On April 6 Rubicon Water signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Beijing Green Valley Source Water Technology and local government officials from the Wuzhong prefecture in Ningxia province.
The MOU outlines the intention of the three parties to work together on the modernisation and automation of irrigation districts within the province’s Litong local government area, beginning with the Litong Irrigation District.
Rubicon and Green Valley Source Water Technology will partner to roll out Demand-Integrated Network Control in the 35,000 hectare Litong Irrigation District.
The Litong project MOU follows on from Rubicon’s successful measurement pilot project in Jinyintan district last year, also in the Litong local government area. In a trial of several competing irrigation water measurement solutions. Rubicon introduced automated remote measurement and control at 30 strategic sites within the district, enabling the introduction of volumetric water charging.
The Chinese government is encouraging irrigation districts to introduce water metering, rigorous water accounting and eventually water trading. Rubicon offers irrigation districts a solution that includes water metering hardware and management software that integrates with external water rights registers.
The Litong area lies on the banks of the Yellow River and is well known as a very fertile and productive agricultural region. However, lack of available water acts as a constraint on increasing agricultural output and is one of the main drivers for the modernisation of the region’s irrigation districts.
Rubicon Water CEO Bruce Rodgerson said “The increase in available water from the project will enable increased agricultural productivity, which is of great strategic importance to the Chinese government. Agricultural transformation projects not only have an impact on food security but the government also sees them as a key way of reducing rural poverty.”
The Litong Irrigation District is expected to commence later this year and be complete within three years.
From left to right: Beijing Green Valley Source Water Technology Co., Ltd. Chairman and General Manager of Chen Yifu, District People’s Congress Director Chen Yu and Rubicon Water CEO Bruce Rodgerson.
