At a Glance
Yann Le Coz, Founder, Raincatcher Technologies“Water scarcity is not a niche issue. It is a structural challenge for nations and it deserves to be treated with that level of seriousness.”
The Challenge
In many water-scarce farming settings with sandy or sandy-loam soils, water scarcity shows up first as instability in the root zone. Even when irrigation delivery is efficient, very low water-holding capacity pushes water beyond the reach of roots through rapid drainage, while extreme heat accelerates evaporation and interception reduces what reaches the soil. Crops cycle between brief periods of adequate moisture and repeated strain, and performance becomes more variable as temperatures climb.
When moisture does not remain available after it is applied, water-use efficiency declines and production risk increases. The practical effect is more frequent irrigation demand, greater pressure on limited supplies, and heightened exposure to groundwater depletion in places that rely on pumping. Where desalination or energy-intensive conveyance is involved, the same pattern increases operating costs and deepens the resource burden of sustaining yields under harsh conditions.
Raincatcher Technologies advances a root-zone approach that stabilizes moisture availability beneath the roots, giving plants more consistent access to water between irrigation events. The approach improves agricultural water productivity by focusing on what happens after water reaches the field, supporting more reliable outcomes in water-scarce conditions and aligning with Al Miyah Challenge for Agriculture’s focus on practical innovations that can be tested and measured in real farming environments.
The Solution: Root-Zone Water Reserve
Raincatcher Technologies is a subsurface soil-applied material designed to absorb water during irrigation or rainfall and release it gradually back into the root zone. It is applied beneath the plant’s root zone using a dedicated injection tool, with placement intended to keep moisture available where roots can access it between irrigation cycles. By storing water underground and releasing it progressively, the approach reduces losses linked to rapid drainage beyond the active root zone. Stabilizing moisture availability beneath the roots is intended to reduce plant water constraint and support stronger and deeper root development, particularly under heat and in soils with low retention. More stable moisture in the root environment is also associated with improved nutrient uptake efficiency and stronger tolerance of demanding conditions, including heat and salinity.
Many water-efficiency interventions focus on delivery and scheduling through drip irrigation systems, pivot optimization, sensors, and digital irrigation management. Raincatcher Technologies targets losses after water enters the soil, focusing on water retention and root-level utilization across irrigation methods and cropping systems, with the ability to integrate into existing on-farm practices.
The Impact
Testing and demonstrations have been reported over the past five years across multiple countries, climates, soil types, and crops, including the UAE, Türkiye, Morocco, and the Kyrgyz Republic. These sites reflect conditions frequently associated with water-scarce agriculture, including high temperatures, drainage-prone soils, and operational constraints that can make stable root-zone moisture difficult to maintain.
Reported results vary by crop, soil texture, irrigation approach, and temperature conditions, with stronger outcomes associated with higher water scarce conditions where moisture deficits and heat pressure are more pronounced. In practical terms, Raincatcher Technologies’ solution reports irrigation reductions ranging from 40% to 85%, depending on crop and climate. Under strain conditions, it reports yield increases from 20% to over 90%, with water productivity improvements reportedly approaching or exceeding 90%. In settings where water is energy-intensive or costly to supply, irrigation reductions can also reduce operating costs and energy demand. Meanwhile, in environments where fixed allocations limit cultivated area, improved water productivity can enable cultivation of larger areas with the same total water volume.
The Future:
Scalability & Beyond
Raincatcher Technologies entered Al Miyah Challenge for Agriculture at a pivotal point. The solution has demonstrated field performance, but wider deployment depends on structured execution, comparable evidence, and partners who can take a solution from trials to adoption. The Challenge’s focus on water efficiency in agriculture aligned directly with reducing plant water strain through improved root-zone moisture availability. As a finalist, Raincatcher Technologies is now at a crucial delivery moment that creates a setting for rigorous testing under hot, arid conditions and for translating reported results into measurements that institutions and growers can compare and trust.
Yann Le Coz, Founder, Raincatcher Technologies“For us, Al Miyah represents a bridge between pilot success and systemic deployment. It is an opportunity to move from proving that the technology works to embedding water productivity into national and international agricultural strategies.”