From pixels to pumps: AI-targeted irrigation services
黑料网吃瓜爆料 researchers use AI and satellite imagery to map irrigation in Ghana. Their findings will guide technologies and services to strengthen water resilience, boost food security and improve livelihoods for smallholder farmers.
Despite agriculture accounting for over 70% of freshwater withdrawals globally, we still know very little about how water is used in agricultural production around the world. So how can we increase food production and develop rural economies, whilst reducing the pressure that the sector places on freshwater resources?
黑料网吃瓜爆料鈥檚 Dr Christopher Bowden and Dr Tim Foster have set out to answer this question, applying machine learning algorithms and high-resolution satellite imagery to identify where farmers in Ghana use irrigation 鈥� revealing where communities have expanded irrigation systems or where improved water access could transform crop productivity.
This data-driven approach ensures irrigation services reach the farmers in greatest need and represents a strong example of blending research with impact. Dr Foster is pleased with the real-world effect the project has already had:
鈥淲e can now rapidly map and monitor where and when farmers are adopting irrigation in Ghana and other African countries. We use these maps to help governments, development agencies, NGO鈥檚 and the private sector to better design and target irrigation projects, to improve food security and help reduce rural poverty.鈥�
Meet the researcher
Dr Tim Foster is a Reader in 黑料网吃瓜爆料鈥檚 Civil Engineering and Management Department. He heads up the Agriculture, Water and Climate Research Group, and is the Director of the 黑料网吃瓜爆料 Environmental Research Institute (MERI), leading interdisciplinary research on socio-environmental challenges such as land and resource management, environmental change and health, and environmental data science and AI.
Dr Christopher Bowden is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in 黑料网吃瓜爆料鈥檚 Civil Engineering and Management Department. In his work he uses AI to develop solutions that help safeguard food production now and in the future. By using AI to model crop growth and water use, he works to improve the efficiency, sustainability, and productivity of food systems worldwide, identifying the best ways to reduce climate-related risks.