How COJAZ Cooperative Cut Water Usage by 35% Using IoT Soil Sensors

COJAZ Cooperative is a maize farm located in Gurué, Zambézia province, Mozambique. 44-member maize cooperative cut water usage by 35% and boosted yields 12% using IoT soil moisture sensors linked to automated drip irrigation.

COJAZ cooperative farmers in Zambézia were relying on seasonal rainfall patterns to decide when to irrigate, leading to overwatering during wet periods and catastrophic crop stress during dry spells. With no real-time soil data, farmers either wasted water or lost crops. Water costs were eating 18% of net revenue, and unpredictable yields made loan repayment difficult.

MBC deployed 44 IoT soil moisture sensors across all COJAZ member plots, connected via GSM to a central dashboard. Each sensor reports soil moisture, temperature, and pH every 30 minutes. The system automatically triggers drip irrigation valves when moisture drops below 30%. Farmers receive M-Pesa SMS alerts when their fields need attention. The entire system was installed in 3 weeks, with field agents training each farmer on reading sensor alerts on their feature phones.