What IrrigationNZ does

IrrigationNZ is a membership-funded national industry body headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, founded in 2004 and operating with 9 employees. It promotes excellence in irrigation and freshwater management, advocating on behalf of members and serving individual irrigators, service industry businesses, irrigation schemes, regional and central government, research institutions, students, and retirees across New Zealand.

The organisation delivers a portfolio of NZQA-accredited formal qualifications (NZ Certificate in Irrigation System Performance Assessment at Level 4 and NZ Certificate in Irrigation System Design at Level 5), micro-credentials for water measurement installation and verification (Unit Standards 27445 and 27556), short e-learning courses (irrigation scheduling, rural water supplies, soil jar test, irrigation development), and digital tools including the catchcan.co.nz Bucket Test app (powered by SCADAFarm) and the IRRICALC Water Allocation Calculator. Its accreditation arm administers the Blue Tick Water Measurement programme, the Farm Dairy Effluent System Design accreditation on behalf of DairyNZ, and the Irrigation Design accreditation (winding up 30 September 2025, with a Certified Irrigation Professional programme under consideration). Underpinning outputs include Codes of Practice covering design, installation, performance assessment, hydraulics and pumping, water measurement, and fertigation.

The business model combines recurring membership subscriptions tiered by irrigated hectares or staff/turnover size (irrigators and schemes pay $1.83 per irrigated hectare with a $229 minimum; service industry tiers from $458 to $1,832 annually; government $1,832; research institutions $458; students $47; retirees $229), with fee-for-service revenue from training ($50 to $7,750 per course) and accreditation ($750 to $2,700 per cycle plus regional surcharges), and advertising sold to industry partners such as WaterForce, Rubicon Water, Lindsay/Zimmatic, FMG, and Aqualinc. Distribution is direct via the website, phone and email, supported by a fortnightly newsletter reaching 7,000+ irrigation professionals and a quarterly IrrigationNZ News magazine.

Name

IrrigationNZ

Legal name

Irrigation New Zealand

Website

https://irrigationnz.co.nz

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IrrigationNZ is a Wellington-based, membership-funded national industry body that delivers NZQA-accredited training, micro-credentials, accreditation programmes, and digital tools to irrigators, service providers, schemes, and government across New Zealand's irrigation sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Irrigation Industry Services

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Irrigation Scheduling & Advisory Services (ET/Soil-Moisture Based) (AFACAFAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Irrigation System Design & Engineering (AFACAFAA), Irrigation Design, Installation & Maintenance Services (Engineering, Retrofit, Repair) (AFAAACAL), Water-Smart Irrigation & Water Stewardship (Drip/Micro, Scheduling, Water Harvesting) (AFAGAMAD)

Keywords

• Irrigation industry training
• Water measurement accreditation
• Freshwater management advocacy
• Irrigation qualification courses
• Industry standards development

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees charged to irrigators, service industry businesses, schemes, government bodies, and other stakeholders. Fees are structured by membership class (irrigators charged per irrigated hectare, businesses by size/tier).
2. Training and Education: Revenue from formal NZQA-accredited certificates, micro-credential assessments, and e-learning courses. Includes NZ Certificates in Irrigation System Design and Performance Assessment, Blue Tick water measurement courses, and short online training modules.
3. Accreditation Services: Fees for Farm Dairy Effluent System Design accreditation and Water Measurement (Blue Tick) accreditation programmes. Includes initial applications and renewal fees.
4. Advertising and Industry Partnerships: Revenue from industry partners who advertise through IrrigationNZ's newsletters, website carousel, and media kit packages. Partners pay to be featured and promote their businesses to the irrigation professional community.
5. Farm Dairy Effluent Accreditation: Accreditation programme administered by IrrigationNZ on behalf of DairyNZ. Companies pay application and renewal fees for accreditation in effluent system design.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

IrrigationNZ is a membership-funded national industry body that promotes excellence in irrigation and good freshwater management across New Zealand. It delivers NZQA-accredited formal qualifications (Certificates in Irrigation System Design at Level 5 and Irrigation System Performance Assessment at Level 4), micro-credentials for water measurement, accreditation programmes (Blue Tick, Farm Dairy Effluent System Design, Irrigation Design), Codes of Practice, and digital tools including the IRRICALC Water Allocation Calculator and the catchcan.co.nz Bucket Test Web Tool.

Product overview

IrrigationNZ operates as a membership-funded national industry body offering a portfolio of training programmes, accreditation services, and digital tools for the irrigation sector. The core offerings include two NZQA-accredited formal qualifications (NZ Certificate in Irrigation System Design at Level 5 and NZ Certificate in Irrigation System Performance Assessment at Level 4), multiple micro credentials for water measurement installation and verification (Unit Standards 27445 and 27556), and e-learning courses covering irrigation scheduling, development, rural water supplies, and soil testing. Supporting digital tools include the catchcan.co.nz Bucket Test App (powered by SCADAFarm) for irrigation performance testing and the IRRICALC Water Allocation Calculator. The accreditation arm covers Blue Tick Water Measurement, Farm Dairy Effluent System Design, and Irrigation Design programmes. All programmes are underpinned by Codes of Practice covering design, installation, performance assessment, hydraulics and pumping, water measurement, and fertigation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NZ Certificate in Irrigation System Performance Assessment (Level 4)

Named customers12 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Ballance Agri-NutrientsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Project partner in fertigation research 2019-2021. Contributed to field trials and project outcomes.
• Pamu Farms of New ZealandminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Project partner in fertigation research 2019-2021. Provided farm sites for field trials.
• Landcare ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Project partner in fertigation research 2019-2021. Research organisation supporting primary industries.
• Fertigation SystemsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Project partner in fertigation research 2019-2021.
• Molloy Agriculture LtdminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Project partner in fertigation research 2019-2021.
• NZ Fish Screen Working GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Led by IrrigationNZ, this group conducted the MPI Adoption of Good Practice Fish Screening Project (SFF 405972) from 2019-2023 to improve fish screen facility design and assessment. Includes Environment Canterbury, Fish & Game, NIWA, DOC, Ngāi Tahu, Otago Regional Council, NZ Salmon Anglers Association, and others.
• Water Supply NZcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor2026 industry partner advertising through IrrigationNZ. Water supply equipment and services provider.
• WaterForcecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor2026 industry partner; provider of water and irrigation solutions and services.
• FMG (Insurance)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerIrrigationNZ's preferred loss prevention advice partner. FMG provides advice resources for irrigation system risk management including windstorm, drought, earthquake, and flood guidance.
• Rubicon WatercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor2026 industry partner; provider of irrigation technology and water management solutions.
• Lindsay (Zimmatic)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor2026 industry partner; Zimmatic brand irrigation systems provider.
• Brown BroscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor2026 industry partner; irrigation and water services provider.
• AqualinccoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor2026 industry partner; irrigation consultancy and services.
• DairyNZcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFarm Dairy Effluent System Design accreditation programme administered by IrrigationNZ on behalf of DairyNZ. Fees are subsidised through DairyNZ support.
• NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in NZ Fish Screen Working Group. Original 2007 fish screen guidelines developed by NIWA.
• Department of Conservation (DOC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in NZ Fish Screen Working Group for freshwater species protection.
• Fish & GameminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in NZ Fish Screen Working Group.
• Ngāi TahuminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in NZ Fish Screen Working Group representing Māori interests in water management.
• Primary ITOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNZQA-approved programme owner for micro-credentials. IrrigationNZ delivers water measurement training under sub-contracting arrangement with Primary ITO.
• Water New ZealandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Rural Water Supplies digital badge course. IrrigationNZ offers WaterNZ's online course at member rates.
• Site SafecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Health and Safety Foundation Passport training. IrrigationNZ delivers Site Safe Foundation Passport - Civil (Irrigation) course, meeting same requirements as standard civil passport with rural/irrigation focus.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• DairyNZ: New Zealand's dairy industry body representing dairy farmers. Functionally similar as an agricultural industry body with a membership-funded model; INZ administers the Farm Dairy Effluent accreditation on DairyNZ's behalf, making them both a strategic partner and a functional peer.
• Horticulture New Zealand: New Zealand horticulture industry body representing fruit and vegetable growers. Comparable as a NZ agricultural industry body with similar structure (membership-funded, training, advocacy); differs in serving horticulture producers rather than the irrigation sector directly.
• Aquaculture New Zealand: Industry body representing New Zealand's aquaculture sector. Comparable as a NZ water-related industry body with a similar membership-funded structure; differs in representing aquaculture producers rather than irrigators.
• New Zealand Winegrowers: National industry body for the New Zealand wine sector. Functionally comparable as a NZ agricultural industry body with membership, training, and advocacy programmes; viticulture is a major user of irrigation services in NZ, making it a thematically related peer.
• Foundation for Arable Research: New Zealand arable cropping industry body providing research, advocacy, and grower resources. Comparable as a NZ agricultural industry body with a similar membership-funded model and sector-research focus; differs by serving arable growers rather than irrigators specifically.
• Primary ITO: New Zealand's primary industries training organization and owner of NZQA-approved micro-credential frameworks. INZ sub-contracts water measurement training through Primary ITO, making it both a delivery partner and a functional peer in industry training delivery.
• Site Safe: New Zealand health and safety organization for the construction and infrastructure sectors. Partners with INZ to deliver the Site Safe Foundation Passport - Civil (Irrigation); comparable as a training delivery partner for industry credentials in NZ.

Regional players

• Irrigation Association (US): US-based international membership organization for irrigation professionals offering certification, training, and advocacy. Direct functional counterpart globally, but operates in a much larger US market and does not serve NZ irrigators.
• Irrigation Australia: Australian national peak body for the irrigation industry providing training, accreditation, and advocacy for Australian irrigators. The most direct functional equivalent to IrrigationNZ, but serves the Australian market rather than NZ and does not compete head-to-head.

Direct peers

• Water New Zealand: National water industry body in New Zealand covering water supply, wastewater, and stormwater. Closest functional peer in the same geography, addressing the broader water sector; INZ even partners with WaterNZ to deliver their Rural Water Supplies course to members.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/IrrigationNewZealand
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/irrigationnz
• Instagraminstagram.com/irrigation_nz?igsh=MXppZXR2eWF6M2pr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IrrigationNZ