Innovation Lab For Small Scale Irrigation

Innovation Lab For Small Scale Irrigation

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A glimpse of hope in the role of private sector engagement for scaling irrigation innovation bundles in Ethiopia

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by Muluken Elias Adamseged and Dagmawi Melaku, International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

Agriculture is strategically a key sector for Ethiopia, engaging more than two-thirds of the labour force and is predominantly dominated by smallholder farmers and rainfed systems. Given the high climate uncertainty, enriching irrigation access to farmers is at the core development agenda of governmental and non-governmental organizations. While there is limited adoption of irrigation technologies among smallholders, most of the small or household level irrigators are using water pumps that run, mostly, on fossil fuels or electricity. In recent years, the high price increase and unreliable supply of fossil fuels were additional factors encouraging the search for an alternative solution.

These conditions were a part of the background for The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) to co-design and develop innovations with stakeholders. Thus, with funding from the Feed for The Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILLSI). IWMI introduced the solar pump for irrigation purposes for smallholder farmers. To pave the way for backward and forward linkages, the solar-powered innovation is bundled with other innovations including client credit assessment, Pay-As-You go, muti-stakeholder collaboration platforms, and tailored business models. In Ethiopia, ILSSI has been working with stakeholders from the ministries, research centres, universities, and private sectors to enhance learning and decision making on Farmer Led Irrigation development (FLID). The MSD series, through A multi-stakeholder dialogue in 2020; A multi-stakeholder dialogue 2021, has helped to identify the challenges, opportunities, solutions and approaches to scale innovations that support FLID.

Mr. Lemi Assefa-Program Manager at Rensys Engineering Plc. (Photo-Yonas Qoricho)

Throughout this process, private sector actors have played a key role. The results of the 6th MSD in 2023 showed the importance of irrigation innovation bundling, and so the demand for it has been created among the intervention areas. One of the private sector agents reported that he is regularly receiving requests from farmers in the intervention areas. A farmer recently asked the agent “Gashe (sir) can you please bring me the same product (solar pump) like my neighbour Gedamu Moges?” The frequent requests show the good perception and value created among the community, yet also indicate the low capacity of the private sector to reach and fulfil such local demands.

What we have observed from the 6th MSD and in the overall project results is a glimpse of hope in the role of the private sectors for agriculture development in Ethiopia. However, the number of companies in the private sector, specifically engaged in irrigated agriculture in any form, be it technology and input provision, agronomic advisory support schemes and related services, are few in numbers. Given the proportion of small holder farmers in Ethiopia (more than 90%), the private sector’s engagement needs to be incentivized and developed.

Mr. Abraham Endrias-Managing Director, Lersha.(Photo – Yonas Qoricho)

Thus, exploring possibilities on how to keep the momentum of the private sector need to be on the agenda of the stakeholders. Five key aspects on how to engage and develop the private sector for further enhancement of the sector in FLID are as follows:

  1. Supporting the private sectors and their niche initiatives: in the early stages of piloting and implementing the innovations, the private sector has been supported by financial, technical, and non-technical areas. Given the novelty of the innovation, providing some shelter was one of the reasons for the successful implementation . These have enabled them to strengthen their own capacities, develop inclusive business models and minimize risks, and promote their products and services. If not for the support, the idea could have died at the niche level.
  2. Strengthening the multi-stakeholder dialogue: the Agricultural Water Management Task Force (AWM-TF) has co-organised the MSD for the last few years. The platform has provided opportunities for the private sector to understand who the key stakeholders are and how to cooperate with them, and to discuss the key challenges the sector faced. Thus, sustaining the MSD and creating related platforms could benefit the sector.
  3. Improve the institutional setting: the private sector and their initiatives are encountered with institutional, financial, and technical challenges. The delayed grant of Letter of Credit for importing, the lengthy importing process and complex customs services, have been key challenges for implementation. Even after the tax exemption of the solar pumps was rolled out, the implementation and lack of clear guidelines have hampered the supply of the technology for the farmers.
  4. Facilitate access to finance: the private sector has not been able to mobilize and facilitate access to loans for the farmers. One of the reasons for this is due to lack of rules and regulation to lend money for solar pumps. Microfinance institutions are reluctant to lend money for small holder farmers.
  5. Strengthening public private partnership (PPP): the PPP strategy for irrigation sub sector that is currently under development by AWM-TF and partners will be crucial to structure and facilitate partnerships for FLID. During the 6th MSD, stakeholders expressed interest to enrich the strategy with further inputs and dialogues with private actors in irrigated value chains.

Experience sharing among cooperatives: The case of Genet Lerobit dairy cooperative

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The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) is undertaking research with three dairy cooperatives (Genet Lerobit, Habebo and Mishigida Etta). Genet Lerobit is in Amhara region, Northern Ethiopia and Habebo and Mishigida Etta are located in SNNPR.  As much as there are similarities between these two locations, there are also variations in cultural practices, crops grown, livestock management and feeding practices. Moreover, the three coops vary in their level of growth and capacity, knowledge and experience in cooperative management and input-out markets.

Therefore, ILRI arranged experience sharing programs among these cooperatives with the aim of fostering their capacities through cross-learning and adopting new working practices and technologies that go well with the respective environments.

The visit

A six-day visit was arranged for 5 cooperative management teams of Genet Lerobit cooperative, from Bahir Dar zuria district, to the two cooperatives in SNNPR during the last week of November 2022. The visit was designed to share the indigenous and acquired knowledge and practices of Habebo and Mishigida Etta dairy cooperatives in green production, fodder marketing, milk handling, processing, and backyard and homestead management by farmers..

The Bahir Dar zuria District visiting team at Habebo Dairy Coperative (SNNPRS)

Visit to green fodder markets

Green fodder market is not well practiced in Bahir Dar zuria district, whereas there is a vibrant green fodder market in Durame, Kedida Gamela district where Mishigida Etta dairy cooperative is located. Farmers around the zonal town and neighboring villages bring in fresh forages (mainly desho grass, Napier grass, native grasses, sugar cane tops,) and seasonal feed like teff straw, maize stover and wheat straw) on the backs of donkeys, mule carts, human heads and backs every day. The buyers are livestock producers mainly from urban areas and farmers from villages who have animals but little or no forage plots.

Lemo unique house construction

Housing of Lemo community is unique in the region (and probably in the country too). The grass -thatched roof (keeps the house cool during the day and warm in the night), wood-rope interwoven ceiling, wood walls tightened with rope from enset or false banana (a drought tolerant and multi-purpose plant unique to the SNNPR), flower decorated homestead gives a unique pleasure to the residents and to anyone who visits the families.

Lemo Housing style (Photo Credit: Fikadu Tessema)

Backyard and homestead management

At Jawe kebele of Lemo woreda individual farmers’ homesteads and backyards are fully vegetated and decorated. Ato Adinew Ayele, one of the many model farmers in Jawe owns crossbred dairy cows, which are well fed and produce milk for family consumption and income generation for the household. Adinew always seeks new innovations and works closely with development and research projects. His backyard is full of improved forages and other native forage varieties. He uses solar pumps to lift water from hand dug wells and irrigate his fodder and vegetable plots.

Wro Bekelech backyard and homestead management (Lemo district, Jawe Kebele) (photo: Fikadu Tessema)

Bekelech is an innovative woman farmer in Jawe. Like that of Adinew, her backyard is also full of forages and vegetables and fruit spices, etc. Bekelech entertains many visitors due to her presentable and popular farm management and enthusiasm.

Visit to Mishigida Etta and Habebo dairy cooperatives – both supported by the ILSSI project

Habebo dairy cooperative was established in 2008 with 18 male and 30 female members and started operation by collecting about 5 liters of fluid milk. Nowadays, it has about 223 members and collects about 500 liters of fluid milk daily.  Mishgida Etta dairy cooperative was established in 2011 with 50 female members. Currently, it has about 250 female members and collects about 100–150 liters of milk daily .

Habebo dairy cooperative produces cream, butter, buttermilk and cottage cheese for consumers in Hossana city and surrounding areas. It also produces yoghurt (Ergo) from buttermilk increasing income for the cooperative. Mishgida Etta produces yoghurt (Ergo), butter and cheese in their dairy product shop and new buildings which were built by the cooperative with the support of ILSSI project and stakeholders.

Habebo dairy cooperative visit Lemo District

Visitors’ reflections

Green fodder marketing is a new practice for Bahir Dar zuria farmers, and the visitors appreciated the potential of such a market to change the lives of farmers. They noted that such markets would create job opportunities for farmers who want to sell forage as a cash crop.  Visitors were encouraged by the competitive price (ETB 6.60/kg of fresh matter) at which green fodder is sold in the local market and vowed to promote it in their locality. They said, “When we go back home, we will teach fellow cooperative members how important it is to start an open fodder market, and link buyers and sellers.” 

“We thank ILRI/ILSSI project for making this visit happen and giving us a chance to learn from our fellow farmers.”

Visitors stated that such markets would also create income generating opportunities for dairy producers who do not have land to grow forages and to landowners who can grow forages but have little or no animals.

They noted that both cooperatives are well organized and functioning properly, and appreciated the valuable information, saying,

Farmers look to solar irrigation: Building the irrigation equipment supply market in Ghana

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November-December 2022

Will smallholder farmers invest in solar pumps to expand irrigated farming in Ghana? Studies point to the potential for solar irrigation in Ghana to enable farmers to adapt to climate change and to increase farmer incomes through various business models. But as farmers increasingly shift to self-supply in irrigation, the market is under the spotlight. While the current market system is fragmented and laden with risks, USAID-supported projects are building the foundation for a resilient irrigation equipment market. This is particularly urgent, given the onset of weather changes and increasing demand for irrigated produce.

The response by farmers and private sector actors is encouraging. Over 530 people attended workshops on solar irrigation in Jirapa (Upper West) and Tamale (Northern), while another 609 people attended workshops in Nandom (Upper West), Nalerigu (Northeast) and Bole (Savannah). Participants are primarily farmers but include companies and entrepreneurs, government, research institutions and NGOs. The workshops – aimed at ‘strengthening the sale and service networks for solar irrigation market linkages’ – were organized by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and Pumptech Ghana in November 2022 and co-funded by the USAID-sponsored Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) and Africa Research in Sustainable Intensification for the Next Generation (AfricaRISING) projects.

Under the projects, IWMI enables market-based scaling of solar-based irrigation bundles through local demand-supply linkage workshops that facilitate direct linkages across private, public and research sectors. Jointly, participants identify financial opportunities for farmers’ investment in solar irrigation technologies, products, and services, and establish networks and collaborations for business opportunities. Discussions also highlighted the need for local distribution centers in rural districts and targeted training of extension officers and private service agents on solar-powered pumps. Rural and community banks discussed approaches to improve access to financial services for farmers to acquire solar technologies on credit.

Demonstrations for solar-powered irrigation pumps (SPIPs) at each workshop and in communities across 9 locations in the Upper West, Northeast, Northern and Savannah Regions led 223 potential clients to explore purchasing solar pumps from Pumptech. With more such activities to build robust sales and service networks, especially for solar irrigation, farmers can begin to look at the sun in a whole new light.

ILSSI partner EcoTech Mali carries out awareness campaign across 30 villages

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In collaboration with the Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation, last month, EcoTech Mali carried out an awareness campaign on the installation and use of solar pumps, as well as on irrigation and water retention techniques through workshops and demonstrations in 30 villages of 4 municipalities in the region of Koutiala.

Photos below show EcoTech Mali’s awareness campaign; photo credits ETM.

Practical demonstration of the pump and its monitoring application to representatives of the municipality of Zangasso
Technical workshop in the municipality of Fagui
Photo of the Ennos 0.5HP solar pump
Raising awareness of representatives of the Municipality of Zangasso in Koutiala

Valuing Multiple-Use Water Services for Food and Water Security: Upcoming Webinar

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Multiple uses of water services (MUS) for individuals and households are gaining attention for the potential to mitigate and cope with crises. ILSSI is collaborating with UN-FAO and the Household Water Insecurity Experiences Research Coordination Network (HWISE-RCN) to reexamine multiple-use water services. The initiative seeks to identify the interconnected and co-benefits of MUS and focus our attention on the relevance of MUS for (1) nutrition and food security amid water stress related to demand and pollution; (2) nutrition-sensitive household and homestead agricultural water management (linking irrigation with WASH investments for synergistic nutrition outcomes); (3) nutrition- and food-security sensitive water management at the homestead and household scale; and (4) gender empowerment.  

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We have initiated a workshop series seeks to draw on new insights in water security research to advance conceptual and methodological approaches to multiple-use water services that can guide international development policy and investments.  In addition, we have also organized panel discussions in a webinar format.

Our first webinar, slated for November 3, 2022, at 11am (CST), will host a panel of experts on MUS, food security, health, and household water security to discuss the potential benefits and avenues of resiliency MUS offers for rural communities in LMICs.  Dr. Wendy Jepson, Texas A&M University Professor and Director of the HWISE-RCN, will guide Dr Nicole Lefore, ILSSI Director, Dr. Stef Smits of IRC-WASH, and Mr Matt Stellbauer, ILSSI Associate Director and Doctoral Candidate, in an hour discussion on revaluing MUS for the next wave of resilient development investments. We will consider how MUS may directly and indirectly enhance water security and nutrition outcomes, as well as consider how current practices may limit or truncate more beneficial pathways to well-being for rural communities. Our forward-looking conversation will contribute to a framework for a new MUS agenda. The initiative will inform FAO programming that supports rural communities and small-scale farmers, at a time when building resilience to crises is urgently needed.

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