October 15, 2015

Last year, China’s Yuanda Enterprise Group acquired a 54% stake in Israeli agtech irrigation and fertilizer startup, AutoAgronom, for $20 million, and now the company is investing US$180 million to expand the startup.

Founded in 1988, AutoAgronom Israel Ltd. manufacturs smart irrigation and fertilizer systems that ‘listen’ to the growth of the root systems of crops and make decisions on the administration of water or nutrients. The system collects and sends data from the plant roots in the field in real time, constantly monitoring key plant parameters thus enabling a farmer to continuously maintain optimum growth conditions. Through the implementation of this system, AutoArgronom states that a grower can monitor various input targets, and make it possible for 95% of water to be absorbed, reducing water consumption from 500 tons per acre to 150 tons per acre.

At the time of the acquisition, Kang Baohua, chairman of Shenyang Yuanda Enterprise Group commented, ““The system can help us to farm on the sand, saline-alkali soil or even on the Gobi, which may restore underground water and help manage heavy metal and garbage pollution.” Field trials have also found that the technology can lead to double digit improvement in crop yields while using 50% of the usual water needed.

The latest US$180 million investment by Yuanda will expand AutoAgronom’s irrigation systems throughout hundreds of thousands of hectares of farmland across various regions of China. The group also announced the construction of a new factory in China to manufacture the controlled drip systems specifically for the Chinese market.