Wilo combines advanced water technology and artificial intelligence. Smart irrigation integrates soil moisture sensors, weather data and other specific parameters in an AI-powered control system for intelligent irrigation. In conjunction with smart irrigation, the conversion to more efficient irrigation procedures helps reduce water losses by around 70 percent and thus also increases water efficiency to the same extent. This means savings in water consumption of up to 33 percent.
Accounting for around 70 percent of freshwater extraction, agriculture is the world’s largest user of water. Today, more than half of the water is lost or wasted during conventional irrigation – through evaporation, leaks, bad timing or overwatering. So the pressure on water resources rises enormously.
“We are integrating AI in a targeted way in our everyday sales work so that we can identify business opportunities more quickly, evaluate market information efficiently and establish Wilo’s position early on in relevant tenders. In the future, AI will shape the selection and configuration of pump solutions even more strongly and in this way make a significant contribution to efficiency, competitiveness and sustainable growth.”
Agriculture is an important economic sector for Argentina and by far its most important export sector. The country is, among other things, one of the largest producers of olive oil in South America. But the regions where olives are cultivated continue to be blighted by water scarcity. Even in the province of San Juan, where the largest olive oil production plant in Latin America is located. In light of the short supply of water availability, SolFrut, the plant’s operator, is focusing on innovative technologies to raise water and energy efficiency. In addition, smart irrigation supports cultivation, as AI-powered irrigation systems precisely control the need of the olive trees for water and targets water to the areas where it is actually needed. The plant is installed with the highly efficient Wilo-Actun ZETOS products and the Wilo-EFC frequency converter system, which enable water pumping that is tailored to actual needs and optimised in terms of energy consumption. Thanks to the cooperation with Wilo and the use of state-of-the art pump technology, water consumption at the production site has been significantly decreased. At the same time, energy requirements and operating costs are reduced, while the high quality of the olive oil production is maintained.
The partnership between SolFrut and Wilo shows how modern pump technology can make a crucial contribution to resource-efficient, future-ready food production. The plant has a processing capacity of over 500,000 kilograms of olives a day and a storage capacity for 4,000 tonnes of olive oil.
The responsible use of water not only benefits the producer, but also safeguards the livelihoods of numerous families and entire regions. Thanks to the targeted use of efficient technology, it is possible to draw the maximum benefit from every litre of water and thus save resources. Wilo stands for sustainable water usage and supports a reliable food supply – today and in the future.
