Antonio León, owner of Agrícola León, a partner in the project alongside Jimbo Fresh International and Agrícola La Asomada, has stated that WIDHOC’s S-Wide system reduces labor costs for irrigation and significantly optimizes water use.
The system features two matrix potential sensors installed at two different depths, allowing us to monitor the soil’s water status in the plant root zone. It also has a volumetric content sensor that allows us to determine whether drainage is occurring, with the resulting leaching of nitrates and other nutrients; and a flow meter that records both the duration of each irrigation and the volume of water applied.
Technicians from the Regional Ministry held a meeting on July 22 with the farmers participating in the project, specifically with Antonio León of Agrícola León, who has been operating the equipment for the past two years.
The regional technicians took advantage of the visit to inspect the facilities of Agrícola León, located in La Rocha (Cartagena), and to observe the growth of the crops—in this case, melons—in order to verify that the objectives were being met.
Antonio León, owner of Agrícola León, is also responsible for managing and scheduling irrigation on his farm. León explained to the technicians that, with very few staff and thanks to the equipment from WIDHOC, he is able to manage the irrigation himself—something not very common, since farm owners usually have employees in charge of irrigation. Furthermore, he asserts that he has optimized water use, achieving savings of up to 30% without any decrease in production.
