Israeli precision irrigation firm to deliver water to 60,000 rural Indian farmers

Netafim is bringing precision irrigation to over 100 villages in India, improving the livelihoods of tens of thousands of rural farmers.

By World Israel News Staff 

Netafim, an Israeli manufacturer of irrigation equipment, announced that it is implementing four large community irrigation projects that span 100 villages across India, delivering water to 135,000 acres and positively impacting nearly 60,000 rural farmers.

These projects demonstrate how Netafim – Hebrew for ‘drops’ but referring in this case to drip irrigation – partners with farmers and governments around the world to help improve the livelihoods of rural farmers with the latest precision irrigation technologies and digital farming solutions.

Netafim’s precision irrigation feeds the plant instead of the soil, delivering water and nutrients straight to the roots, which dramatically lowers water consumption and other resources such as labor, fertilizers and crop protection, while yielding significantly higher and better-quality crops.

Netafim is deploying its precision irrigation technologies in India’s Singataluru, Ananthapuramu District and Tarikere regions.

Singataluru is comprised of two projects that covers 41 villages, helping approximately 15,000 farmers. The Ananthapuramu project covers 22 villages, helping approximately 13,000 farmers. The Tarikere project covers 45 villages, helping approximately 27,000 farmers.

The four projects are following the successful implementation of the Ramthal community irrigation project, which was completed in 2017 and delivered precision irrigation to 7,000 farmers in 28 villages in Karnataka, India. Netafim works with Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) in all these projects.

“It’s truly rewarding to see the type of positive impact we’re having on these farmers by bringing them precision irrigation for the very first time,” said Mr. Randhir Chauhan, managing director of Netafim India. “We’re helping them maximize crop yields, while reducing the water and fertilizer consumption. This is smart digital farming in the most rural of settings.”

Netafim, launched in 1965, began its work in the Negev desert, growing crops in desert soil. That challenge, its website explains, taught them how to “combine precision irrigation, agronomic expertise and relentless innovation to help farmers grow more of any crop, in any climate, with less.”

Netafim contributed to this report.