Water management in avocado: using data to save water

September 23, 2026

In avocado production, a sector where water management, soil health, and the efficient use of resources are so fundamental to production outcomes, one of the main challenges in achieving these objectives is not necessarily a lack of information.

Farms are constantly generating data, which may be distributed across spreadsheets, sensors, laboratories, weather stations, irrigation programmers, WhatsApp conversations, and other platforms.

Neutral Farming seeks to connect these sources of information through an Agricultural Intelligence Engine that transforms information into alerts, predictions, and actions for field teams.

The company currently works with avocado growers located in the Coquimbo, Valparaíso, and O’Higgins regions of Chile, and its technology is present across more than 2,300 productive hectares linked to this crop.

When the problem is not measuring, but connecting field data

For Ignacio Streeter, CEO & Co-Founder of Neutral Farming, data fragmentation ultimately becomes an operational challenge for growers. A laboratory analysis may be found on one platform, irrigation history on another, while observations made during an inspection remain stored in messages that accumulate throughout the day.

Neutral Farming’s proposal is based on a Digital Twin that captures information from the different sources available on the farm. This system can connect with irrigation equipment, weather stations, probes, satellites, and laboratories, building productivity, weather, foliar nutrition, and soil fertility maps that are updated throughout the season.

This infrastructure is complemented by an agricultural copilot developed by the company, which workers can access via WhatsApp to record field observations, verify information, receive alerts and agronomic reports, and assign tasks to operational teams.

“The WhatsApp factor has been key to facilitating adoption in the field, because it is a tool used on a daily basis,” explains Streeter. The mobile application also allows users to record information without an internet connection, a feature designed for agricultural operations located in areas with limited connectivity.

From water balance to irrigation decision-making

One of the main functions of this integration is water management, which combines information on soil texture, evapotranspiration, irrigation events, and field-recorded soil pits to build the water balance for each sector.

By cross-referencing this information, the system seeks to identify areas that may be receiving less water than necessary or, conversely, excessive amounts of water. It can also suggest new soil pits in areas where the data indicates signs of a problem requiring direct verification.

The technology does not execute irrigation autonomously, nor does it seek to replace agronomic inspections. Its function is to identify where a deviation may exist, provide background information for evaluation, and help the team make a decision before the problem translates into crop stress or unnecessary expenditure.

According to Streeter, the company has recorded cases with savings of up to 30% in irrigation water use based on experiences observed by Neutral Farming. The company emphasizes that the impact depends on the initial conditions, available infrastructure, and management practices of each farm.

Soil, fertilization, and real-time weather alerts

This logic is also applied to soil and input management. Neutral Farming generates baselines and predictions related to organic matter, texture, nutrients, pH, compaction, and organic carbon. These techniques allow companies to observe how different sectors respond to implemented practices and to more precisely target sampling and applications.

The objective of these tools is to reduce uniform decision-making in farms that present high internal variability. If the data allows differences between blocks or irrigation sectors to be identified, teams can concentrate interventions where they are needed and avoid generalized applications that increase costs without generating the same productive benefit.

“Problems occur on farms every day, and many times losses are generated without anyone realizing it,” says Streeter.

Anomaly detection can also extend to weather risks. One example is frost. To anticipate these events, the platform integrates information from thermographs, its own or nearby weather stations, historical records, and dew point calculations. Based on this information, it estimates the probability of occurrence and the expected evolution of temperatures during the night, providing the grower with a preventive alert.

Other examples of use include monitoring pests and diseases, machinery failures, and operational problems associated with irrigation. Once a situation is identified, the system allows a task to be assigned and subsequently verifies whether the recommended action was carried out.

The cost of collecting information

The economic impact does not come solely from saving water or inputs. It is also related to the time spent organizing dispersed data and preparing reports.

According to Streeter, Neutral Farming has observed cases in which its clients saved up to 48 hours of accumulated work per week among members of their agricultural teams. This figure, provided by the company based on its experience with growers, includes tasks involving the collection, review, analysis, and organization of information.

Plans begin with a free option, while paid versions, which incorporate more features and integrations, start at USD 500 per farm. According to the executive, some clients have identified significant savings within the first two to four months of use.

Rather than representing a uniform return, this timeframe depends on the number of manual processes that can be automated and on the grower’s ability to turn alerts into timely decisions.

Operational savings and traceability for international certifications

Traceability also becomes important in relation to certifications such as GLOBALG.A.P. and LEAF Marque, used by growers supplying international markets.

Agricultural standards require evidence regarding areas such as traceability, water management, fertilization, crop protection, and environmental management. In the case of GLOBALG.A.P., its standard for fruit and vegetables includes criteria covering water, fertilizers, plant protection products, and integrated pest management. Its SPRING add-on incorporates records of water consumption, source identification, risk assessment, and water management plans.

Neutral Farming organizes records of soil pits, irrigation, water balance, agrochemical use, soil recovery, and changes in organic matter. This information can be exported in formats used during certification processes.

The platform does not itself provide or guarantee certification, as approval depends on an independent audit. Its contribution is to facilitate the availability and traceability of the evidence that growers must present.

Streeter states that the company has already worked on processes related to GLOBALG.A.P. and LEAF, reducing the amount of time those responsible previously spent locating information across different systems.

Technology that depends on how it is used

Neutral Farming already operates outside Chile, with a presence in California, United States, and seeks to extend its technology to small and medium-sized growers in other countries.

The availability of a free plan, offline functionality, and the use of WhatsApp are intended to reduce some of the economic and digital barriers that hinder technology adoption. However, having more data does not automatically solve production problems.

The outcome depends on the quality of the available information, the system’s ability to interpret it within the specific context of the farm, and ultimately, on whether teams implement and verify the recommended actions.

This is where the most concrete value of agricultural intelligence lies: not in producing another dashboard of indicators, but in reducing the time between the emergence of a risk, its detection, and the decision that can prevent a loss.