N-Drip’s system irrigates a Nebraska soybean field. Photo from N-Drip
N-Drip, an Israeli startup that offers an alternative irrigation method to flood or trench irrigation which allows for significant savings in water, raised $44 million in a Series C round of funding and that number could rise said the company. The firm has now raised $80 million to date and some reports indicate that it may have left the round with as much as a $200 million valuation.
The type of agtech provided by N-Drip is really important these days as it finds ways to save water in a world that seems to be drying up because of climate change. And Israel, a desert country, has, of course, always been at the center of the development of irrigation and water conservation technologies.
Farmers using N-Drip, says the company, routinely achieve significant water savings, see larger crop yields, and reduce the need for expensive fertilizers. In addition, by converting from flood irrigation to N-Drip’s drip irrigation system, carbon (CO2) emissions can be reduced by as much as 83 percent and methane emissions by as much as 78 percent. So this is yet another example of a new company coming out of Israel Startup Nation that is helping reduce greenhouse emissions while also coming up with ways to conserve energy in the global fight against climate change.
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N-Drip explains that around the world, countless farmers use flood, or trench, irrigation to bring water to their crops, which floods the field at regular intervals, losing up to 70 percent of the water used. This technique is still deployed on 85 percent of all irrigated fields worldwide, roughly 600 million acres, even in water-scarce locations. However, alternatives to flood irrigation are too expensive for many farmers to use and prohibit these farmers from selling their low-margin crops at a profit.
Cofounded by chairman and CTO Prof. Uri Shani, Ariel Halperin Ran Ben-Or and CEO Eran Pollak in 2017, N-Drip boasts that its gravity-powered micro-irrigation system helps farmers irrigate precisely and efficiently, optimizing yields without requiring expensive pumps or pressure-based filters. The system uses low energy, operating and maintenance demands—making it “more accessible to all types of farmers and nearly all types of crops.”
“N-Drip has enjoyed remarkable growth, with 7x growth in 2022, and more than 3x percent growth projected for this year,” Pollak said. “The current round will support the company’s rapid growth, as demand rises because of the global water crisis that is making farmers and policy makers seek solutions that will enable them to continue growing food and fibers, using less water. Farmers with farms of all sizes and in all geographical regions will be able to use our transformative technologies to ensure stability and continued income, while joining in the global effort to reduce substantially the greenhouse gases produced by farming.”
