Netafim
Israeli precision irrigation company that invented commercial drip irrigation. Now a global leader in smart agriculture technology, majority-owned by Orbia (formerly Mexichem).
Netafim is the Israeli company that invented commercial drip irrigation and built it into a global precision agriculture business. Founded in 1965 on Kibbutz Hatzerim in the Negev Desert, Netafim turned Israel's water scarcity into a technology export that now operates in more than 110 countries.
Origin
Drip irrigation — delivering water directly to the root zone of each plant through a network of emitters — was pioneered by Israeli engineer Simcha Blass in the 1950s. Kibbutz Hatzerim commercialized the technology by founding Netafim, scaling production of drippers, micro-sprinklers, and control systems. The Negev proved an ideal testing ground: extreme heat, limited rainfall, and brackish groundwater forced every innovation toward maximum yield per drop.
Global Scale
Netafim operates 29 manufacturing plants across 5 continents and employs approximately 6,000 people worldwide. Its systems irrigate crops ranging from field corn in Nebraska to sugarcane in India to avocados in Mexico. The company holds thousands of patents in emitter design, filtration, fertigation (fertilizer injection through irrigation lines), and digital crop management. It is the world's largest drip and micro-irrigation company by revenue.
Ownership
In 2018, Orbia (then Mexichem), a Mexican industrial conglomerate, acquired a majority stake in Netafim from Kibbutz Hatzerim and the Permira private equity fund in a deal valuing the company at approximately $1.9 billion. Kibbutz Hatzerim retained a minority stake. The transaction was one of the largest exits in Israeli agritech history and positioned Netafim within Orbia's Precision Agriculture division.
Strategic Significance
Netafim is the origin story of Israeli agritech — the proof case that a country with almost no arable water could engineer its way into feeding global agriculture. The company's technology is embedded in national water strategies across India, China, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Gulf states, and it is frequently cited in AI and climate-tech contexts as a model for resource-efficient innovation at scale.