ICAS: Empowering Farmers through Citizen Science and Climate-Tech Innovation in Pakistan

In the heart of South Asia, where erratic climate patterns, uncertain rainfall, and depleting water resources threaten the sustainability of agriculture, a groundbreaking innovation from Pakistan is redefining how smallholder farmers adapt and thrive. The Customized Irrigation and Climate Advisory Services (ICAS) initiative, designed under the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CARE) for South Asia framework, is empowering local communities by integrating citizen science with climate-smart technologies.

Pakistan’s agriculture sector, which employs over 38% of the workforce and contributes significantly to GDP, is increasingly vulnerable to climate-induced shocks. Traditional irrigation methods, coupled with poor access to timely credible weather information and a lack of localized advisory services, leave farmers unequipped to make informed decisions resulting in the biggest gap: data availability and accessibility at the local level. Climate data is either generalized or siloed, with minimal reach to the farmer’s field.

The ICAS model bridges this gap by transforming farmers into citizen scientists, equipping them with the tools and training to collect real-time climate and irrigation-related data from their own fields. This data is then processed into actionable insights using a cloud-based platform and delivered back as personalized climate advisory services enabling timely decisions on irrigation, pest management, and water conservation.
In essence, ICAS flips the traditional model: instead of experts telling farmers what to do based on macro models, local data drives the advisory, with the community at the center of the innovation.

As part of the ICAS innovation, participating farmers were equipped not just with smartphones but with a suite of environmental gadgets including thermohygrometers, thermometers, barometers, anemometers, and rain gauges. These gadgets enabled farmers to record hyperlocal temperature, pressure, wind speed, and rainfall data directly from their fields. By contributing regular observations, farmers became active data producers, not just recipients. This decentralized, grassroots data collection enriched the ICAS platform with granular climate data, allowing the advisory services to be even more field-specific, timely, and impactful.

ICAS is powered by a hybrid of technologies:

• Mobile-based data collection app for farmers and field assistants
• A suite of environmental gadgets, including thermometers, barometers, anemometers, and rain gauges installed on-site
• A cloud-based analytics dashboard that aggregates, analyzes, and visualizes field-level data
• In-app advisory tailored to each farmer’s location and crop cycle

This tech stack ensures a two-way data flow from the field to the cloud, and back from the cloud to the field, making advisory not only scientific but also localized and timely.

ICAS has been successfully piloted in semi-arid regions of Punjab, Pakistan, engaging over 120 farmers directly and reaching hundreds more through community-led awareness campaigns. Key achievements include:

• Significant reduction in water use through optimized irrigation schedules
• Improved yield predictability due to climate-informed planting cycles
• Enhanced trust in scientific advisory due to real-time, field-specific recommendations
• Women’s involvement in data collection and dissemination, promoting inclusive climate action

By giving farmers a voice in the climate discourse, ICAS is not only helping them adapt — it is helping them lead adaptation.

ICAS has not only brought innovation to irrigation and climate advisory but has also been a catalyst for women’s inclusion in agricultural decision-making. As citizen scientists, female farmers actively collected data, used advisory apps, and confidently guided their families on key decisions from whether to irrigate crops to when to delay operations due to upcoming rain forecasts.

“Recently, my father wanted to irrigate the field despite a water shortage. I asked him to wait while I checked the ICAS app. It showed that rain was expected in two days. I told him to wait — we saved water, and the cost too”, says Samra Yousaf, Bahawalpur.

Such moments reflect the growing trust placed in women’s observations and knowledge, thanks to access to climate tools and training. In conservative and rural settings, this shift is a testament to ICAS’s inclusive design proving that climate resilience is stronger when women lead.

“We live in a rural area along the banks of the Kabul River, so the rain gauge has been a great help. Whenever it rains, we measure exactly how many milliliters have fallen. For example, just two days ago, we recorded 550 ml of rain in just one hour. This kind of data makes us aware of flood risks in advance. As the chairman of our Union Council, I gather the local people, inform them about the rainfall levels, warn them about possible flooding, and advise them to stay cautious. This system also helps us understand irrigation needs and potential crop damage. It has made a big difference in how we prepare and protect our lands”, Sombly Khan, Chairman Union Council, Peshawar.

“I saved at least two irrigation cycles for my cotton crop. My father was about to use the tubewell, but I checked the ICAS app and saw rain was forecast in two days. We waited, it rained and we saved water and electricity. ICAS saved us around Rs. 9,000–10,000”, Abdul Rauf, Bahawalpur.

“I have an anemometer to measure wind speed, and it has helped me a lot. My crops are in remote areas, and I often hire laborers for spraying. One day I checked the wind speed and saw it wasn’t suitable, so I cancelled the spraying. That one decision saved me significant labor costs. This kind of awareness wasn’t possible before ICAS”, Adeel Ur Rehman, Cholistan Region.

While the model has shown strong potential, challenges such as digital literacy, hardware maintenance, and long-term sustainability remain. To address these, the ICAS team is actively working on partnerships with local agricultural extension services, integrating Urdu-language support, and exploring solar-powered sensors to reduce maintenance.

In the future, ICAS aims to scale up across multiple agro-climatic zones, develop AI-based predictive models, and build an open-access farmer data network, making climate adaptation a truly grassroots movement.