Cost per Drop of Irrigation
DESCRIPTION
Connecting the link between agricultural production and water management
When
Multiple time frames
Who
Multiple organizations
Many irrigation interventions consider both agricultural production and water management as interrelated goals, but to date, IEs of irrigation investments have not been able to examine both of these outcomes over suitably long durations and geographic scales (thus missing key aspects of water use management that constrain future productivity, especially under climate change). Earth observation measures now allow us to more directly tie these two outcomes together. Several methods are available to estimate water use via evapotranspiration (ET) using Landsat series imagery. For example, the Earth Engine Evapotranspiration Flux (EEFlux), a GEE Application, uses a Surface Energy Balance model to produce an ET map. We plan to partner with an implementing agency conducting on an evaluation of irrigation investments using Earth observation measures of both crop productions and water, allowing us to estimate “crop-per-drop” for each crop type under distinct climatic conditions and estimated future scenarios.
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The GeoField community of practice  is a space for impact evaluators, remote sensing experts, and field organizations to brainstorm and problem solve about how Earth observation can lead to program insights that solve real world, long-running challenges of climate adaptation and agricultural development.
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