A consortium of suppliers has been selected to develop the concept further by running a pilot across 742 hectares at Nchalo in Malawi in 2022.
Estate managers and smallholder farmers can use the tool to detect leaks, adjust irrigation schedules and carry out water audits, all based on the real-time data it provides
In 2019 AB Sugar, which is a subsidiary of Associated British Foods’ and represents all of ABF’s global sugar interests including Illovo Sugar Africa, launched its Innovate Irrigation Challenge, inviting individuals or teams to submit ideas about ways to reduce water losses from irrigation. With large sugar cane estates that are mostly irrigated, reducing water losses at Illovo is a key priority.
Currently, around 82% of land cultivated by Illovo Sugar Africa is irrigated and could benefit from SWIM in future. Illovo’s Nchalo sugar estate in Malawi
As part of the Challenge ABSugar partnered with third party experts, WaterAid and the Centre for Industrial Sustainability at the University of Cambridge, who played an integral role in selecting the winning idea - which, submitted by two civil engineers in Uganda, has now been developed into ‘Project SWIM’, which stands for Smart Water and Irrigation Management.
In simple terms, SWIM uses a network of flow and power meters with remote sensors which feedback to a cloud-based Smart Water and Irrigation Management Tool. Estate managers can use the tool to detect leaks, adjust irrigation schedules and carry out water audits, all based on the real-time data it provides.
Proof of concept for SWIM was completed at Illovo Sugar Malawi’s Nchalo Estate in 2020. This process produced promising results. The system functioned well, and the web-based reporting platform was intuitive to use. In terms of performance, early indications were that SWIM could save up to 9% of water currently lost through unidentified leaks and reduce power consumption by 11%.
A consortium of suppliers has been selected to develop the concept further by running a pilot across 742 hectares at Nchalo in 2022. This will test SWIM at scale and assess how it might dovetail with other innovations, including drip irrigation. Illovo Sugar Africa believes that SWIM could ultimately increase sugar cane yields by up to three tonnes per hectare using the same net water, whilst supporting its ‘more crop per drop’ mantra. Currently, around 82% of land cultivated by Illovo Sugar Africa is irrigated and could benefit from SWIM in future.