R&D is an ICT-enabled eco-system used for salinity warning and advisory as a decision support-tool for rice farmers:
a) Action- research on crop management responses to salinity intrusion
b) Deployment of a mobile platform for local salinity data collection and warning to rice growers
SALTS: If farmers measure and disseminate information about salinity variability in their immediate environment in cooperation with local authorities, communities can make collective decisions and put in place strategies to minimize risks of salinity intrusion in their rice fields, before damage can occur. This is the rationale of the SALTS project led by IRRI. The project is developing in co-operation with DARD officials a real- time salinity monitoring and advisory service in selected salinity affected communes in Bac Lieu and Hau Giang. IRRI is currently testing a modern communication platform using mobile phones linked to a web-application.
The software is capable of collecting salinity and water level measurements in tertiary canals and inlets into farmer fields with a cheap $2 device. It can send additionally, location- specific warnings and crop management advisory through SMS and voice messages to commune authorities, rice growers and rice & shrimp producers. A first version of the application is presently accessible through a public website address to DARD water management and plant protection units. This IRRI communication platform will be capable of handling thousands of measurements per day and send out of the same amount of messages to affected people to prevent heavy production and income losses. IRRI communication application can be, as well, a main channel for the dissemination of modern salt tolerant rice varieties to farmers.