Smart Net-Zero

Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT) | Source | Report |

APCTT's query report presents smart irrigation as a practical response to water scarcity, climate variability, and rising food demand across Asia-Pacific, where the report notes that more than 500 million people already face water scarcity and water availability could decline by about 20% by 2050. It highlights subsurface drip irrigation (SDI), IoT-enabled irrigation control, and AI-based precision agriculture as key technologies for improving water-use efficiency and crop productivity. Meanwhile, it stresses that technology alone is not enough: scaling depends on affordability, interoperability, farmer and institutional capacity-building, open data platforms, public-private partnerships, and alignment with national water and climate policies. The report emphasizes that policymakers and investors require a more precise investment logic to scale beyond pilots, including data-driven evidence on the cost per hectare, the timeframe for farmers to repay their investments, and the public return on subsidy programs. It concludes that policy, finance, and skills must advance alongside technology for smart irrigation to scale beyond pilots.