Water Efficiency
The respect for water as an essential limited resource leads us to find innovative solutions to the management and saving of water. So far, the results have been outstanding, and we’re committed to continuing to invest in innovative processes for treating and reusing water.
Our agronomic decisions support our water-saving aims.
Drip Irrigation
Fighting wastage
Relative humidity
Light and shadow
Drip Irrigation
We plant our crops in pots, using an efficient, drip irrigation system that gives each plant just the amount of water it needs.
Fighting wastage
Our target is set at 10 – 15% maximum waste. To reach this, we have a dedicated irrigation team that takes several readings throughout the day and goes through the sectors looking for potential leaks.
Relative humidity
We encourage natural grass (not watered) within the sectors, maintained only with water from wastage. As the relative humidity within the sector increases, there is less need for water consumption. We have relative humidity sensors located every 3 hectares.
Light and shadow
We proactively manage shadow networks, according to the weather. On hot and muggy days, we cover the plants with nets, and on more humid days, we remove the nets so that the plant becomes more active again, and the photosynthesis process continues. This also helps us save water.
Focus on saving water for a more sustainable future
In 2023, 53% of the water used in our Portuguese farms was water collected from rain and water recycled or reused. At our A-de-Mateus farm in Portugal, a runoff water harvesting system was implemented, aiming to capture 100% of the runoff, which represents 20% of irrigation needs. In 2023, this site used 272,420 m3 of water for irrigation. With the implementation of this water reuse and recycling system, ADM is projected to save a significant amount of water each year (around 54,484 m3). Furthermore, this system is expected to have a positive impact on the environment by decreasing the demand for freshwater resources. Besides, the use of other systems to collect rainwater will allow us to collect +50.000m3 per year. For knowing more about our water management plan, visit our ESG section or click here.
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