CASE STUDY 3 Emerging innovation example – advanced irrigation technologies This opportunity straddles the “scalable opportunities” and “emerging innovations” category. While drip and micro-irrigation are already established, further innovative irrigation technologies use advanced tools, such as sensor-based soil moisture and crop monitoring, AI-enabled scheduling, and automated valves and pumps to optimize when, where and how much water is applied. These systems push water management towards more real-time, data-driven control, replacing fixed schedules and manual operations. They can reduce water consumption while enhancing crop yields and resource sustainability. Nature impact Neutral impact Positive impact Land Ocean Freshwater use Resource use Pollution Co-benefits Climate Social – Innovative irrigation technologies significantly improve water- use efficiency by using high-resolution data to adjust irrigation to actual crop and soil conditions. By combining soil moisture and climate sensors, satellite imagery and automated controls, these technologies minimize over-watering and leakage, reducing abstraction from rivers, lakes and aquifers. This is particularly important in water-stressed regions, as conventional irrigation systems can result in up to 50% water loss through leaching into groundwater.17 Improved water management enables higher productivity per hectare, allowing farmers to increase crop yields on existing farmland without expanding into natural ecosystems. This can free up marginal or degraded lands for restoration. Beyond conserving water resources, these technologies improve ecosystem health by minimizing irrigation runoff that can pollute wetlands and aquatic habitats. The water savings also translate into reduced energy consumption related to pumping and treatment, thereby lowering GHG emissions. For equipment providers, advanced irrigation technologies create a compelling revenue and growth opportunity. By delivering substantial water savings, more stable yields and reduced input costs for farmers, these systems support a clear business case that underpins willingness to pay for higher-value solutions and services. Although these solutions may entail higher upfront costs than conventional systems, their ability to generate higher and more stable yields, lower expenditure on water, fertilizers and energy, and reduce labour requirements translates into attractive returns for farmers, supporting adoption at scale and repeat sales. Over time, this can drive recurring revenue streams for providers through software subscriptions, data-driven advisory services and replacement or expansion of installed systems, strengthening margins and improving revenue visibility.Moderate: Drip and microirrigation systems are already commercially mature and deployed at scale in many markets. The frontier now lies in integrating these systems with digital and automation technologies – for example, networks of soil sensors linked to AI-driven decision tools, remote monitoring via mobile apps or satellite-enabled decision support platforms. These integrated solutions are increasingly available but unevenly adopted, with higher uptake among larger or more technologically advanced farms and significant room to expand access and usability for smallholders. Moderate: Advanced irrigation technologies typically require moderate upfront investment in hardware (e.g. sensors, controllers, communication devices) and software or service subscriptions. Capital intensity can be reduced by building on existing infrastructure such as drip systems and pumps, upgrading them with digital controls rather than replacing them entirely. Phased deployment – starting with monitoring and advisory tools and adding automation over time – can spread costs and align investment with realized savings and yield gains. Moderate: Despite proven benefits, adoption of innovative irrigation technologies remains limited, with overall penetration still in single-digit percentages globally. Significant barriers include technical knowledge gaps, particularly among smallholders who often lack access to training and ongoing support. Additionally, high initial costs and infrastructure constraints limit uptake, notably in developing countries where access to finance for smallholder farms is challenging. Policy incentives and increasing water scarcity are key drivers stimulating demand; however, limited extension services, lack of marginal water pricing and inadequate infrastructure continue to impede widespread scale-up. Overcoming these hurdles will require coordinated efforts involving financing innovation (e.g. irrigation-as-a-service), capacity building (e.g. bundled advisory and hardware offerings) and enabling policies to unlock the substantial growth potential of these technologies.Financial impact for equipment providers Revenue increase OpEx reduction CapEx reduction – –Technological/process maturity Capital intensity Scalability 50 Investible Opportunities for a New Nature Economy 26

50 Investible Opportunities for a New Nature Economy 2026