Presentació realitzada per Richard Stirzaker (CSIRO; VIA.FARM) a la jornada Projectes internacionals de millora de la gestió del reg (28/06/2019)

1. The VIA
The Virtual Irrigation Academy
Barcelona 28 June 2019

2. Two questions
Is irrigation management a SCIENCE or an ART?
How do we (scientists) reach the majority of irrigators?

4. Did the promise come true?

5. The roots go
deeper than I
thought
Soil looks dry but
there is sufficient
water below
Too much
water leaches
the nutrients
We don’t need to
fight over water

6. The Chameleon
6 |
Measures what the plant experiences
(suction not soil water content)
Gives output as colours
(not numbers)
Shows the soil water by patterns
(not graphs)

7. When the soil is full, stop irrigation

8. Solute Monitoring
Captures a soil water sample by converging the downwards
movement of water, and indicating with a mechanical float
Measuring soil salinity
Measuring soil nitrate

9. The learning platform
https://via.farm/

11. Researcher Farmer
Knowledge production Mode 1 Mode 2
Context Scientific problem
Focus Expert centred
Purpose Universal knowledge
(Transferable)
Organisation Planned
Validation Peer review
End point Journal article
Where do new ideas come from?

12. Researcher Farmer
Knowledge production Mode 1 Mode 2
Context Scientific problem Local problem
Focus Expert centred User centred
Purpose Universal knowledge
(Transferable)
Context specific
knowledge (Useful)
Organisation Planned Exploring
Validation Peer review Experiential (it works)
End point Journal article Changed behaviour
Where do new ideas come from?
Based on Gibbons et al 1994)

13. Irrigation as a Science
Irrigation as a Art

14. Based on Ison et al 2011)

15. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Less than 1
ha
1 - 2 ha 2 - 5 ha 5 - 10 ha 10 to 20 ha 20 to 50 ha More than 50
ha
Percentage
Size of farm (ha)
Sub-Saharan Africa
Number of Farms
Area of farms
Based on Lowder et al 2016)

17. Country Crop Research
Mode
Increase in
yield (%)
Decrease in
irrigation (%)
Increase in Water
Productivity (%)
Zimbabwe Maize 2 36 61 350
Zimbabwe Maize 2 135 59 570
Mozambique Green Maize 2 239 53 710
Tanzania Green Maize 2 28 64 360
Malawi Maize 1 and 2 68 49 330
Malawi Beans 1 and 2 31 41 220
Malawi Maize 1 3 22 34
Water Productivity changes

19. Change in farmer practice
Number of irrigations Total time irrigating (h)
Start End Start End
Tool in plot 33 20 207 74
Neighbour 32 26 164 85

28. “tensions arise at the interface between
communities with different views of what
constitutes reliable or useful knowledge…
If an impermeable boundary emerges at the
interface, no meaningful communication takes
place across it..
if the boundary is too porous, personal opinions
mix with validated facts, science gets mixed
with politics, and the special value of research-
based knowledge fails to materialize.
Active boundary work is therefore required to
construct and manage effectively the interfaces
among various stakeholders engaged in
harnessing knowledge to promote action”
Knowledge co-creation
Clarke et al 2016 PNAS 113, 4615

29. Science
Driven
Problem
Driven
Low HighUser participation
Basic research
Applied research
Action research
Social learning
Focus
From Research to Social Learning
Based on Kirchhoff et al 2013)

30. 11 Test rigs
5 to 7 day test (0 to 65 kPa)
36 sensors per rig

32. Electrode
Buffer
Sensing
material

34. Too dry
Probably losing yield
Wet
May be losing nutrients
Moist
Adequate most of the time

37. Gibbons M, Limoges C, Nowotny H, Schwartzman S, Scott P, Trow M. The new production of
knowledge: the dynamics of science and research in contemporary societies. London: Sage;
1994.
Ison, Ray & Collins, Kevin & Colvin, John & Jiggins, J & Roggero, Pier Paolo & Seddaiu,
Giovanna & Steyaert, Patrick & Marco, Toderi & Zanolla, Chiara. (2011). Sustainable Catchment
Managing in a Climate Changing World: New Integrative Modalities for Connecting Policy
Makers, Scientists and Other Stakeholders. Water Resources Management. 25. 3977-3992.
Kirchhoff, C. J., Lemos, M. C., & Dessai, S. (2013). Actionable knowledge for environmental
decision making: broadening the usability of climate science. Annual review of environment and
resources, 38.
Stirzaker RJ., I Mbakwe, Mziray NR. (2017) A soil water and solute learning system for small-
scale irrigators in Africa. International journal of water resources development 33 (5), 788-803.

38. Database
Farmer to farmer learning
Farmer to expert
Farmer to government
Reports to authorities for
management, marketing,
equity, governance,
investments, interventions
Farmer learning
Management
Governance