiometers integrated into the D-WIDE system as a key solution for more precise, sustainable, and competitive agriculture.
🔬 TECHNOLOGY THAT MEASURES THE INVISIBLE
The core innovation of the project lies in the use of thermo-radiometers, devices capable of accurately measuring the canopy temperature and the ambient temperature. When analyzed together, this information makes it possible to quickly detect water stress in plants—that is, to determine when they actually need water and when they do not.
Until now, farmers have relied heavily on conventional soil moisture sensors or their own experience and observation. While useful, these tools have limitations and do not always reflect the plant’s actual condition. The WIDHOC system has gone a step further by integrating this new technology with its network of D-WIDE devices, a well-established ecosystem that collects, transmits, and processes data in real time.
As a result, it was possible to generate weekly reports using improved predictive algorithms based on artificial intelligence, providing farmers with personalized, reliable irrigation recommendations that are easy to implement on a daily basis.
🚜 FIELD PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
The project was divided into three phases:
- Installation and commissioning of equipment
- Thermoradiometers were installed on apricot and nectarine farms, two crops representative of the Mediterranean region.
- The devices were connected directly to the D-WIDE system, ensuring reliable data transmission.
- Functionality and calibration tests were conducted to ensure the reliability of the results.
- Agronomic technical monitoring
- A team of agricultural specialists conducted regular field inspections.
- Technical parameters were adjusted based on the collected data.
- Preliminary reports were compiled on the plants' response and the performance of the equipment.
- Generation of predictive reports
- The data collected was processed using artificial intelligence algorithms designed to optimize irrigation.
- Each week, farmers received personalized recommendations based on how their crops were developing.
- A final report was produced containing a comprehensive analysis of the project, covering both technical results and strategic conclusions.
🌍 MILESTONE RESULTS
The project's achievements can be summarized in three major impacts:
- Greater irrigation precision: predictive models achieved up to 90% accuracy in irrigation recommendations.
- Water conservation and sustainability: A significant reduction in water consumption was observed, a critical factor in agricultural areas experiencing water stress.
- Scalability: The technology has not only proven effective for apricots and nectarines, but can also be adapted to other crops and regions.
In addition, participating farmers highlighted the ease of use of the system and the confidence it instills in decision-making, thanks to clear reports backed by objective data.
“The great value of this project is that we’ve managed to make the technology speak the same language as the farmer. It’s not just about sensors, but about smart decisions that lead to lower costs, higher productivity, and more responsible water use,” says the WIDHOC technical team.
📈 A PROJECT WITH A VISION FOR THE FUTURE
This progress is not limited to a single pilot project. The company is already working on scaling up the solution to expand its reach to new agricultural areas and crops. Countries such as Portugal and Morocco, where water management is a strategic factor for the sector’s competitiveness, are emerging as priority markets for the internationalization of this technology.
At the same time, WIDHOC is integrating the project’s results into its digital platform 4EGROWTH, which will bring together all of its agricultural monitoring, forecasting, and management services in a single environment. This will allow farmers to access their data, reports, and recommendations from anywhere and at any time, further advancing the transition toward a more connected and efficient digital agriculture.
🌱 TOWARD SMARTER AND MORE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
The project has demonstrated that it is possible to combine productivity and sustainability, two concepts that for decades seemed difficult to balance in the agricultural sector. The key lies in leveraging technological innovation so that farmers can produce more with fewer resources, reducing costs and minimizing environmental impact.
With this initiative, WIDHOC reaffirms its commitment to developing cutting-edge solutions that address the major challenges facing agriculture:
- Water scarcity and adaptation to climate change.
- The need for digitization and the use of real-time data.
- Improving farmers' profitability and competitiveness.
“Our goal is not just to sell technology, but to support farmers in their transition to a new, more sustainable, and more profitable way of farming. This project has shown us that we’re heading in the right direction,” company executives note.
✨ CONCLUSION
The success of this project establishes WIDHOC as a leader in precision agriculture and smart water management. The validation of thermal radiometers as an effective tool for deficit irrigation paves the way for a new era in which technology, data, and sustainability go hand in hand.
Backed by innovation and years of experience, WIDHOC positions itself as a strategic partner for farmers, cooperatives, and public entities seeking to ensure a more efficient, sustainable, and competitive future for the agri-food sector.
