Irigation distribution automatization based on scheduling system

Paddy fields become areas of rice cultivation, which considered as one of the staple foods for Indonesians. Limited availability of water for irrigating requires regulation of water distribution for each field area. The area of irrigated rice fields that are not proportional to the available of water discharge triggers conflict potential among farmers. Currently, the water distribution is supervised by P3A (Association of Water User Farmers) officers. However, several problems are still around, for example the injustice of the distribution process and water corruption committed by farmers who violate the distribution rules. These matters cause the farmers to have some extra guards at night, and may contribute to social conflict and crop failure in the future. This study designed a system as an instrument to distribute water on a scheduled basis in accordance with the agreement of farmer groups. The system is developed by using Arduino Mega 2560 Microcontroller which is equipped with water level sensors (height) and water moisture sensor (humidity). The system was successfully designed by using two valves as the irrigation door on two fields. In the scheduling process in each of four conditions where the instrument was tested, the tool was proven that able to work within the schedule with 100% success rate, as well as the experiment result of water level stability.