An Israeli farming collective, a Spanish winery and a Chinese fertilizer additives company were the investors in Israeli irrigation control company Saturas’s latest round.
Saturas makes sensors for trees and crops that report when watering is needed, reducing unnecessary irrigation.
The product, in development since 2013, is expected to launch this year. Renzong Wang of the Chinese fertilizer company Hubei Forbon Technology said the sensors would boost crop yields and help China save water in agriculture, giving it economic, environmental and social impact.
As water scarcity puts pressure on agriculture and other sectors’ water consumption, the market for irrigation controllers is expected to reach $1.2 billion by 2022, more than doubling from 2017.
