As the world population climbs and water stress spreads around the globe, finding ways of getting more crop per drop to meet our food needs is among the most urgent of challenges. One answer to this call is drip irrigation, which delivers water directly to the roots of plants in just the right amounts. It can double or triple water productivity – boosting crop per drop – and it appears to be taking off worldwide. Amazingly, most farmers today still irrigate the way their predecessors did thousands of years ago — by flooding their fields or running water down furrows between their rows of crops. Often less than half the water applied to the field actually benefits a crop.

The rest isn’t necessarily wasted. Some of it makes its way back to a river or groundwater source where it can be used again.  But the excessive diversions can deplete rivers and streams, pollute water supplies with pesticides and salts, and result in large losses to evaporation. Today, as throughout modern history, irrigation is crucial to the global food supply: Yet less than 4 percent of the Kenya’s irrigated land is equipped with micro-irrigation systems. Clearly, the irrigation revolution has a long way to go.

To date, farmers have adopted micro-irrigation mainly for fruits, vegetables and other high-value crops that can provide a good return on the investment. But as rivers run dry, and the country look on to farmers for additional supplies, the rationale for getting more crop per drop is mounting in more places and with more crop varieties. Dripsol Company,the market leader in drip irrigation, we have expanded drip’s use around the country. Farmers which we have done the installation of a subsurface drip system on their farm claim a 90% increase in yield compared with a conventional sprinkler, and a 70% reduction in water use thus resulting in a dramatic increase in water productivity.

Over the last decade, low-cost drip systems tailored to the needs of poor farmers have begun to spread, as well. So will there be enough water to grow the food we need while still keeping our rivers and freshwater ecosystems healthy? The answer depends in large part on whether farmers will find it profitable to invest in more efficient technologies.  Reducing water subsidies, for example, would help expand the drip market.Drip irrigation is clearly on a roll, but its potential has barely been tapped.

Call us today {+254 (0)7 11197823} to get started with your drip irrigation needs for your farm or write to us through info@dripsol.com.