What FIGARO was
Aims and context of the project.
EU FP7 research project · 2012–2016 · precision irrigation
FIGARO precision irrigation: an independent record of the EU project (2012–2016)
FIGARO (Flexible and Precise Irrigation Platform to Improve Farm Scale Water Productivity) was a European research project that ran from October 2012 to September 2016. Its goal: help farmers irrigate with less fresh water by combining field sensors, weather forecasts and crop models in one decision-support platform.
Photo: rawpixel (CC0, credits)
This site is an independent record of that work: what the platform did, where it was tested, what was published and how precision irrigation has been discussed since. It is not the project's official website.
48 monthsOct 2012 – Sep 2016
17 partnerscompanies, universities, FAO, a regional authority
≈ €6 millionEU contribution (FP7)
6 countriesdemonstration sites in 2016
Start here
Project timeline →
The platform
Sensors, models, optimisation: how the system worked.
Results
Field tests and public deliverables.
Closing conference
Brussels, 19 September 2016.
Latest analysis
All analysis →
Does irrigation really use 70% of the world's fresh water?
Where the famous 70% figure comes from, what FAO's latest data say, and why a 2025 study puts irrigation's share anywhere between 45% and 90%.
US irrigation 2018–2023: fewer farms, fewer acres, slightly less water
What the USDA's 2023 Irrigation and Water Management Survey shows: 212,714 irrigating farms, 53.1 million acres, 81 million acre-feet, and how farmers still decide when to irrigate.
Regulated deficit irrigation: when giving trees less water works
What deficit irrigation is, what FAO and a five-year almond trial say about water savings and yields, and when cutting water saves nothing.
From the news archive
All news →- Copa-Cogeca hosts FIGARO's closing conference in Brussels
- Three days on precision irrigation in Israel
- Netafim looks back on FIGARO
- CER opens its “Acqua Campus” research centre
- Three years of tests point to water and energy savings
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