Gravity-powered N-Drip is expected to be a game changer.
By Abigail Klein Leichman, Israel21c
Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola and other PepsiCo brands will be more sustainably sourced with the introduction of gravity-powered smart irrigation systems from Israeli company N-Drip on farms supplying PepsiCo in 60 countries.
As part of the pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) program, N-Drip systems will help PepsiCo suppliers improve yields, reduce water consumption and electricity use, and cut carbon emissions compared to wasteful flood irrigation that most of these farmers currently use.
The program aims to improve water use efficiency by 15 percent by 2025 (against a 2015 baseline) in areas of high-water-risk, spreading regenerative agriculture practices across 7 million acres of farmland, and strengthening the livelihoods of more than 250,000 people in PepsiCo’s agricultural supply chain.
“To date, we’ve implemented N-Drip’s technology with farmers in India, Vietnam, and the US, and saw improved crop yields, reduced fertilizer usage, and 50% less water consumed compared to flood irrigation,” said Rob Meyers, VP, Sustainable Agriculture, PepsiCo.
“We’re thrilled to grow our partnership further by scaling N-Drip’s technology to make an even bigger impact across our agricultural footprint,” Meyers said, adding that the goal is to reach 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) by 2025.
Currently doing business in 17 countries, Kfar Saba-based N-Drip’s three main business hubs are Australia, India and the southwestern United States; it has a US headquarters in Arizona.
N-Drip’s founder and chairman, Prof, Uri Shani, formerly headed the Israel Water Authority, and was motivated by the need to make precise irrigation affordable without the need for external energy or filtration.
“As PepsiCo sources crops from farms of all types and sizes, N-Drip’s proprietary technology allows our partnership to make precise irrigation accessible to all types of farmers, from those with massive farms to those with one-acre plots,” said N-Drip CEO Eran Pollak.