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Smart Irrigation System for Small Scale Farmers in Rural Areas in Malaysia

Developed by Suria Prakkash Vijayasuria


Solar energy is the most abundant source of energy in the world and one of the proposed solutions for the energy crisis in Malaysia. Solar energy is generated using solar PV (Photovoltaic) system. The photovoltaic cells, panels and battery storage system are integral parts of the PV system. Photovoltaic cells convert the light into electricity using semiconducting materials. The cost of solar panels has been constantly decreasing which encourages its usage in various sectors( Deveci et al., 2015). 


One of the applications of this solar technology is to operate irrigation systems in the agricultural sector. A Solar powered irrigation concept can help farmers to manage water resources efficiently with low energy cost. This is a green way for energy production which provides ‘free energy’ once an initial investment is made. Furthermore, water scarcity is also a developing issue in Malaysia. All of the issues associated with water management are considered to be of primary importance. For example, 85% of worldwide available water resources is used in agriculture and this percentage will not decrease keeping in mind the rate of population growth and increasing demand for plantation and crops (Priyanka Padalalu et al., 2019). 

As a smarter approach to the problems, the solar powered irrigation system is integrated with Arduino technology. Arduino is an open-source electronic platform based on easy application of hardware and software. The microcontroller board used in this project is called Arduino Uno. The Arduino Uno is connected with two different sensors: a soil moisture sensor, and an ultrasonic sensor for detecting water level in the tank. 

The Arduino board which acts as a microcontroller is able to read inputs from the sensor installed in this prototype and convert it into output such as activating the water pump. The technology develops the solar powered irrigation into a smarter irrigation which is automated (Barkunan et al., 2019). Arduino uno will regulate water flow to the soil without much human intervention, while maintaining moisture content needed for the plants. 

This project automatically turns ON or OFF by detecting the water content in the soil through soil moisture sensor. This prototype can be useful for farmers in rural areas or areas where rainfall is irregular or drought is expected. This project provides a solution to reduce water scarcity, access to electricity, and high electricity cost for farmers in Malaysia. This project is suggested to overcome this problem and to meet United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation and Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy. Furthermore, the prototype addresses Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth. Especially target, 8.2 which is achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation, including through a focus on high value added and labour-intensive sectors. Also, this prototype meets the Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production. The diagram 1 and 2 below shows places in Malaysia that installed irrigation system

Words by:
Suria Prakkash Vijayasuria
Lecturer, Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment & IT
MAHSA University 


References

  1. Barkunan, S. R., Bhanumathi, V., & Sethuram, J. (2019). Smart sensor for automatic drip irrigation system for paddy cultivation. Computers & Electrical Engineering, 73, 180-193. 10.1016/j.compeleceng.2018.11.013
  2. Deveci, O., Onkol, M., Unver, H. O., & Ozturk, Z. (2015). Design and development of a low-cost solar powered drip irrigation system using systems modeling language. Journal of Cleaner Production, 102, 529-544. 10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.04.124
  3. Priyanka Padalalu, Sonal Mahajan, Kartikee Dabir, Sushmita Mitkar, & Deepali Javale. (2019). Smart water dripping system for agriculture or farming. International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering, 8(2S10), 876-881. 10.35940/ijrte.B1161.0982S1019

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