Charl van Reenen - Agronomy Manager

Charl van Reenen joined Netafim South Africa in 2021 as agronomist looking after the Southern Region of the country. In January 2023, he joined the Netafim Management Team as Agronomy Manager. He follows in the footsteps of the well-known, Chris Malan, as he enters retirement.

After completing his BSC Viticulture and Oenology, Charl started as Winemaker. He later realised that he is more interested in the vine than the wine. He worked as viticulturist and agronomist focusing on vineyard nutrition for several years. His journey of vineyard expertise, then took him to irrigation and he joined the Netafim team.

Charl is passionate about the responsible use of water, and the irrigation and agricultural industries’ responsibility towards precise water use. “If we do not continue to find new ways to apply water and develop new technology that increases water use efficiencies, producers will not be able to keep up with the demand for food with the limited re-sources at their disposal. It is important that the entire irrigation industry, whether at producer, designer, and supplier level, does its part to ensure that innovation continues to take the industry forward.

He is also passionate about sharing knowledge in the industry. “The drive for mass adoption of precision irrigation must be about much more than the provision of precision irrigation solutions. We must ensure knowledge sharing in the industry for efficient operation of all equipment and efficient application of all practices.”