Water is one of the many resources that have been over-exploited: water tables are emptying and rivers are drying up. It is estimated that a quarter of humanity lives in water-scarce areas. According to the FAO, agriculture accounts for 70% of water use.
However, 85% of irrigation systems operate by “submersion”, i.e. by pouring water into a trench. This system wastes an enormous amount of water, which seeps into the soil, carrying some of the nutrients underground. Only 50% of the water used in this way is mobilized by the plants.
N-Drip proposes an alternative: a drip irrigation system that saves 70% of water, increases yields by 20 to 30% and limits the use of pesticides.
Conventional drip irrigation, much more water-efficient than the submersion system, was however more costly because it required energy to pump the water and filters to prevent particles in the water from clogging the holes.
The N-Drip system solves both these problems with a gravity-based system. By mobilizing the topography of the land, N-Drip creates a gentle slope along the entire length of the system, removing the need for a pump.
N-Drip, was founded in 2015 by Prof. Uri Shani, a former director of the Israeli Water Authority, along with Ariel Halperin and Ran Ben-Or. N-Drip raised €50M and was awarded the Overall Award Excellence in Disruptive Solution by the Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation in 2019.