Oslo, Norway
November 18, 2013
In a strategic move to engage in agricultural water use efficiency, Yara has acquired the German water sensor company ZIM Plant Technology GmbH.
"This a strategic step for Yara into a new segment of the precision farming business, and it is also a response to our Creating Impact strategy of addressing resource scarcity," says SVP and Head of Downstream Egil Hogna.
ZIM Plant Technology sells crop water sensor technology, which is mostly used in high-precision irrigation systems to improve yields and water use efficiency.
"We will incorporate the knowledge and technology into Yara's existing Crop Nutrition solutions, providing a valuable add-on for our offering to irrigated farming. This clearly improves Yara's leadership position within the growing fertigation segment," says Hogna.
The farmers' motivation to purchase the technology is reduced water consumption, increased yields and improved crop quality. Integrating the water precision tool with Yara's knowledge about precise application of water soluble and liquid fertilizer (fertigation) will multiply the market potential for both.
The company ZIM Plant Technology GmbH has developed the most advanced and reliable technology to monitor the water status of the crop.
"After receiving several innovation awards, I am excited to see that my invention will now be implemented on a large scale through Yara," says Prof. Dr. Ulrich Zimmermann, founder of ZIM Plant Technology GmbH.
Freshwater availability is predicted to become one of the major global challenges. Currently, agriculture uses about 70% of freshwater withdrawals. If water use efficiency is not improved, by 2030 the agricultural sector alone will need more water than is sustainably available. As a conservative estimate, the water sensor technology reduces water usage by 20%.
Closing of the deal subject to normal conditions is set to 1 January 2014.
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