Watering palm trees

Water

Agriculture

Challenge Background

The accessibility of water for date palm farming in Senegal is a vast and multidimensional issue. The problem could be presented along different examples of sites that require in a non-discriminatory way, drilling wells to have access to water, some sites require off-grid solar installation to feed solar pumps and irrigation systems. In some case the water resource may be effective but scarce and might request to be used wisely. Finally, one common case could be that water is available but its quality due to salt might imply treatment or specific irrigation systems. The date palm has a significant tolerance to salinity so we do not believe it would be a significant problem in our case. Another problem would be to train and equip farmers that do not have knowledge or practice of fully automated smart irrigation systems. My challenge is to provide a fully autonomous, low-maintenance, cost-effective, precision smart irrigation system to date palm farmers. The intervention should start from the greenhouse to the date palm fields bearing in mind the structural and infrastructural gaps in Senegal.

What we are looking for

The initial challenge is to design and integrate a greenhouse structure that will be consistent with water management issues related to local conditions expressed above (scarcity, salinity).
Then from reaching maturity and being able to be planted in fields, date palms require smart precision irrigation systems that should have the double advantage to enable a more responsible and adapted water management both from a resource and quality perspective.
Subsequently, it will allow more communities to get involved and receive the benefits of date palm farming (greater yield capacity, socio-economic and environmental benefits).
The enabling of water capacities through precision smart irrigation could also be linked to energy access so I would also like to add a potential small renewable energy unit for communities that are off-grid and don't have energy capacities to power solar pumps and smart/connected irrigation systems.

Solution criteria

Might need to integrate small renewable units
cost effective,
low maintenance
in most cases fully automated.
should integrate the different quality parameters of waters available in Senegal as well as soil quality if necessary

What we offer

Polaris Technology

Polaris Technology is a Senegalese company involved in providing environmental technologies and solutions. In the case of our project in Senegal we are operating the development and structuration of date palm farming with the Senegalese Great Green Wall Agency from the provision of selected trees to the transfer of technology and know how about farming dates.

Senegal

Offer your solution

Deadline:

31-March-23

Offer your solution