Open Smart Irrigation
...because every drop counts!
The Problem
A Global Water Crisis Threatens Smallholder Farmers
By 2030, global water demand may exceed supply by 40% (World Bank, 2024). One in four children could live in areas of extreme water scarcity by 2040 (UN, 2022). Smallholder farmers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are particularly exposed. Reliant on rainfed agriculture, they face increasing risks from climate change effects like droughts and erratic rainfall. These impacts are not only threatening harvests — they are driving hunger crises that endanger millions. While smart irrigation offers a promising way to improve resilience and save water, current solutions are often too expensive, too complex, and too dependent on stable infrastructure — conditions that many rural farming communities lack.
Our Solution
Open Smart Irrigation
The Open Smart Irrigation (OSI) platform delivers scalable, climate-resilient irrigation solutions tailored to the needs of smallholder farmers in low-resource environments by offering:
- OSI OS: A free and open-source operating system for smart irrigation hubs. It runs offline and on low power use hardware and connects a wide range of irrigation components using LoRa technology.
- OSI Academy: A multilingual education and training platform offering step-by-step videos, on-ground capacity-building with farmer workshops and field installations.
Our Vision
Smart Irrigation for All
We want every farmer to access the tools needed to grow food sustainably, no matter their income or location.
OSI is more than tech. It enables real change, starting with the individual farmer and scaling up to more sustainable agricultural systems. By boosting yields, reducing waste, and making water use more efficient, OSI improves farmer livelihoods and food security on the ground.
At scale, it fosters climate resilience, strengthens local food systems, and accelerates the global shift toward data-informed, resource efficient farming.
Our focus:
· Equip smallholders with smart irrigation tools
· Build farmer capacity in smart water management through OSI Academy
· Support open, self-managed and adaptable infrastructure
With farmers, researchers, and partners, we’re building a global commons for smart irrigation. Every crop deserves just the right amount of water, because every drop counts.
Our Background
Developed from the Field
OSI was born out of real-world research. Between 2023 and 2024, field trials in Uganda tested market-available smart irrigation components under everyday farming conditions. The results showed great potential for yield increases and water savings – but also revealed major barriers to adoption by smallholders in resource-constrained environments.
We decided to take a step back and listen: a countrywide survey in 2024 gathered first-hand insights into farmers’ needs and experiences.
Building on these lessons, OSI was developed from the ground up, rooted in the core principles of accessibility and robustness.
