In March of 2019, Peter Chege from Hydroponics Africa Limited became RDI’s East Africa distributor. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, Peter has been building hydroponic and vertical garden systems for over 8 years. Now with RDI’s plant-responsive system, Peter has seen tremendous results with over 50% reduction in water use. Tomato yield per plant rose from 9kg to 11kg with RDI. Peter was even able to cut labor in half due to the simplicity of GrowStream™.

Peter set up pilot projects in the Kakuma Refugee Camp located in northwestern Kenya. As one of the world’s largest refugee camps, Kakuma houses nearly 250,000 refugees and displaced persons. Support and aid flows from various agencies throughout the world to Kakuma in the form of food for the residents. Agriculture and local food production is virtually impossible due to the harsh climate and soil conditions.

Several crops were planted with RDI GrowStream™ including tomotoes and watermelon. They
were planted during a particularly hot and dry time- and the survival of the crop was doubtful. GrowStream™ performed perfectly, allowing the plants to take what they needed to grow, thrive, and produce- even in extremely challenging conditions. The pilot projects have seen incredible success and now have a way for Kakuma residents to begin growing nutritious produce locally.

Peter has now started pilot projects in Darfur refugee camps, home to another 100k+ refugees in Sudan.

Pakistan is the 5th most populous country in the world with nearly 220 million citizens- and among the most extreme water scarce in the world. Its economy and people rely heavily on agriculture for both domestic food use and economic production.

Eva-Anna Farms, based in Islamabad, became the RDI distributor in Pakistan after GrowStream™ won the innovation award in Abu Dhabi. “With RDI, we can change the future of our people and our country,” said Muhammed Pervaiz, President of Eva-Anna Farms.

Eva-Anna Farms has since worked closely with the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC) in Pakistan to install and compare water use, yield, and energy consumption of RDI GrowStream™. The NARC is the largest research center in Pakistan, serving as the common platform for scientific study and adaptation of technologies throughout the agricultural sector.

Compared to standard drip systems, GrowStream™ is already showing amazing results after just 8 weeks: RDI tomatoes are notably healthier, with 81% of the plants flowering compared to just 23% for standard drip.

Bok Choy was recently harvested, with RDI showing an average plant weight of 755 grams per plant vs. 334 grams for standard drip. While this 126% increase in yield is incredible – RDI continues to see examples where performance far exceeds even the highest of expectations.

GrowStream’s™ ultra-low system pressure requirements and water-efficiency
also means that smallholder farmers throughout the country can dramatically reduce their energy costs by over 60%.