43 Olympic swimming pools less per year!

40% water saved thanks to new irrigation system at Kenya Cuttings

Today is International Water Day. Not only do we celebrate water, but also on this day particularly we raise awareness of the global water crisis and support water-saving solutions. At Syngenta Flowers we have a lot of knowledge about water since it is one of the most vital things our plants need. Over the years we have engaged in solving irrigation problems with sustainable solutions. One of them is the implementation of a new irrigation system at our farm in Kenya.

What is Kenya Cuttings?

Kenya Cuttings (KECU) a Syngenta Flowers production farm in Kenya where unrooted cuttings (URCs) from Pelargonium and Poinsettia are being produced. The farm has 27 Ha of greenhouses with over 2.5 million potted plants. The two crops are produced counter cyclically, meaning that the greenhouses are occupied almost throughout the whole year.

What was the issue?

Up to 2017, KECU had been producing Pelargonium and Poinsettia URCs with an irrigation system that became inefficient in the last couple of years, resulting in differential fertilizer solution discharge and many dry pots.

What was the solution?

Because the problems, caused by the dated system couldn’t be solved sustainably, a new irrigation system was installed. With the new irrigation we could supply uniform fertilizer solution for each pot. The volume per pot achieved is 150 -200ml per pot per day, which is a lot better for the uniformity of the plant quality. In combination with the data collected from our weather monitoring equipment and decisions we make on a daily basis, we can now also feed the crop the precise amount of water it needs.

What is the outcome?

The results are outstanding. There is a great improvement of the URCs quality and uniformity. But most remarkable is the 40% reduction of water use. We have managed to reduce water usage from 724m3 to 425m3 per day. Which means we now save 299m3 of water per day and 109,135m3 per year. That is more than 43 filled Olympic swimming pools!