SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE & FOOD SECURITY

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE & FOOD SECURITY

Innovation in Agritech is Empowering Women in the Developing World.

Sustainable agriculture and food security

Sustainable agriculture and food security

Precision irrigation is empowering farmers everywhere to grow higher, better yields with less. And it’s saving precious global resources, from food and water to energy and land.

Read our 2017 sustainability report

Three major impacts of precision irrigation

Today, the most sustainable approach to agriculture is also the most profitable. Precision irrigation empowers farmers in Africa to grow higher, better yields with less. Saving precious global resources – from food and water to energy and land – precision irrigation enables the continent to grow more food for nutritional security. Precision irrigation has an enormous impact on three major challenges Africa faces today: water scarcity and contamination, increasing demand for food, and growing need for efficiently used arable land. Netafim Africa’s solutions are ideal for these challenges, as they combat all three concerns through irrigation solutions that produce higher and better yields while saving water and other priceless resources.

Water scarcity and contamination

Water scarcity and contamination

Depleting natural water resources and water contamination have become a critical concern for Africa. With agriculture alone being the largest consumer of water in Sub-Saharan Africa, farmers are struggling to access safe and reliable water reserves. Precision irrigation reduces groundwater consumption and provides the right amount with the right nutrients based on soil and crop type.

Rapidly growing demand for food

Rapidly growing demand for food

While global population growth is slowing, Africa is expected to see a large population expansion, with a rapid increase among the younger generation. These changes are expected to impact food security, poverty and inequality. As a result, the demand for food will increase, while arable areas continue to shrink. As opposed to other conventional methods, precision irrigation brings a larger area under irrigation, while increasing yield and production quality.

The need for arable land

The need for arable land

Population growth and increased consumption require food-producing land more than ever. Sub‑Saharan Africa has no shortage of arable land, but it is not used efficiently. This is where Netafim Africa can help. Our precision irrigation solutions help utilize every inch of land by bringing a larger area under the irrigation zone.

Changing the Economics of Agriculture

Precision irrigation is an approach to agriculture that empowers growers to produce higher yields of better-quality crops – with less resources. It increases water productivity and fertilizer-use efficiency.

Regardless of the crop, climate, soil or region, men and women can grow more food using fewer resources, use agriculture to climb out of poverty and generate more profit, and live healthier, more empowered lives.

Our goal is a simple one – to make precision irrigation the most accessible and effective solution for growers around the world.

Sustainable agriculture

"We used to say our business is irrigation and our commitment is to sustainability. Today, our business is sustainability.”

Naty Barak, Chief Sustainability Officer, Netafim

Sustainability partners

We work with growers, companies, governments and aid organizations in Africa to make agriculture more profitable and sustainable.

Sustainable development goals

Our sustainability action plan is aligned with the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which comprises 17 global goals supported by 169 targets. Right now, we’re making the biggest global impact by focusing on nine of those 17 goals:

Sustainability reporting

We’re big fans of transparency. That’s why we share all information, knowledge and experience openly and across multiple channels.

We also value transparency among our partners and associates. Qualities like openness and integrity help us build trust, which enables more productive collaboration. That in turn helps our partners and associates achieve greater success and generate more profit. The same goes for the suppliers, competitors and government agencies we do business with.

And when it comes to our own people, we promote and support them in every way possible. While guaranteeing respect and equality, we work to attract, develop and retain talent wherever we find it. And of course, we ensure health, safety and human rights across the board.

To ensure we’re always making the most of corporate social sustainability, we also follow Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) principles. Netafim has published a GRI report every two years since 2011. We submit our Communication on Progress to the UN Global Compact LEAD every year. See our reports to get an overview of our recent performance.

Download 2017 report highlights 

Download the UN Global Compact LEAD Communication on Progress 2016

Download 2017 report

Sustainable agriculture

Environmental sustainability

We’re committed to environmental sustainability in two important ways. First, by making precision irrigation the most effective way to grow we’re empowering farmers to grow in a more sustainable way that’s also more profitable for them.

Second, we’re committed to running our own operations in more sustainable ways. That’s why we’re signatories of the UN’s CEO Water Mandate and followers of the sustainable development goals included in the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Our environmental policy

Our environmental policy starts with our supply process. We always take an eco-friendly approach to product design, use minimal resources in all manufacturing and supply chain operations, reuse and recycle, and responsibly manage waste.

To do this, we document and address all environmental impacts at every stage of the supply process, while also complying with all environmental legislation and regulations wherever we operate. 

We also have Environment Supervisors at all our manufacturing plants, making sure we’re always implementing our environmental policy. We deliver training programs to our people at all levels, so they’re fully aware of our policy and actively work towards it. Plus, we set goals, targets and timetables to help monitor, control and optimize our environmental performance.

Our key environmental practices include:

  • Adherence to ISO Standard 14001 at key factories, with regular external audits and verifications
  • Environmental Impact Assessments on all Netafim products, focused on the effects of water, chemical and power consumption during manufacture and use
  • Environmental risk assessments on the environmental impacts of our production operations, from conservation and rehabilitation to waste management and pollution prevention

Download 2019 ESRS - Environmental & Social Review Summary

Social responsibility

We began as a group of farmers in the Negev desert, tackling an unpredictable climate and a volatile market. Precision irrigation made us realize the huge potential of empowered communities.

By actively seeking out partnerships with stakeholders, we can share and promote our public policy of sound environmental management. And by founding the Netafim Academy, we can now reach out to existing and potential clients, helping them become more efficient and productive food producers.

Even in the harshest conditions and most challenging locations, we strive to help communities of all sizes to prosper and flourish.

Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture

Women’s empowerment

The most effective way to solve poverty is already widely known – the empowerment of women. Women represent almost half of the global agricultural workforce, yet they produce far less food than men.

This needs to change.

To encourage the adoption of new technologies among women growers, we are sharing as much knowledge as we can and are bringing the power of precision irrigation to them, so they can gain more control over their household’s income and over their own lives.

Business Conduct Policies

Netafim conducts its relations with integrity, responsibility, honesty, reliability and decency, while obeying local laws and following the rules of proper business behavior. This commitment applies to each and every one of the company’s employees and directors. We are all expected to maintain honest and moral behavior in our work practices by adhering to the Code in all our activities, whether internally with our colleagues, or externally with customers, suppliers, partners, shareholders and all other Netafim stakeholders.

Netafim strives to ensure that we all constantly adhere to the following principles as specified in the Code.

Read Netafim's code

Water-use efficiency

Water scarcity is the single biggest challenge for farmers in Africa, ranging from drought and drainage to lack of access to water reserves. Precision irrigation solves the water-use efficiency problem by changing the way you use water – delivering higher and better yields than you’ve ever seen, with less.

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Sustainable agriculture

Innovation by farmers, for farmers

The next 50 years of farming won’t be like the last 50. The agricultural system that served us until now needs to change. Growers need more control. We're farmers and innovators committed to bringing innovation to Africa, evolving together with our customers.

About Netafim Africa