Tunisia: Advancing Precision Irrigation with IREY Gen 3
On Thursday, 5 December 2024, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), WaPOR’s international implementing partner, met with the Deputy Director of the Tunisian National Institute of Field Crops (INGC), Anis Bouselmi, to officially transfer the IREY Gen 3 code.
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The upgraded IREY tool, developed by IWMI, introduces advanced capabilities to simulate root-zone soil moisture, enabling more precise irrigation scheduling tailored to agricultural conditions in the Tunisian study area. These enhancements were validated through comparisons between simulated and observed root-zone soil water reserves, demonstrating clear improvements over the previous version of the tool.
INGC highlighted the strategic importance of support from FAO and IWMI in improving irrigation efficiency, emphasizing IREY’s potential to optimize water use across Tunisia’s wheat-growing regions, in collaboration with the national WaPOR task force. Participants also stressed the need to scale up the adoption of mobile tools among farmers and to extend IREY’s methodology to other agricultural contexts.
Looking ahead, IWMI and INGC are seeking FAO support to disseminate these results through targeted events planned for early 2025, showcasing the role of precision irrigation tools such as IREY Gen 3 in advancing sustainable water management in Tunisia and beyond.