It’s not breaking news that our planet, society and indeed our species are facing
unprecedented challenges. With farmers globally fighting drought, water scarcity
and extreme weather cycles on an increasingly frequent basis, food insecurity is
reaching new and worrisome levels. According to the UN, nearly 30 per cent of
the world’s population – 2.3 billion people – were moderately or severely food
insecure in 2021. In recent years, food supply chain issues have become a
global issue, affecting even the developed world which had previously taken their
food supply for granted.
The picture is worrying. Yet thankfully not hopeless. With a shared commitment
and purpose there are clear ways that global leaders can use the latest
technology and shared knowledge to help farmers and societies move towards
food security, even in the face of climate change.
Netafim acts as a central point of collaboration between industry, governments
and growers, pushing the needle on the threat of global food insecurity and
providing a model for global impact and sustainability. To meet the challenges of
the coming decades, global agriculture needs to shift towards enhanced and
sustainable production – getting more produce from each field using fewer
resources.
The Precision Irrigation Revolution: Born in Israel
While 70 per cent of the world’s water goes to agriculture, it’s used to irrigate
only 24 per cent of arable land. What’s more, traditional industrial agriculture
relies heavily on pesticides and herbicides but applies them inaccurately which
not only harms the soil and water sources but also impacts human and wildlife
health. This is where precision irrigation can have far reaching benefits.
Precision irrigation, invented in Israel by Netafim decades ago to cultivate crops
in desert conditions, has one overriding goal: to grow more with less. This
means growing better yields every season with less resources – less water, less
fertilizer, less energy and also less environmental impact. Precision irrigation
systems are designed to give each plant the exact amount of water and fertilizer
exactly when they need it, at scale, increasing yields and minimizing
environmental damage.
Precision irrigation is changing the way we grow and harvest. Just as Israel
achieved agricultural self-sufficiency with precision irrigation, farmers around the
world are changing the way they work to achieve better, more sustainable yields
with fewer resources. Advanced digital farming tools are further assisting
farmers with greater control of their operations and more accurate insights,
providing their businesses with enhanced predictability and profitability. The
adoption of Israeli precision agricultural techniques and technology is literally
impacting the world’s greatest environmental and food problems every day.
Precision Agriculture: Delivering Success Worldwide
Netafim is proud to play a leading role in realizing the vision of global food
security by boosting the entire agricultural ecosystem, bringing prosperity and
stability to entire regions. Netafim’s investment to substantially broaden their
greenhouse offering further underlines this commitment, helping countries to
meet the interest in locally grown fresh produce in the light of geo-political
events and climate change. Netafim is working closely with governments,
companies and growers to drive change, rolling out large-scale precision
irrigation projects and raising yields on staple and extensive crops:
– The Largest Community Agriculture Project in the World
Netafim’s Ramthal community irrigation project was a unique project,
delivering equitable water supply and prosperous agriculture to 7,000
smallholders across 22 communities in the Karnataka region of India, an area
previously starved of water. The project demonstrates the tremendous success
that’s possible when Netafim joins forces with governmental agencies,
contractors and water infrastructure bodies to modernize rural communities for
lasting socio-economic growth.
– Significant Environmental Benefits for Growing Rice
Rice feeds more than half of humanity on a daily basis. Yet traditional
methods of growing rice in flooded paddies requires almost 20 per cent of
the planet’s arable land and 40 per cent of our freshwater, while
generating more than 10 per cent of the planet’s man-made climate-
warming methane. By applying precision irrigation to rice production,
Netafim has pioneered the drip irrigated rice revolution lowering water
consumption by 70 per cent, slashing heavy metal absorption and
methane emissions to almost zero.
– Sugar Mills Adopting Drip Irrigation
Sugarcane contributes to 20 per cent of global sugar production and 84
per cent of global sugarcane-based ethanol production, according to the
OECD. Netafim showed that using precision irrigation to change the way
sugar is grown can increase the yield by up to 50 per cent when compared
to sprinkler systems or flood irrigation, and up to 200 per cent higher
than with rain-fed plantations. For example, Bevap, the operator of Brazil’s
largest sugar mill, rolled out Netafim’s precision irrigation and increased
sugarcane yields from 70 tons per hectare to up to 180 tons per hectare
from this area. Similarly, Netafim’s precision irrigation has enabled
Tanzania and other African sugarcane producers to grow record yields in
semi-desert conditions.
– Majorly Reducing Carbon Footprint of Corn and Increasing Yield
Netafim has totally changed agricultural reality in climates as diverse as
the USA, Turkey, Italy, China, Australia and Brazil, maximizing profits and
ensuring consistent results for farmers. Corn is the third largest plant-
based food source in the world, with 1.2 billion metric tons produced in
the last year for use as food for humans and livestock, as a biofuel and as
a crude material for industrial purposes. Netafim found that corn grown
with drip irrigation releases 53 per cent less carbon compared to flood-
irrigated corn, and 39 per cent less compared to sprinkler irrigation.
Precision-irrigated corn requires up to 24 per cent less fertilizer and
produces up to 45 per cent more
Building Growing Partnerships
Governments and decision makers can harness precision agriculture to ensure a
climate-proof food supply and economic stability. Today, the best way to deliver
bigger, better, more profitable yields is also the most sustainable. Precision
irrigation is about reversing the relationship between cost and output. It’s about
delivering the perfect amount of water and nutrients straight to the roots of each
plant, empowering farmers with a reliable yield while reducing the environmental
impact and creating sustainable economic prosperity.
Food insecurity should not be our destiny – the technology and the deployment
experience both exist. All that remains is for industry, governments and
communities to join forces. Together, innovative partnerships can be created for
more farmers to grow any crop on any topography in any climate and in any
type of soil, anywhere in the world, with higher yields and with lower water and
fertilizer usage. Netafim is transforming the lives of millions of growers around
the world. Together, partnerships can continue to drive prosperity and ensure a
more sustainable, more secure food supply for humanity.
See how Netafim’s solutions are changing the economics of agriculture and
helping the world grow more with less at www.netafim.com.
