Drip irrigation at work in Rishpon. File photo by Juandev, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
1965Water and farming
A drip irrigation company started on a small Negev kibbutz in 1965 now works with farmers in 110 countries.
Netafim's agreement with an inventor in 1965 begins a company that has produced more than 150 billion drippers.
The story in numbers.
110
countries where farmers and communities use it
8.5million
farmers it has worked with, at least
10million
hectares irrigated, at least
150billion
drippers produced, at least
Here is how it happened.
Netafim's offices at Kibbutz Hatzerim. File photo by Govvy at en.wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
1965
Netafim and the inventor Simcha Blass sign an agreement in 1965.
The agreement is to produce a dripper commercially. The company starts on a small kibbutz in the Negev desert.
SourceNetafim Legacy timeline
A dripper line between rows of young plants. File photo by Borisshin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
January 1966
Netafim starts making drippers in January 1966.
The start-up needs only a car and a plastic injection machine. The first installation is in the kibbutz's own orchards, where yields nearly double within a year.
1978
Netafim introduces a dripper that keeps the flow even on slopes.
The pressure-compensated dripper gives uniform flow in sloped areas. Kibbutz Magal had joined as a partner in 1973, and Kibbutz Yiftach joins in 1978.
SourceNetafim Legacy timeline
1981
The first subsidiary outside Israel opens in Fresno, California.
Netafim Irrigation Incorporated is set up in 1981. At first, overseas sales had gone mainly through local representatives.
2025
In 2025 Netafim marks 60 years, with 19 manufacturing plants and 4,500 employees.
It joined Orbia in 2017 and has 33 subsidiaries worldwide.
1 of 5
Drip irrigation puts a larger share of the water into the root zone than the other methods do.
% of the water applied that the root zone stores, top of each range
Here is why it matters.
Agriculture accounts for 70% of global freshwater withdrawals, so the way a farm applies water matters. Drip irrigation applies it at the roots, drop by drop.
Three more milestones to read next.
The National Water Carrier near Kadarim. File photo by Hanay, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
1964
The National Water Carrier brings Galilee water to the Negev.
Read the story
2005
The Ashkelon plant starts turning seawater into drinking water.
Read the story
2024
Israel reclaims over 80 percent of its wastewater, Spain about 30.
Read the story
Where each fact was read.
Sources read on 1 November 2026.