Jaime Hernán Caicedo Angel, Julián Eduardo Antia Castaño, Jesús Adrián Díaz Bravo and Andrés Fernando García García #
Colombian Sugarcane Research Center – Cenicaña, Km 26 Cali – Florida, Florida, Colombia
In Colombia’s Cauca River Valley (CRV), a major sugarcane region, efficient water management is critical, with 70% of crop water needs (10,000–14,000 m³/ha) met by precipitation. Limited rural cellular coverage hinders real-time monitoring. An IoT network using LoRaWAN technology was developed, covering 95% of 240,000 ha and river sources. The GOTAS project, a collaborative digital rain gauge network with over 500 devices, collects real-time rainfall data. The network integrates sensors for temperature, humidity, soil moisture, and industrial applications such as weighing systems, reducing operational costs by 20–45%. Challenges included high energy consumption in early prototypes and poor rural connectivity that were overcome by low-power solar panels and robust LoRaWAN modules. The technological evolution, training efforts, and benefits for sustainable agroindustry, fostering community collaboration, are detailed.