Water is the source of life. However, water is wasted everyday, especially in agriculture. How to implement water saving irrigation and increase capacity remains a consistent topic for world agriculture. In China, a country short of water, this is a problem which requires immediate solution.
Recently, “Father of Drip Irrigation”—Doctor Osmane Aidi, Chairman and managing director of Irrifrance Groupe (hereinafter referred to as Irrifrance), made his second visit to China since 2003, seeking cooperation relations with China. During his visit, he accepted an inclusive interview with China’s Foreign Trade.
Doctor Osmane Aidi’s strategy in irrigation is worth of learning for China as an agricultural country suffering from water shortage.
Q: What contributions has Irrifrance made for the world irrigation?
A: The 21st century is a century of water. We have long recognized the importance of water. Thus in 1952, Irrifrance was founded. In that year, we invented the drip irrigation technology; In 1970 we invented the hose reel machine and in 1972 fetched in the center pivot and lateral move machine technology.
So far, we have established demonstration bases in over 70 countries around the world, with the biggest one in southeastern France. The bases are used for the education on water saving for local policy makers and peasants. To today, Irrifrance has accounted for about 60 percent of the European irrigation market. And in the U.S., the export of our irrigation products ranks first in the sector.
Q: You once said “Those who are engaged in water conservancy must come to China for a visit.” Why do you say so?
A: Referring to irrigation system, the technology of the ancient Roman Empire has been widely recognized. Actually, Chinese people began to study water conservancy 4,000 years ago, 2,000 years earlier than the Roman Empire. At that time, China made great contributions for the world, with its leading irrigation technology. Only in the recent several hundred years, China lagged behind from its leadership position in water conservancy. The waste of water resources prevails in China and becomes a serious problem. Fortunately, the country, aware of such problem, has attached great importance to water saving and has done a lot of work.
Statistics showed that among the 480 billion cum of agricultural water, only 30 percent has been effectively used, while 60-70 percent has been wasted, namely 300 billion cum. If these water had been put into efficient use, how would the result turn out? Water is such valuable resource that should not be wasted like this.
China is a large country short of water. However, as a vast country endowed with complex hydrologic conditions, China is an ideal place for learners engaged in water conservancy. Those who are wiling to become authoritative


experts in this industry should come to China for visit and study.
Q: Do you think Irrifrance’s technology is applicable to China? What work has Irrifrance done in China?
A:I f r a c na cne ’s s a te y c fh on ro lco eg ry ta is i nv e tr hy a s t u i It ra rb i lefor China. The agriculture situation in China is like that of any other countries in the world, though the policies here may be different.
Certainly, China has its unique characteristics. With this in mind, we look to strengthen the localization of our products, make some cost effective products for users who have only a small farmland. We also combine agricultural water and water conservancy so as to save water and raise capacity.
Irrifrance made its debut by setting up a subsidiary in China 5 years ago. Now the subsidiary keeps a good momentum of development, with the growth trebled every year. This year we had the great honor to be awarded as one of the “2011 China’s Wellknown Irrigation Companies”. In the future we would like to increase investment, and do our own contributions for China’s agricultural construction, while taking consideration of China’s characteristics.
Q: Now the desertification in northwestern China is becoming more and more serious. What suggestions or measures does Irrifrance have to slow down the tendency?
A: The most important is how to prevent desertification by means of agriculture. The northwestern part of China owns 130 billion cum of ground water, while, unluckily, among these, 103 billion cum, or 85 percent, has been wasted. The water, which accumulated over 10,000 years, has been lost during the recent 50 years. This really hurts. Water waste has become the biggest problem. Luckily, water-saving irrigation can help to solve the problem, by preventing desertification with ecological agriculture and raising agricultural production.
The area of the encroaching desert is expanding in China. 2.8 million square kilometers of desert takes up 29 percent of the total size and nearly 15 percent of the world. The only feasible way is to adopt scientific methods to implement water-saving irrigation, protect the ecology and maintain sustainable development.
Moreover, China should combine sand control with river control. At pres- ent, the Yellow River has been suffering from cutoff and drying up time to time. How to connect desertification control and prevention of river cutoffs is worth thinking. Besides, there is big difference in water resources between North China and South China, with some 700 liters per capita in the north and 3,700 liters in the south. If the south does not save water, drought may be a problem in the future.
Q: Irrifrance has expanded to the world to conduct business. Then how does it perform in China now?
A: Now Irrifrance has many specific projects in China. Since its debut in China in 2006, we have formed long-term relationships with provinces or autonomous regions like Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Ningxia, Xinjiang, etc. In particular, the biggest
demonstration base we set in Zhaodong City, Heilongjiang Province has got the support of Chairman Hu Jintao. In the following years we plan to set more bases in Chinese cities, and improve our technology and work, based on the advice of the local governments and peasants.
We view China as a base rather than a simple market. Our production in Tianjin and Hebei Province is not only meant to meet the domestic demand, but also for export to neighboring countries or districts like East Asia, Southeast Asia, Russia, etc.
Three Rural Issues (agriculture, rural areas and farmers) are the top priority of China. I am deeply impressed by the policies in agricultural machinery purchase allowance, agricultural cooperative, which underlines the central government’s great concern of the issues. This is so beneficial for agricultural development and worth of learning for the whole world.
We benefit from these favorable policies and hope for the continuity of the policies. We will visit Heilongjiang soon for an on-site study of the agricultural cooperatives, and exchange views with the officials there.
In addition, we would like to suggest that it is time for field irrigation to shift from quantity to quality in China, by making full use of the present resources, ensuring the quality of farm implements and increasing productivity. In this way, Chinese farmers are expected to enjoy a much better life in the following 10 years.
Q: What are the plans and outlook of Irrifrance for the future?
A: As a pioneer in irrigation, we will work closely with the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR), including participating the summit forum held by the MWR, promote modern scientific equipment, invite leading experts for training and education in the demonstration bases. We wish to be actively involved in a series of activities launched by the MWR next year, and do our utmost to contribute our technologies to China’s irrigation.
The 12th Five Year Plan (2011-2015) for Water Saving Irrigation is expected to come on stage within this year, which mentions 100 million mu (1 mu=0.0667 hectares) of farmland with high effective water saving technology. This good news is a big cake for us. To take a share of the sweet cake, however, we should enhance investment and make more contributions. We are more than wiling to take the largest part of the cake with our heartfelt commitment and sincerity for China.
On one hand, in a special industry focusing on water saving and ecology, we will continue to establish more demonstrations across the country, which is a commercial consideration. On the other hand, we should shoulder social responsibilities, by setting sights on educating the users and inviting worldclass experts to train them, thus improving their awareness in water-saving and abilities in using the equipments. This is because to sell the equipments is one aspect, to use the equipment is another.
Our drip irrigation products are different in their quality and water control ways. We maintain superiority in the industry about 5 years ahead of others. The dripholes on our products, made from special materials, can last for 10 years without blockage. While, the domestic ways usually relies on changing the dripholes every year, which is harmful for the environment, even with its benefits. Enterprises should value quality and scientific method rather than achieve their short-term goals by neglecting the future development.
I’ve been keeping a close eye on China. The recent talks with Chinese officials leave deep impression on me that China’s irrigation is well planned. I firmly believe China’s irrigation and agriculture will enjoy a promising future.
Links:
Irrifrance Industries was founded in 1958. It is the leading producer of irrigation equipments in the world. In September 2010, Irrifrance Groupe was formed.
The company is the European leader in irrigation business. Its market shares, including all product lines, are estimated at 42 %. With more than 60% of annual turnover coming from export, Irrifrance is now ranked among the world leaders in irrigation techniques.