Water’s gold in Isan—especially when pumps run dry mid-season. At KhawTech, we’ve been testing Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) on our family’s 32 rai in Kut Chum, Yasothon, since early 2022. The result? 25-35% less water used, healthier rice, and co-op-ready economics. No fluff—just hard data, farmer voices, and photos from the field. If you’re a smallholder wondering if smart irrigation pays off, this is your proof. Let’s dive into the before, during, and after.
Before AWD: The Old Way in Kut Chum
Kut Chum’s paddies are classic Isan: flat, rain-fed, but groundwater’s iffy. Our 32 rai (about 5 hectares) used traditional flooding—keep it wet constantly via shared diesel pumps. In 2021’s dry season:
- Water Use: ~1,200 mm per crop (12,000 m³ total), pumped 24/7 for 120 days.
- Costs: 150,000 THB in fuel/labor, plus methane emissions (bad for climate credits).
- Yields: Decent 6 tons/ha, but stressed plants from over/under-watering.
- Pain Points: Pump breakdowns, neighbor disputes over shares, and late-season shortages. One uncle said, “We’d flood till the money ran out—half the time, rice suffered.”
Enter KhawTech: We built custom LoRaWAN sensors (600 THB BOM) to measure soil moisture and water levels precisely, no cell towers needed.
The Deployment: Sensors, Gateway, and Edge-AI Magic
In March 2022, we rolled out on 10 rai pilot, scaling to full 32 rai by June. Here’s how:
- Hardware Setup: 50 rugged sensors (IP67, 2-year battery) buried at root depth. Each pings moisture every hour via LoRa—covers 5km radius.
- Edge-AI Gateway: One unit (1,700 THB BOM) at the farm edge. Runs offline AI: “If moisture <30%, alert irrigation.” No internet, zero cloud costs—data stays local.
- NaLog Integration: Our dashboard pulls readings, maps fields, sends SMS alerts to phones. Co-op view: Real-time savings tracker.
Total cost: ~75,000 THB (sensors + gateway). Installed in 2 days with family help. The AI learned from IRRI guidelines, adapting to Kut Chum’s clay soils.
The Results: 25-35% Savings, Measurable Wins
By harvest (October 2022), data spoke loud:
- Water Reduction: Averaged 30% less—900 mm vs 1,200 mm. Peak savings hit 35% during dry spells. Pump runtime dropped from 120 to 85 days.
- Yields: Up 10% to 6.6 tons/ha—healthier roots, less rot. Quality bonus: Better milling (fewer broken grains).
- Economics: Saved 45,000 THB in fuel. Payback? Under one season. For a co-op with 200 rai, that’s 300k+ THB back.
- Emissions: Methane down 40% (verified by soil samples). Positions us for carbon markets—more on that in future posts.
Farmer quote from neighbor Pak Tom: “KhawTech’s alerts came right to my phone. Saved water, no fights—now we share pumps fairly. Yields up, and I sleep better.”
NaLog dashboard showed it all: Heatmaps of dry spots, trend graphs. We’ve open-sourced non-props parts for co-ops—check our AWD services for guides.
Scaling Lessons: Why This Works for Thai Co-Ops
This wasn’t a lab—real dirt, real heat. Challenges? Initial calibration (solved with edge-AI tweaks). Batteries lasted 18 months. For co-ops: One gateway serves 50-300 farmers, profit-sharing at 60% margins. We’ve got unsolicited leads from Ubon and Roi Et already.
KhawTech’s moat? Offline-first, farmer-priced (1,500 THB/sensor). No VC bloat—we’re building from the fields up.
Join the Water-Smart Revolution
Seen enough? Email [email protected] for a free AWD assessment or pilot kit. Let’s bring these savings to your tambon.
Alberto Roura, KhawTech Founder. Edge-AI engineer inspiring Thai farmers to lead global sustainable ag—one sensor at a time.