WaPOR, remote sensing for water productivity

Algeria – Advancing Precision Irrigation with IREY Gen 3

05/12/2024

On Thursday, 5 December 2024, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), WaPOR’s international implementing partner, met with INGC Deputy Director Anis Bouselmi in Tunis to officially transfer the IREY Gen 3 code.

The upgraded IREY tool, developed by IWMI, introduces advanced capabilities to simulate rootzone soil moisture, enabling precise irrigation scheduling tailored to Algeria’s agricultural conditions of the Tunisian study area, which are similar to those of the Mitidja plain in Algeria, with reference to field observations during IMWI field visits to the irrigated perimeters of the Western and Central Mitidja (30 and 31 May 2023). The advancements were validated by comparing simulated and observed rootzone soil water reserves, demonstrating significant improvements over the previous version of the tool (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Validation and performance of IREY Gen 3 rootzone soil moisture (using CHIRPS and WaPOR 20m res. Actual ET): simulation using soil parameters from HiHydroSoil (red line) compared to the calibrated simulation using observed soil parameters (blue line), observations from capacitance sensors placed in the rootzone (black line), and original IREY Gen2 simulation using local weather data (green line).

The meeting also addressed limitations in IREY Gen2, where simulations were initialized with low residual moisture, leading to recommendations twice the actual requirements (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. IREY Gen2 simulation of the water stock readily available for wheat consumption with irrigation advice of 260mm (twice IREY Gen3 recommendations).

Key outcomes of the meeting include:

  • Agreement to finalize the forecasting module in IREY, which will allow farmers to anticipate future water demands and address past water deficits.
  • Plans to collaborate with the private IT sector to integrate the IREY engine into mobile applications, providing customized irrigation advice for farmers.

The INGC underscored the strategic importance of FAO and IWMI support in improving irrigation efficiency, highlighting IREY’s potential to optimize water use across Algeria’s wheat-growing regions in collaboration with the Algerian taskforce of the WaPOR project. They also emphasized the need to scale up the adoption of mobile tools among farmers and extend IREY’s methodology to other contexts.

Looking ahead, IWMI and INGC are seeking FAO support to disseminate these findings through tailored events planned for early 2025, showcasing the critical role of precision tools like IREY Gen 3 in advancing sustainable water management in Algeria and beyond.