Mozambique Launches Digital Platform to Transform Irrigation Monitoring

The Irrigation Performance Assessment and Diagnostic Tool combines satellite data with field observations to help modernize water management at one of Mozambique’s key agricultural schemes

Mozambique has launched the Irrigation Performance Assessment and Diagnostic Tool (IPADT), a new digital platform designed to monitor irrigation performance and accelerate the modernization of agricultural water management across the country. The platform was jointly developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), and Mozambique’s National Irrigation Institute (INIR), and represents a significant step forward for the country’s irrigation sector.

Background: The Challenge of Irrigation Performance Monitoring

Effective irrigation management depends on having reliable, timely data about how water is actually being used across agricultural systems — information that has traditionally been difficult and costly to collect at scale, particularly in regions where field-based monitoring infrastructure is limited. Without this data, irrigation managers are often forced to make decisions based on incomplete or outdated information, making it harder to identify underperforming systems, allocate water efficiently, or plan effectively for climate-related disruptions such as drought or erratic rainfall.

This challenge has taken on growing urgency across Mozambique and the broader region as climate variability increases pressure on agricultural water systems. Improving the availability and quality of irrigation performance data has become a key priority for governments and international partners seeking to strengthen food security and water-use efficiency simultaneously. It is within this context that FAO, IWMI, and INIR began developing IPADT as a tool to close this data gap.

How the Platform Works

IPADT leverages satellite-derived data from FAO’s WaPOR portal, an open-access resource that provides near real-time information on crop water use and productivity across Africa and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. By integrating this remote sensing data with on-the-ground field observations, the platform generates standardized indicators that allow users to compare performance across agricultural seasons, benchmark irrigation schemes against one another, and inform strategic planning decisions.

The platform has been tailored specifically to serve the Chókwè Irrigation Scheme in the lower Limpopo Basin, one of Mozambique’s key agricultural regions. IPADT is designed to support a range of technical users, including irrigation managers, engineers, monitoring specialists, and GIS experts, in their efforts to improve the performance and long-term sustainability of irrigation systems.

Formal Handover and Training

The formal handover of IPADT to Mozambique’s National Irrigation Institute took place during a workshop held from May 4 to 6 in Maputo. Speaking at the event, INIR Director General Delfim Villisa reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to integrating the tool into its existing monitoring systems, with plans to promote its progressive expansion to other irrigation regions across the country.

Villisa expressed confidence that Mozambique’s irrigation sector is moving toward an increasingly data-driven approach, grounded in digital innovation and systematic performance analysis — elements he described as key to addressing current challenges, including climate change and climate variability.

Beyond the formal handover, workshop participants also received hands-on training covering data analysis, dashboard management, and the interpretation of performance indicators. This training component was designed to equip participants with the skills needed for effective use and ongoing maintenance of the platform, as well as its integration into existing national monitoring frameworks.

Building an Evidence-Based Culture

Muluken Adamseged, IWMI’s deputy country representative for Ethiopia and a researcher focused on innovation scaling, emphasized that IPADT provides irrigation managers with a strong evidence base for making water-smart decisions. Adamseged noted that the true measure of the tool’s success will not be limited to how many irrigation schemes adopt it, but rather how deeply national systems come to institutionalize trust in the evidence it provides — a distinction that underscores the platform’s ambition to shift institutional culture around data use, not simply introduce a new technical tool.

Broader Implications for Mozambique’s Agricultural Sector

IPADT is expected to enhance irrigation monitoring capacity, boost water-use efficiency, and foster more systematic, data-driven decision-making within Mozambique’s agricultural sector. Its launch aligns closely with national ambitions to promote sustainable water management, strengthen climate resilience, and ensure food security for communities across the country.

As Mozambique continues to face mounting pressure from climate variability and the need to modernize aging irrigation infrastructure, tools like IPADT are likely to play an increasingly central role in helping national institutions move from reactive management toward more proactive, evidence-based planning — a shift that mirrors similar efforts underway in other countries across Africa working to close the gap between available climate and agricultural data and its practical use on the ground.