And what a birthday year it has been (and still is). A fitting culmination of everything that Netafim has been passionate about for almost a billion days. For those of you who don't yet know Netafim, suffice it to say that this company has made drip irrigation virtually a household name in the world of agriculture. Drip - or micro- irrigation enables improved agricultural yields with lower water, energy, chemicals and land use through targeted irrigation systems that precision-feed water and plant nutrients to crops. With 3,700 employees at the end of 2014, working with large agricultural concerns and thousands of smallholder farmers across emerging markets, Netafim has succeeded in expanding the use of drip irrigation, advancing both social and environmental sustainability in a systemic way. There are few companies that produce a product that is inherently net positive for the planet. Netafim is one of them.
Here are some of Netafim's 2015 stories:
Publication of Netafim's 2014 Communication on Progress (COP) to the UN Global Compact.Netafim publishes a full Sustainability Report every two years. In the interim years, Netafim meets its commitment to the UN Global Compact as a member of the UNGC's LEAD program and the CEO Water Mandate by publishing a COP. The 2014 COP covers 21 UNGC LEAD criteria and references Netafim's 2020 Sustainability Strategy that was defined in 2014.
The COP includes case studies from Netafim's recent activity. Netafim always has a host of fascinating projects to talk about. One, for example, is the breakthrough use of drip irrigation for rice.
Rice is a major crop of which the majority is grown by smallholder farmers. The average age of rice farmers is rising as younger generations have no desire to work in such labor-intensive jobs. The decreasing number of rice farmers is a major issue worldwide, as rice is the main source of nutrition in many regions. As rice supplies become more difficult to maintain, governments are seeking new ways to increase production. Drip irrigation is a solution to increasing rice yields while using fewer resources, resulting in lower cost for land preparation and fertilizers, lower greenhouse gas emissions and less physical labor. Netafim currently maintains collaborative research initiatives for rice irrigation in many countries including Japan, China, Thailand, Australia, Ukraine, and Spain to help identify the optimum irrigation conditions in each country in alignment with local climatic conditions and needs. And here's another thing. Did you know that the use of traditional flood irrigation methods has an effect of increasing arsenic absorption from the soil by rice plants? How would you like a little arsenic with your rice pudding? Arsenic exposure has been associated with certain cancer risks if ingested in high quantities. Through Netafim's research with the University of Pisa in Italy, researchers were able to reduce the arsenic content of drip irrigated rice to almost zero. Hope it still tastes as good! Here's a short vid (scroll back to top of the page) where Dubi Raz, Netafim’s Corporate Agronomy Director, talks about rice irrigation and other things at Israel's 2015 Agritech exhibition.
Elaine Cohen is a CSR consultant, Sustainability Reporter, HR Professional an Ice Cream Addict! Author of Understanding G4: the Concise guide to Next Generation Sustainability Reporting AND Sustainability Reporting for SMEs: Competitive Advantage Through Transparency AND CSR for HR: A necessary Partnership for Advancing Responsible Business Practices. You can follow her on Twitter @elainecohen