Responsive Drip Irrigation (RDI)’s nature-driven irrigation system responds to plant root signals, making irrigation easier and boosting productivity by delivering water only when and where plants need it.
Water scarcity and soil degradation pose serious threats to food security, especially in arid regions and fragile contexts. Additionally, traditional irrigation systems are often inefficient and complex, leading to water waste. Their reliance on electricity or automation makes them unsuitable for degraded land or poor-quality water sources.
RDI’s nature-driven irrigation system responds to plant root signals, simplifying irrigation and boosting productivity by delivering water only when and where plants need it. Installed subsurface, the system requires no electricity, valves, or timers. It enables farming in areas with poor-quality water, degraded soils, or limited resources. Farmers using RDI have doubled production while significantly reducing water, fertilizer and labor use. This plant-responsive technology offers a practical, scalable, and sustainable solution to water scarcity—empowering communities to grow more with less.
RDI has been implemented in over 22 countries, supporting farming and reforestation in some of the harshest environments. The system has helped reduce water use by up to 50 percent, increase yields, improve soil health, and strengthen climate resilience. It has restored land productivity in post‑conflict and water‑scarce regions while promoting sustainability and carbon sequestration.
In 2025, with support from WFP in Jordan, 67 smallholder farmers installed RDI systems atheir farms: reaching 321 farmers when household multipliers are applied. These farmers reduced their water use by up to 60 percent thanks to RDI, while also improving yields, restoring soil health, and enhancing carbon sequestration to help rehabilitate degraded land.