Mechanized irrigation methods available to small farmers are too expensive and often deemed ineffective. AgriRain provides irrigation as a service with an aim to make irrigation more economical and effective for small farmers.
By creating a customizable "Irrigation as a Service (IaaS)" model, AgriRain is providing small farmers with the tools needed to be successful in their irrigation efforts. With their head office located in Lincoln, Nebraska, and project offices located all around the world, their model has proven to be scalable, and cooperating farmers' income has increased significantly. AgriRain is a Startup-In-Residence at The Combine Incubator, an AgTech startup program.
AgriRain's working model consists of four components:
Training Water Entrepreneurs
Community Sensitization
Service Delivery
Mobile App
AgriRain trains rural youth in the community to be "water entrepreneurs" and responsible for precision irrigation at critical stages. Then, their team connects with farmers to understand their needs and offer their pay-per-service, irrigation service. Finally, a mobile app is used to collect data to create a customizable service schedule for each farmer. An automatic notification is sent to the farmer and water entrepreneurs are sent out to deploy calibrated irrigation based on soil moisture and estimated precipitation.
AgriRain is the first in the world to provide irrigation as a service. This type of innovative irrigation has already created a significant impact. So far, 33 water entrepreneurs have been trained across their project locations and are providing service in three different countries. This has attributed to a $162 farmer income increase, a yield increase from 20% to 63%, and has served 7,784 small farmers.
The Combine wants to recognize AgriRain for its efforts and drive to develop innovative solutions that are efficient and economical for small farmers. To learn more about AgriRain, visit https://www.agrirain.com/.
What is The Combine?
Invest Nebraska's Combine Incubator is a statewide initiative focused on supporting high-growth agri-food entrepreneurs through mentoring, commercialization support, physical incubation space on Nebraska's Innovation Campus, and a network of helping farmers and ranchers across the state. Invest Nebraska is a private, non-profit statewide venture development organization focused on high-growth companies in Nebraska and growing the state's entrepreneurial economy. Invest Nebraska works directly with entrepreneurs, researchers, and companies to help commercialize their technologies, launch and grow new businesses, and access needed capital.
Thank You To All of The Combine's Generous Sponsors:
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