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> These are also expensive to buy & run.

Long-term, it’s the cheapest option if you want to farm in an arid region.

Drip is used quite a bit in Northern California for higher value crops like tomatoes, but it's too expensive for normal crops. It also seems like a non-starter for smaller scale and poorer farmers in developing nations; that's a lot of CapEx for generally lower value crops.

> that's a lot of CapEx for generally lower value crops.

We’re not disagreeing. Those farming regions are not viable long term unless the economics change dramatically.

How are current farming regions without such systems not viable?

That’s the vast majority of current farm acreage in the world.

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