Creating value from water through solar irrigation for vulnerable Tanzanian farmers
Energy 4 Impact and the Grundfos Foundation have joined forces to provide solar irrigation and a package of business, technical and market development support to smallholder farming communities in the least developed regions of Tanzania. The collaboration aims to equip poor farmers with the technologies and skills required to put available water resources to productive use and grow their way out of poverty, whilst increasing food security in the region.
Despite the vast amounts of fresh water available, many low-income Tanzanian farmers struggle to adequately irrigate their crops. Today, 80% of Tanzania’s food is grown by small-scale farmers on land that is not irrigated by mechanised equipment. The reliance on rainfall and manual irrigation hampers agricultural productivity, and climate change is already threatening smallholder farmers’ livelihoods and increasingly affecting food security.
Recognising that technology and smart agricultural practices can help low-income farmers adapt to climate change as well as improve crop production, the Grundfos Foundation and Energy 4 Impact are combining access to solar-powered water pumps with tailored agronomic advice, alongside guidance on post-harvest practices, and market development activities, enabling farmers to realise the full potential of solar irrigation.
The Grundfos Foundation, the main owner of Grundfos, one of the largest pump manufacturers in the world and a pioneer in developing products and services that meet water and climate challenges, is not only passionate about providing access to drinking water for poor communities but also about ensuring that water resources are used more efficiently and sustainably. In partnership with Energy 4 Impact, the Grundfos Foundation is now keen to explore how solar-powered solutions, such as solar irrigation, can create climate-resilient farming whilst improving the livelihoods of subsistence farmers.
Trialling business models that work for groups of farmers
Over the course of a 12-month collaboration, Energy 4 Impact and the Grundfos Foundation will investigate whether centralised larger-scale and higher-capacity pumps, shared between sizeable local groups, are more affordable to farmers than the smaller-scale pumps, more commonly available across the region, typically only used on individual farms. Since ensuring the affordability of irrigation solutions for farmers is critical to making a lasting impact, the project will also explore various financing and payment models to test the economic case for groups of low-income farmers buying the pumps outright versus paying a regular fee for an outside company or farming association to provide water on demand as a service.
As part of the trial, two high-end solar water pumps will be installed in the regions of Geita and Shinyanga, in Northern Tanzania. These will be shared by two groups of 40 farmers each.
Fredrick Tunutu, Energy 4 Impact’s Tanzania Country Manager, says:
Having the farmers organised into groups will not only ensure the pumps are utilised at optimum capacity, it will also help us identify the business model that best increases the ability of farmers to afford these pumps in the future and earn a good income from them. We also aim to demonstrate that these solar pumps can generate sufficient income for groups of farmers in order to persuade local financial institutions to extend loans to other farmers that enable them to purchase the equipment on credit or via pay-as-you-go mechanisms.
The two sites will serve as training and demonstration hubs where farmers from surrounding communities will be supported to develop and implement business plans, improve their financial management practices, acquire both the technical skills to operate and maintain the pumps, as well as obtain the agronomical, horticultural, and efficient post-harvest management knowledge needed to boost their productivity.
The overall objective of this 12-month collaboration is to ensure the farmers not only make the most of the pumps, but put their newly acquired skills and knowledge to effective use to improve their farming operations, find new routes to market for their produce and save sufficient cash to reinvest in their business. The expected outcome will be improved agricultural resilience across these communities.
Within one year we expect that these sites will have achieved a powerful demonstration effect amongst the surrounding farming communities, increasing awareness of the potential of solar irrigation and modern agronomic techniques amongst the local farmers who can benefit the most from accessing these technologies,
say Energy 4 Impact’s Project Manager, Fredrick Tunutu.
Working closely with the Grundfos Foundation on this project is Anise Sacranie, Senior Partnership Development Manager for SafeWater, a business unit in Grundfos focusing on finding commercially viable and sustainable water solutions to the underserved communities.
She says,
Sadly, the threats posed by climate change are becoming an increasingly common reality. Recognising both the vital role and the vulnerability of smallholder farmers globally, Grundfos is committed to supporting our partners in developing climate-smart irrigation solutions that can be scaled. Through the alliance with Energy 4 Impact, we are excited to learn about what it takes to establish a business model for centralised irrigation solutions that are viable for smallholder farmers and for irrigation service providers. Grundfos is keen to understand what we need to do to support the economic growth of low-income farmers in a way that will also ultimately secure their sustainable access to both food and water.