Members projects

For more than 50 years, the industrial tomato producers of Nestlé in the Province of Los Santos (Peninsula de Azuero) used gravity irrigation to water their lands. This is a system that uses approximately 150 m3 of water per hectare for every day of irrigation. This province is characterized for having long and dry summers.

With a crop cycle that requires 100 days of irrigation, water runoff can lead to soil erosion. Gravity irrigation systems require strict soil preparation and a greater use of manual workers for fertilisation labours, cultural and phytosanitary practices. The number of tomato plants per hectare is also determined by the number and width of furrows, being limited by the vast amount of land used in furrowing and a planting system which does not allow growing more tomato plants.

It was imperative to change the irrigation system to reduce water losses; maximise the efficiency in the application of fertilisers and phytosanitary products; improve the preservation of the soil; and increase the population and in turn the productivity of the cultivated area.

With the drip irrigation system, growers are able to introduce innovative productivity schemes in order to optimise the utilization of natural resources such as water and at the same time reduce the impact of ploughing, preserving the environment and increasing their yearly income using the same land but with better environmental farming practices.

The use of drip irrigation has achieved big water savings from 150 m3/ha/day (furrow irrigation) to 47 m3/ha/day. Since 2008, 8.4 million m3 of water coming from wells, rivers and creeks were saved. These savings signify a reduction in the total use of water (for all producers) of 2.8 million m3 of water every year. In addition, tomato yield has increase from 30 to 38 tonnes per ha, significantly increasing the producer’s return on
investment.