An IoT-enabled smart irrigation system for paddy farming that brings real-time water-level sensing, automated pump control, and AI-driven Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) to the fields of Punjab — where the groundwater table is falling faster than almost anywhere on Earth.
Decades of flood irrigation for paddy cultivation have pushed Punjab's groundwater table into critical decline. Farmers irrigate by habit, not by data. Pumps run unmonitored. Water — and electricity — vanish into waterlogged fields, while methane bubbles up from the flooding into the atmosphere.
Excessive irrigation in vast paddy farmlands has caused a sharp, sustained decline in Punjab's water table.
Continuous flooding leads to waterlogging, soil degradation, and reduced crop productivity over time.
Standing water in paddy fields generates significant CH₄ — one of agriculture's largest greenhouse gas sources.
Farmers lack real-time monitoring, making irrigation labour-intensive, inconsistent, and impossible to optimise.
AgriGuru combines water-level sensors, LoRa-based wireless communication, automated pump control, and a farmer-friendly mobile app to implement Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) at field scale. The system tells the pump when to start, when to stop, and the farmer — when to listen.
In-house developed stainless-steel & brass water-level sensors, custom PCB-based control units, and LoRa modules engineered to survive harsh paddy-field conditions.
Edge-deployed AI reads water levels in real time and decides when to start or stop the pump using the AWD method — wetting and drying on the field's terms, not the calendar's.
A simple mobile interface lets farmers monitor their field, receive alerts, and control irrigation remotely — putting precision agriculture into one familiar, pocket-sized tool.
SS & brass water-level probes installed in the paddy field continuously measure standing water depth — engineered to resist corrosion, fertiliser, and the long Punjab summer.
Field nodes communicate over LoRa to a central unit, removing dependency on cellular coverage in remote agricultural areas.
An edge-deployed AI model evaluates each reading against AWD thresholds and triggers irrigation only when the field genuinely needs it.
An automated pump controller switches the motor on or off, with manual override and remote control available to the farmer via the mobile app.
Selected on the basis of groundwater dependency, willingness to adopt AWD, and active engagement in paddy cultivation. The pilot also extends to rural women in agriculture and agricultural students learning smart-farm practices.
Anchored at the Plaksha University Smart Farm in Mohali, with field deployments across Fatehgarh Sahib district and adjoining villages. Each site was chosen for its proximity to a stressed aquifer and its readiness to test instrumented rice cultivation.
AgriGuru is incubated under the AgroXLerate accelerator, MEF's flagship agri-tech programme.
Provides the Smart Farm anchor location, academic guidance, and field-testing infrastructure.
Punjab Agricultural University expertise guiding AWD calibration and farmer engagement.
Field-testing collaboration across associated farming communities in Punjab.
Engineering, R&D and field operations led by Gaganpreet, Aditya Tomar & Sanchit Gupta.
S. Sangha, S. Ajit Singh, S. Jashan Singh & others piloting the system on their land.
AgriGuru is ready for scale. Partner with us to deploy smart irrigation in more districts, fund the next cohort of farmer adopters, or bring the system into your CSR & sustainability portfolio.
