Innovation Lab For Small Scale Irrigation

Innovation Lab For Small Scale Irrigation

News

Multi-stakeholder dialogues identify opportunities and challenges to advancing farmer-led irrigation

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In October 2021, the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) hosted, in collaboration with our research partners, our latest small scale irrigation dialogue platform meetings in Ghana and Ethiopia. These meetings are part of the Small Scale Irrigation Multi-stakeholder Dialogue Spaces, which we first established in project countries in 2019, that bring stakeholders together to encourage collective thinking across sectors and explore new opportunities and solutions to scaling farmer-led irrigation.

Irrigation for climate-resilient cocoa production

In Ghana, the recent meeting focused on the cocoa sector, and was co-convened with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. The overall goal of the cocoa-focused multi-stakeholder dialogue is to contribute to the sustainability of the cocoa system through a market approach to improved water management and irrigation of cocoa.

This first meeting focused on the cocoa sector and explored producer market segmentation, agricultural water management, and small scale irrigation suitability for cocoa production. Participants represented private sector companies, such as ECOM Trading, PEG Africa, and PumpTech; government stakeholders, including the Ghana Cocoa Board and the Cocoa Health and Extension Division; and research partners such as the Cocoa Research Institute, Water Research Institute, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and Ghana Irrigation Development Authority.

In addition to presentations on the need for, as well as the potential and suitability of, irrigation, participants also discussed approaches to ensuring equitable and affordable access to irrigation for smallholder cocoa producers. Participants also networked and set the foundation to collaborate toward a climate-resilient cocoa sector. A meeting report includes links to all presentations made.

Participants discuss opportunities and challenges for expanding small scale irrigation in Ghana. Photo: ILSSI.

Leveraging offtake markets to unlock irrigation

In Ethiopia, our recent event focused on the role of offtake markets in unlocking small scale irrigation investments. We brought together stakeholder including cooperatives, lead firms, and digital marketing companies to learn from their experiences. More than 28 stakeholder organizations attended the event, either physically or virtually.

Through their discussions, stakeholders found that actors in offtake markets, such as agribusinesses and start-ups, cooperatives, processors, exporters, and wholesaler traders, have multiple roles to play in unlocking investments in small scale irrigation. For example, they can help improve access to inputs, irrigation technologies, loan and credit services, technical support, markets, as well as cold chain and other facilities. Likewise, the enabling environmentis critical in supporting investments in and marketing of small scale irrigation. Notably, local and export market demand, favorable conditions for irrigated production, economic return, policy support, tailored services provided by micro-finance institutions, and information and communications technology platforms all can help create opportunities for greater investments in small scale irrigation.

Stakeholders identified current challenges that hamper offtake market actors’ ability to accelerate small scale irrigation. These include the fact that some aspects of irrigated fruit and vegetable markets are largely informal, with high risks and price fluctuation, low transparency, and unbalanced decision-making power between actors. Limitations in accessing inputs, technology, facilities, financial services, and markets to ensure return on investment along with capacity gaps on contract enforcement, certification, international marketing, operation, and management of cold store facilities and irrigation technologies are also among the challenges. Policy and institutional barriers were also identified, including those related to tax and duty exemption processes for irrigation technologies, packaging material regulations, financial regulations on mobile money transactions, and limited coordination between key institutions.

Finally, discussions highlighted a number of opportunities, including optimal use of agro-ecology for growing fruits and vegetables, irrigation of high-value crops to increase farmers’ revenue by enabling more harvests per year, and increased donor and project interest in supporting small scale irrigation development and creating access to services and technologies for smallholder farmers. The revision of Ethiopia’s agriculture and rural development policy was highlighted as an opportunity to further create the desired enabling environment. A meeting report details further insights from discussions.

Games to stimulate groundwater governance: An introduction and example from Ethiopia

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One of the greatest water management challenges is depletion from overuse, which is a particular challenge for groundwater resources as declines are not directly visible. Also, groundwater management is highly complex, with many users, often unknown to each other, sharing the same resource and not realizing their interconnectedness. Participatory behavioral or experimental games that simulate real-life resource use are a valuable tool for improving users’ knowledge of resources like groundwater.

In this project, the aim is to improve community groundwater governance in Ethiopia through behavioral games. In four districts in SNNPR, community members play different rounds where they each individually choose between planting higher and lower water consumptive crops and learn about the difference in collective outcome (water table levels) and individual gains (income) based on their choices. This is followed by a community-wide debriefing discussion where players and the wider farming community reflect on the game experience and discuss challenges and lessons for real-life governance of water resources. Use of experimental games as an intervention have been shown to increase community understanding of groundwater conditions and the need for coordination and adoption of rules for effective resource management, thus aiding collective action and decision making.

Strengthening groundwater governance through social learning

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The Africa Water and Sanitation Week (AWSW), on 22-26 November, was convened by the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) in conjunction with the African Union Commission and organized with other development partners.

ILSSI partners presented a session on strengthening groundwater governance through social learning – view the full session below.

Partners contributing to this session included the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) and USAID.

Learning to use Integrated Decision Support Systems is critical to ensure food security and sustainable development in Ethiopia

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by Yihun Dile

The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) recently marked a milestone toward its goal to support African scientists to become trainers on the Integrated Decision Support System (IDSS).

September 20-24, 2021, Harar, Ethiopia, at the Africa Center of Excellence for Climate Smart Agriculture and Biodiversity Conservation of Haramaya University.

Scientists from Bahir Dar University contributed to the first jointly implemented capacity development event at Haramaya University’s College of Medical and Health Sciences in Ethiopia on September 20-24, 2021. The training was hosted and organized by the Africa Center of Excellence for Climate Smart Agriculture and Biodiversity Conservation (ACE Climate SABC) and supported by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems (LSIL) at the University of Florida.

Dr. Jemal Yousuf, Haramaya University President, opened the training with a virtual address remarking that local capacity development in IDSS is critical to ensure food security and sustainable development in Ethiopia.

All photo credit to ACE Climate SABC communication office.
Group photo taken at the coffee break of the first day (September 20, 2021) of the IDSS local capacity development. All photo credit to ACE Climate SABC communication office.

The major focus of the capacity development initiative included training on the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), Agricultural Policy Environment eXtender (APEX), and Farm Income Simulator (FARMSIM), as well as their integration.

Students and faculty at Bahir Dar University participated in previous trainings and received mentorship from Texas A&M scientists, leading to successful thesis papers and numerous peer-reviewed publications based on the use of the models. The aim was to strengthen capacity on the tools, such that Ethiopian universities and eventually public agencies would be able to apply the models effectively to monitor and plan for natural resource use in agriculture. In addition, ILSSI sought to ensure that Ethiopian scientists would take over the trainings on the models.

The training emphasized application of the tools to the livestock sector within agriculture and natural resource management. Participants received training on the individual models relating to their fields of expertise. On the final day, all the participants came together to practice the integration of the three models in groups. Such group practice facilitates exchange of knowledge and skills learned over the week, and it demonstrates to participants the value of IDSS to research, plan and monitor in agriculture and natural resources. The group activities provide an opportunity for participants to network and establish lasting scientific collaboration.

Photo taken at APEX individual session where Drs. Abeyou W. Worqlul and Tewodros Assefa are teaching.

The increasing interest in the IDSS tools was demonstrated by the diversity of participants’ organizations and professions. Government agencies (e.g., Environmental Protection Authority of Harari Region) and non-governmental agencies (e.g., World Vision) participated. Researchers, graduate students, and/or faculty were represented from the Ethiopian Agricultural Research Institute (EARI), Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Mechara Agricultural Research Center, and universities including Addis Ababa University, Arba Minch University, Ambo University, Bahir Dar University, Debre Tabor University, University of Gondar, Haramaya University, Hawasa University, Selale University, Wolaita Sodo University, Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resource, and Wollo University. The 70 participants included 13 women scientists.

Dr. Yihun Dile facilitated a group session on September 24 where participants practiced integration of the three models.

As part of the training event, participants and trainers visited the ACE Climate SABC, Haramaya University research facilities and some notable sites at Haramaya University main campus. Trainers, trainees, and organizers got the opportunity to attend a university-wide research symposium, followed by an ACE Climate SABC dinner event during which participants received training certificates. Certificates of recognition were also awarded to the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI), trainers from the Texas A&M University and Bahir Dar University, and training organizers at Haramaya University. Final remarks were made by Prof. Mengistu Urge (ACE Climate SABC Leader and Vice President for Academic Affairs), Dr. Tesfaye Lemma (Vice President for Research Affairs), and Dr. Solomon Binor (University Board Member and Science and Research Affairs Director General at the Ethiopian Ministry of Science and Higher Education). Dr. Binor emphasized the importance of short-term capacity development for effective academic and research excellence in Ethiopia. All the speakers showed strong interest to continue the collaboration in research and capacity development activities.

Photo taken after a visit to the ACE Climate SABC at Haramaya University main campus.

The multi-partner training is the result of a longer-term collaboration between ILSSI, Bahir Dar University, and the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA). The ACE Climate SABC at Haramaya University was established through the financial support from The World Bank.

Group photo of trainers and training organizers taken at the closing ceremony of the IDSS local capacity development training at Haramaya University.

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This work was funded in whole or part by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Food Security under Agreement # AID-OAA-L-15-00003 as part of Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems as well as under Agreement # AID-OAA-A-13-00055 as part of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed here are those of the authors alone.

Ghanaian farmers use solar-powered irrigation to innovate and diversify

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by Nicole Lefore, Director of Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI)

During a recent field visit in Ghana, I experienced firsthand how farmers are willing to invest in solar-powered irrigation and use it to experiment, diversify, and adapt to climate change. Talking with these frontrunner farmers can teach us important lessons about how to enable even more smallholders, through better access to credit and stronger value chains, to benefit from small scale irrigation.

For the past few years, we have seen solar-powered irrigation emerge as a promising, climate-smart solution for smallholder farmers to increase their incomes and improve their livelihoods and nutrition. However, for most farmers, investing in pumps and photovoltaic panels still represents a significant risk. So far, this has been hampering large-scale uptake of the technology.

The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) is working to find different ways to enable more smallholders to make the investment, without putting their livelihoods at risk. For example in Ghana, we are partnering with PEG Africa, a private sector provider of solar-powered pumps, to find ways to reach farmers ‘at the bottom of the pyramid’. This year, PEG Africa’s game-changing asset-based financing solution has enabled several dozen farmers to purchase solar-powered pumps on credit, without the usual collateral or credit history required for a loan.

During my recent visit to Ghana, I discovered how these investments are prompting farmers to push the boundaries of diversification and to explore how they can make the best return and gain the most benefit at farm level. The solar-powered pumps are changing farmers’ practices, profitability, and plans for the future.

Nicole Lefore visiting innovating farmers in Ghana. Photo via Nicole Lefore.

Irrigation allows farmers to break new ground in cocoa production

When launching our partnership with PEG Africa, we had expected that most farmers would be interested in using the solar-powered pumps for horticulture. Surprisingly, we have found that some farmers are diversifying far beyond this area, including using pumps for other purposes than irrigation and even breaking new ground by introducing irrigation in cocoa cultivation.

Cocoa is central to Ghana’s economy, engaging around 600,000 farmers directly. However, aging farms and climate change are creating challenges. While old trees need to be replaced, around 40 percent of the seedlings die due to lack of rainfall. Low rainfall is also reducing production across all three cocoa-producing seasons.

At the same time, farm income from cocoa remains extremely low, making it difficult for farmers to replant farms and adapt to the changing climate conditions. In short, changing rainfall patterns are making irrigation an urgently needed investment.

When visiting farmers near Offinso recently, I was happy to see that several of them are using their new solar-powered pumps to rehabilitate their cocoa farms. The pumps allow them to regularly water their cocoa seedlings to prevent loss and to inter-crop vegetables and staples such as plantain, while the newly planted seedlings come into production.

One cocoa farmer said that he had previously walked five kilometers to reach a stream for water, but now the solar-powered pump is near his house, enabling easy access to water for multiple uses and cutting down on labor. Another smallholder cocoa farmer told me that he is using the pump to expand into ginger and turmeric production.

A cocoa seedling benefits from irrigation. Photo: Nicole Lefore.
A farmer has diversified, using the pump for catfish production. Photo: Nicole Lefore.

Learning from these farmers will help inform the work we are doing with PEG Africa – and in collaboration with one of Ghana’s largest cocoa-buying companies – allowing us to better understand how to make solar irrigation accessible for cocoa farmers to adapt to climate change and remain viable.

The way the farmers in Offinso have begun to innovate and diversify their production can be expected to enable them to continue cocoa production through farm rehabilitation, while also producing horticulture and specialty produce for increased income. These farmers could be providing one of the first clues that smallholders really can afford solar-powered irrigation, adapt to climate change, and still be profitable.

New technologies, better business ventures

Another small farm business I visited in the Eastern Region, the Growing Gold Farm, is combining solar-powered pumps with other technologies and online platforms to maximize profit, allowing them to continue to reinvest in climate adaptation and environmental health.

The Growing Gold Farm replaced hand watering vegetables and fruit on their two-acre farm with a solar-powered pump purchased from PEG Africa. The farm manager emphasized to me the cost savings made possible now that they no longer need to hire people to irrigate by hand and instead engage that labor for improved agronomy.

The farm increased its profitability and then reinvested in regenerative agriculture practices, including mulching and integrated pest management, as well as water management technologies, such as drip tubes.

The Growing Gold Farm manager explains the savings made possible by investing in solar-powered pumps. Photo: Nicole Lefore.

The farm records the amount of water used on different crops and observes the productivity and quality changes, using tools provided by another ILSSI partner, the International Water Management Institute.

One of the reasons for the profitability of the farm is that it sells produce directly to customers in the Greater Accra market, using Instagram for marketing and orders, and then delivers produce by Uber, both of which have helped to ensure better prices for their high-value produce. They have gained a following by ‘foodies’ in urban markets looking for high-quality, fresh produce, which has generated more social media attention.

The lesson here is that using multiple technologies and turning to online platforms and social media for direct marketing does have promise in emerging markets where urban households are getting further and further away from the farm. When we see a smallholder farmer jumping over the middleman, finding new marketing approaches, profits increase and enable investments in new technologies.

These two examples, the smallholders irrigating cocoa farms and the Growing Gold Farm, both show that smallholder farmers can successfully invest in solar irrigation – utilizing asset-based financing – and expand their benefits and returns through diversifying what they produce and how they engage the market.

We can learn from such cases, which help us better understand how farmers can afford to invest in irrigation through credit and through better linkages within different irrigated produce supply chains. For me, it was a reminder that farmers – including those on very small plots – are the ones who are willing to innovate, take risks, and experiment. Looking to farmers’ innovations will help us and our private sector partners devise better solutions for expanding small scale irrigation in Ghana and beyond.

Texas A&M University System Member