Corn Grown with Drip Irrigation Significantly Reduces its Carbon Footprint
Corn is the third largest plant-based food source in the world
Ag pioneer demonstrates major benefits of drip irrigation for the cultivation of a dominant grain amidst a major food security crisis and the challenges of climate change
Netafim, the global leader of sustainable precision irrigation solutions and agricultural projects, today announced the results of a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) study showing that corn grown using drip irrigation creates the least environmental impact and optimal land use when compared to flood and sprinkler irrigation methods.
One of the world’s most productive grains, corn is the third largest plant-based food source in the world, with 1.2 billion metric tonnes produced in the last year. The most important crop in the US, corn is also cultivated in China, South America, India, Ukraine and across Europe, grown extensively as food for both humans and livestock, as a biofuel and as a crude material for industrial purposes.
The results of Netafim’s corn LCA, conducted by EcoChain during 2020, show that drip irrigation is a much more advanced offering than flood or sprinkler irrigation in terms of minimizing negative environmental impact and optimizing yield.
Highlights include:
⦁ Corn grown with drip irrigation releases 53 percent fewer carbon emissions when compared to flood-irrigated corn and 39 percent fewer carbon emissions when compared to sprinkler irrigation
⦁ Drip-irrigated corn requires 24 percent less fertilizer than when it is grown with flood irrigation, and nearly 17 percent less fertilizer that is used to grow corn with sprinklers
⦁ Drip-irrigated corn produces 45 percent more per kg per hectare when compared to flood, and 23 percent more when compared to sprinklers
In addition to corn, Netafim has also proven that rice grown using its drip irrigation technology out-produces conventional paddy rice farming, uses 70 percent less water, and diminishes methane emissions to almost zero.
“We’ve been showing the world how to grow more with less for nearly sixty years and our pioneering technology is now critical to mitigate the impacts of climate change,” says John Farner, Global Chief Sustainability Officer, Netafim. “Today, farmers are not only challenged by record-high energy and fertilizer costs, but also increased pressure to reduce their overall environmental footprint, all while producing our global food supply. Adoption of precision irrigation for corn, along with other crops around the world, is critical to stabilize farmer livelihoods, reduce the carbon footprint of farming, and ensure a food-secure future.”
About Netafim
Netafim is the world’s largest irrigation company and the global leader in precision irrigation solutions committed to fighting scarcity of food, water, and land, for a sustainable future. With 33 subsidiaries and 17 manufacturing plants worldwide, Netafim offers innovative, tailor-made irrigation and fertigation solutions to millions of farmers from smallholders to large-scale agricultural producers, in over 110 countries.
Founded in 1965, Netafim pioneered the drip revolution, creating a paradigm shift toward precision irrigation. Today, the company specializes in end-to-end solutions from the water source to the root zone and offers a variety of irrigation, open field, and greenhouse projects, as well as landscaping and mining solutions supported by engineering, project management, and financing services. Netafim also leads the way in digital farming, having integrated real-time monitoring, analysis, and automated control into one state-of-the-art system.
In 2017, Orbia, a global leader in specialty products and innovative solutions, acquired 80% of Netafim, while Kibbutz Hatzerim holds the remaining 20%.
About Orbia
Orbia is a community of companies bound by a shared purpose: to advance life around the world. The Orbia companies have a collective focus on ensuring food security, reducing water scarcity, reinventing the future of cities and homes, connecting communities to data infrastructure, and expanding access to health and wellness with basic and advanced materials and solutions. Orbia operates in the Precision Agriculture, Building and Infrastructure, Fluorinated Solutions, Polymer Solutions, and Data Communications sectors. The company has commercial activities in more than 110 countries and operations in over 50, with global headquarters in Mexico City, Boston, Amsterdam, and Tel Aviv. To learn more, please visit http://www.orbia.com.
See how Netafim’s solutions are changing the economics of agriculture and helping the world Grow More with Less™ at www.netafim.com.
