Middle East And Africa Smart Irrigation Market

Middle East and Africa Smart Irrigation Market Size (2024 to 2032)

The smart irrigation market size in the Middle East and Africa was worth USD 83.52 Mn in 2023. The MEA market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.9% from 2024 to 2032 and be worth USD 340.50 million by 2032 from USD 97.63 million in 2024.

The smart irrigation system is an automated system that provides plants with the exact water when it’s required without any manual intervention. It automatically adjusts the watering schedule based on various real-time parameters, including the water content of the plant, wind speed, wind direction, and local weather data. It has numerous advantages, including environmental sustainability, reduced labor costs, and less water usage.

Expanding farming operations costs, increasing government initiatives to promote water conservation, and the growing importance of increasing farm profit by utilizing automated irrigation solutions are the major factors driving the smart irrigation market.  Also, the increasing need to monitor and control the water requirements of the field due to inadequate rainfall and water is further expected to fuel the growth of the market.

However, a lack of awareness regarding the potential benefits of smart irrigation solutions and high implementation costs are restraining the growth of the market.

CURRENT SCENARIO OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA SMART IRRIGATION MARKET 

Smart irrigation techniques play an immense role in making the effective use of outdoor water appropriate to the plant's needs. This technique is highly efficient in managing wastewater using controllers and sensors. These devices seek the weather data or soil moisture data and provide the necessary essentials for the plant to grow properly. The sensors measure how wet the soil is and provide the water, respectively, which is an ultimate procedure to not waste the water and to process it efficiently for the growth of the plants. Government regulations to reduce the environmental impact through irrigation systems are likely to gear up the new opportunities to adopt these technologies even in middle-economy countries. Systems launched to focus on following the traditional irrigation practices shall promote the growth rate of the market to the extent. The growth of the plant is totally dependent on the good practice of hygienic irrigation methods. Supplying adequate water for the plants influences the entire growth with seedbed preparation, germination, root growth, and others, which are solely responsible for overall yield.

MARKET DRIVERS

The growth rate of the Middle East and Africa smart irrigation market is driven by the increasing support from government initiatives for the development of various techniques in the irrigation sector. Huge investments in agriculture to adopt new technologies, especially in supplying water, are enhancing the growth rate of the market. The growing demand for food in this region is highly engraving the need to adopt these technologies.

The growing disposable income in the Middle East and Africa is attributed to the increase in food production by practicing new technologies in the agriculture sector. Global warming and climatic changes have become major challenges to producing effective yields in the present day. To consequently overcome these challenges, smart irrigation technology helps fulfill the rising demand for food by properly managing the water supply according to the weather forecast data.

Agriculture is becoming one of the key aspects in the Middle East and Africa region to overcome the growing concern of food insecurity. Therefore, it is highly important to adopt technologies like smart irrigation for efficient production of the food chain.

MARKET RESTRAINTS

Lack of complete knowledge about using new technologies is slowly degrading the growth rate of the Middle East and African smart irrigation market. Not everyone is well-known about the use of the latest technologies in the agriculture field, especially in remote areas, which will become a hurdle for the key players in initiating the new systems. The high cost of installation and maintenance of the system is difficult for people to afford, which is likely to limit the growth rate of the market.

In addition, collecting weather data in real-time may sometimes fail due to technological mistakes, which may erupt the complete procedure. This may solely hinder the growth rate of the Middle East and Africa smart irrigation market. In this region, the water scarcity problem is eventually rising along with soaring temperatures that may cause certain problems for the irrigation system in the coming days.

MARKET OPPURTINITIES

The Internet of Things is one of the quite common factors in the agriculture sector in recent times that is anticipated to improve agricultural activities, especially in smart irrigation techniques.

• According to the Mobile Economy Middle East and Africa report, artificial intelligence in the agriculture sector using the Internet of Things shall evolve transformative applications. IoT connections in MEA are expected to reach 70 million by the end of 2025.

The quick transformation of water management systems by government bodies is highlighting the need to install smart irrigation in the agriculture sector. The need to save water due to rising scarcity issues in different ways with the available technology is quietly surging the growth rate of the market to the extent. The major contributions through investments from government bodies to try various sustainable and innovative solutions to save water are important to elevate the growth opportunities for the market, especially in the Middle East and African region.

MARKET CHALLENGES

Though smart irrigation helps conserve water and is a respectful solution for water management, the difficulty of integrating the new systems with the traditional ones is so possible at a low budget. Therefore, the difficulty of integrating modern technological developments with the low ones definitely challenges the key players in the market. Negligence in monitoring the system may reflect a huge loss, which may also limit the rapid adoption of smart irrigation systems in this region. Likewise, sensors and controllers may not work effectively sometimes due to a lack of proper maintenance, which also poses a challenge for the key players.

DETAILED SEGMENTATION OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA SMART IRRIGATION MARKET INCLUDED IN THIS REPORT

By Irrigation Controller

• Weather Based Controllers
• Sensor Based Controllers

By Hardware and Network Component

• Sensor
• Water/Flow Meter
• Smart Detection System

The sensor segment is attributed to have the highest share of the Middle East and Africa smart irrigation market. This component is highly important in every aspect, especially in automation technology. There are different types of sensors used in the overall system, from detecting rain to finding soil moisture that plays a key role in promoting the effective growth of the plant. Consumers have the feasibility to ensure system compatibility by choosing the appropriate sensor.

The water/flow meter segment is esteemed to have the fastest growth rate during the forecast period. It is highly important to measure the flow of water, which is substantially needed to elevate the growth rate of the market.

By Application

• Agriculture
• Non-Agriculture

The agriculture segment is solely leading the dominant share of the Middle East and Africa smart irrigation market. These systems are majorly important in the agriculture field to improve crop productivity with respect to the growing need to secure water consumption activities wherever possible.

By Country

• KSA
• UAE
• Israel
• Rest Of GCC Countries
• South Africa
• Ethiopia
• Kenya
• Egypt
• Sudan
• Rest Of MEA

The smart irrigation market in the Middle East and Africa has been steadily growing for the past few years and is anticipated to have a significant growth rate in the future. Increasing popularity of the new system through campaigns and social media platforms by government authorities only to improve the water management solutions in agricultural fields thoroughly is sustained to level up the growth rate of the market. Increasing investments to install high-quality systems for better outputs is likely to completely change the portfolio of the agriculture sector that is determined to leverage the new opportunities for smart irrigation.

UAE holds the highest share of the market owing to the adoption of various farming practices despite weather challenges. In addition, the demand for environment-friendly farming practices like using smart irrigation systems to use water appropriately is essentially to enhance the growth rate of the market. The government initiative steps to conserve water due to increasing difficulty over the availability of water is also to leverage the growth rate of the market.

Saudi Arabia's smart irrigation market is next in holding prominent growth opportunities throughout the forecast period. The rising need for water optimization in dessert countries will enhance the growth rate of the market.

KEY PLAYERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA SMART IRRIGATION MARKET

Some of the prominent vendors in the Middle East and Africa smart irrigation market include Hunter Industries, Rain Bird Corporation, Netafim, HydroPoint Data Systems, Inc., Rachio Inc., The Toro Company, Calsense, Galcon, Blossom and Green Electronics LLC (RainMachine).