Airdrop Irrigation Project: A boon to the rural irrigation sector

Has it ever been a subject of concern to the society that rural farmers living under extreme drought conditions and ever-troubling climate lose their lives when their crops get completely damaged and they go into heightened losses? Even if the answer is yes, there have not been many successful attempts at providing farmers a regular water supply under severe drought conditions. But now an exclusive project, submitted for James Dyson Award in Australia, offers a cool green idea for those facing not-so-good agricultural conditions. Under a severe drought situation, this project, named the Airdrop Irrigation system, can bring a sigh of relief. The project has received its inspiration from the ongoing poor climatic and agricultural conditions in Australia and their resulting bad effects on the life of farmers. The changing climate is bringing in long-term drought in several country areas, thus resulting in bushfire, ecosystem and wildlife damage, suffering agriculture, and record losses to farmers! All this is an alarm toward the need for coming out with unique solutions.

Airdrop Irrigation

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Airdrop Irrigation

Airdrop Irrigation Concept

Though there are several high technologies that help in harvesting atmospheric water in Australia, these are not at all suitable for poor rural farmers. The Airdrop Irrigation project offers a low-technology system that is powered by sunlight and is self-sufficient for even severe drought areas. This innovative system has been developed after a research on the rural agricultural sector, as well as after in-depth consultation with farmers and manufacturers of irrigation equipment.

The project is recognizable when it comes to its conceptual aspect that focuses on providing a solution to the problem of increased soil evaporation, as well as trans-evaporation that happen during the drought situation while the temperature rises. Its fundamental concept is based on the harvesting of moisture in the air and thus uses a system that is efficient enough to produce condensation in large amounts. This condensation further supports the irrigation of crops in the farm.

The Airdrop Irrigation system's prototypes were successfully tested, and the project's design seems to offer a very different kind of piping system for producing condensation. This piping network runs on air flow principles and cools down the air to soil's temperature so it gets completely humid and water gets produced. The system design includes a turbine that drives the intake of air underground to the maximum. The system's turbine can freely operate in high wind, while turns to be powered by the battery when the wind is low.

To store the condensed water, there is an underground tank, out of which a submersible pump draws water through to the crops' roots. The drip irrigation hosing, which is sub-surface, supports waster being pumped up to crops. Using a switch, the power supply to the pump can be cut off under the low water level situation. A part of the whole system, an LCD screen, is available to keep displaying information on pressure strength, life of the solar battery, water levels in the tank, and the health of the system. Looking at the overall solution to a severe national issue through the Airdrop Irrigation project, it is well deserved to be a finalist for the prestigious award!

Via: James Dyson Foundation