Australia already has the technology to save more agricultural water, but adoption is low

Precisely timed watering of crops can
dramatically increase yields, while
 using less water, but adoption of
the technology is slow.

Irrigating through years of scarcity and drought has made Australia's farmers some of the world's most efficient water users, but there are still further savings to be made, according to entrepreneurs and researchers.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority has recommended cutting water buybacks by 70 gigalitres, something a Federal Government taskforce will investigate in the coming months.

The taskforce will look at how the savings can be achieved, but agricultural entrepreneurs like Matthew Pryor think it will be instructive to investigate why adoption of water saving technology has been slow.

"I'm hesitant to recommend policy, but in a way it's like driving 1000 miles and then deciding where you're going to go," the Observant chief technology officer told ABC Rural.

Read the ABC Rural story - “Australia already has the technology to save more agricultural water, but adoption is low.”