Innovation Lab For Small Scale Irrigation

Innovation Lab For Small Scale Irrigation

capacity building

Student Interview: Paving the way for young women in STEM with excellence in academia and industry

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Meet Dayan Yenesew, a 2022 graduating class student in software engineering at Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia.

Meet Dayan Yenesew, a 2022 graduating class student in software engineering at Bahir Dar University in Ethiopia.

Tell us about yourself, your current role and your university.

I enjoy mentoring my juniors and educating young people on how to program. I also volunteer in communities around my university, including Women Tech Maker Bahir Dar, Google Developer Group Bahir Dar, and the Developer Student Club. My ultimate goal in life is to become a strong role model for young females by excelling in both academia and industry – paving the way for more women to enter the technology field.

What has the research process been like for you in the Seifu Maker Space at Bahir Dar University under the challenge supported by the Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation?

There were many applicants for the Hack-a-Thon organized by IWMI under the ILSSI project, but only 6 teams with about 30 members passed the initial screening stage. We attended a three-day human-centered design (HCD) training and took a field trip to a farm to identify the challenges facing farmers. After the HCD course, we conducted research and selected a challenge that we felt connected to from the field trip. Following extended idea-generation, we presented our proposal along with the other six teams. My squad was one of the two winners.

I’ve been eager and passionate to work on a project that speaks to me personally. I witnessed how difficult it was for my rural cousins to purchase solar pumps and home systems because there were no trustworthy vendors. I have a relative who lost his savings after being duped by a vendor to buy a sub-par solar panel for an irrigation water pump. Even though I sleep less than five hours every night because of class work and a final year project, it has been an exciting trip for me to work on a project that I know will address a real person’s problem.

What challenges did you identify in your project and how will others benefit from your solution?

As part of our project, we are creating a digital and sales app for Rensys Engineering PLC. We identified difficulties after studying the company’s current system, and then came up with solutions that can benefit both farmers and the company.

Farmers will get direct access to the price list, which will enable them to purchase solar items at a reasonable price and not get duped by local vendors who provide false information and low quality products. Farmers will also more easily find the location and contact information of the regional agents, and information about solar products in voice format and in a native language. If needed, farmers can access toll-free call centers for assistance, which will help them easily reach Rensys for after-sales support and maintenance, which they lacked before.

Rensys as a business will benefit from our app by streamlining orders and distribution of solar pumps into a simple and easy process with local and regional sales agents, while reducing the workload with a system generates sales analytics reports. They will have more control over prices between regional and local sales agents; previously, local sales agents would increase the price beyond the official Rensys price and charge farmers extra. Rensys will also be able to manage inventory for management of regional agents and warehouses, and manage future orders and marketing with statistics on products most frequently purchased in regions, and stop selling unpopular or defective goods.

From what your experience so far, what is the most surprising or outstanding thing you have learned? How did it change your approach to learning?

The concept of human-centered design I have learned in the Seifu BiT Maker Space forever changed how I approach problems. I found it challenging at first, because I wasn’t adapted to this way of thinking. It was both a fantastic experience and difficult to put into practice. This experience taught me how flexible and adept I can be. As a team, we had to understand people’s problems through their eyes rather than our own subjectively. We did research and went on a field visit to identify challenges using human-centered design thinking. It was hard at first because our minds frequently reverted to the old way of thinking. Through perseverance and practice over the last three months, I have mastered this approach and applied it to my final year project, too.

We were also matched with a fantastic mentor by the Seifu BiT Maker Space. Being given the chance to follow their lead has significantly altered my career. I never thought having a mentor like them would allow me to advance as quickly as I did. They imparted their knowledge and experience, tracking our efforts and helping us identify our mistakes. I’m grateful that they have been so generous with their time and effort.

The last three months have been incredibly significant in my life. Seifu BiT Maker Space has opened so many doors for me. The people I met and the experiences I have had are unparalleled. The tight-knit relationships with staff and my peers are what I am going to miss most about the maker space. I regret not finding it sooner and will be forever indebted to the center. This project stands out from ordinary classes since it is applicable. By putting all the theoretical ideas I’ve learned over the previous five years to use, we tackled a real-world problem facing farmers and businesses. This project has allowed me to practice my leadership, teamwork, analytical, and problem-solving skills as well as demonstrate my capacity for multitasking and high-pressure situations. I am confident that this ability I have gained will be useful to me in my future profession.

Finally, what advice would you give other women in science, based on your experiences?

In high school, physics was one of my favorite classes, and I wanted to major in it. However, my family opposed this decision, believing it to be absurd. I also couldn’t identify a role model so I started to doubt myself, and experienced imposter syndrome. As a person, it is hard to imagine what you do not see. So I went to the software engineering department.

In university, I still struggle to find mentors and role models. Inspired by this experience, I started to develop a platform (website and mobile application) as my final year project, which aims to raise the aspiration of girls and to give girls role models that can expand their horizons. It will feature successful women in business, politics, science, engineering, mathematics – connecting girls to an interested high achieving university student through mentorship.

I strongly believe that by providing girls with environments that inspire them to be their best selves, encourage non-gender norms and expectations, and expose them to a variety of different areas such as science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), we can make a difference.

I know being a woman in STEM is not always an easy route. I advise my fellow women in STEM to battle against the system, demand what they are entitled to, and alter the system for future generations of women.

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.

Agripreneur interview: Making solar irrigation accessible for women and youth farmers

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Ramla Keelson was earlier this year awarded an ‘innovation internship’ with partners of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI), namely the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and PEG Africa.

During her internship, Ramla Keelson is working with PEG Africa, which is a private sector organization financing and deploying solar power in West Africa, to develop workable and targeted business models that can help increase women and youth farmers’ investment in and use of solar-powered irrigation pumps. IWMI provides research and guidance for her study of PEG Africa’s solar irrigation pump business.

From your experience so far, how do you think solar irrigation could help women and youth farmers in vegetable production in Ghana?

Solar irrigation can help make water available for the production and consumption of more nutritious crops such as vegetables, and in that way maximize crop yields and farm incomes. Using solar irrigation, farmers can save on energy costs as no fuel costs are incurred.

This increases the savings of these farmers, enabling them to invest in expanding their farms and taking up other off-farm business activities. With extra money, women can support family expenses and improve household livelihoods.

Ramla Keelson works to increase women and youth’s access to solar-powered irrigation by making financing solutions more inclusive.

Farmers are also able to spend less time irrigating, compared to irrigating using cans and calabashes, and to save on labor costs. With issues of climate change, the use of solar energy is environmentally friendly as it is pollution free, compared to diesel- or petrol-powered pumps.

What kind of interventions are you testing or investigating during your internship with PEG Africa?

PEG Africa is currently serving both men and women farmers with one, standard business and finance model. But, to critically address the needs of women and youth farmers, who are underserved when it comes to innovative technologies, we need to consider the needs of women and youth when promoting small scale irrigation. For example, where would a woman farmer prefer a pump to be situated to serve her needs, such as washing or cooking or for irrigation? Also, based on her needs, would the woman farmer prefer a fixed or mobile pump?

I am hoping to receive valuable feedback from select women and youth farmers by using a questionnaire, developed based on a gender tool kit, to survey how to enhance their access to and possibilities to adopt solar irrigation technologies. This is to help PEG Africa best serve women and youth farmers with appropriate marketing strategies and finance models that best suit them.

Surveying select women and youth farmers can help reveal how to improve their access to solar-powered irrigation.

How do you hope that farmers and businesses might benefit from your findings?

My findings will help businesses like PEG Africa improve how they assess women and youth farmers’ creditworthiness. Solar irrigation businesses often use a scorecard system to assess whether a client can qualify for credit, based on certain risk criteria, and that’s how the company determines whether the client can purchase solar irrigation pumps. To make such scorecard systems more inclusive of women and youth farmers, businesses could, for example, incorporate women farmers’ membership of associations in their risk assessments, considering that some of these associations can guarantee or finance the purchase of pumps for these women. This would help better serve women and youth farmers.

In addition, findings from my study will help farmers practice climate-resilient agriculture and ensure year-round production. Through availability of water, crop yields are increased with farmers generating more farm income to improve livelihoods. Also, in accessing solar irrigation pumps, farmers can benefit from multiple uses of water, such as for irrigation, for livestock rearing, and for household domestic use.

How do you envision building on the experiences from this internship in your future career?

As an agripreneur, I intend to capitalize on this experience to better understand how to access and use solar irrigation in crop production. Through the internship, I will be able to build on my social network to take up future opportunities in agribusiness.

Ethiopian dairy cooperatives use irrigation for forage production, increasing farmers’ incomes and resilience

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by Aberra Adie, Research Officer, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)

“Our collaboration with the ILSSI project has enabled us to increase our milk production and sales considerably,” said Alemu Demoze, the chairman of the Genet Lerobit Dairy Cooperative in Bahir Dar Zuria district, Ethiopia.  

Alemu Demoze, chairman of Genet Lerobit Dairy Cooperative. (Photo credit: ILRI/Fikadu Tessema).

Irrigated fodder production is a recent development in Ethiopia. But now, after years of collaboration with the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI), both individual farmers and dairy cooperatives have started using small scale irrigation techniques and new forage varieties to produce fodder year-round for livestock feeding. ILSSI has provided technical support to the dairy cooperatives in its project sites, which has helped these entities to establish a new milk-collection center, a forage seed store, and sales shops.

A new milk-collection center and forage seed sales shop, constructed by the Genet Lerobit Dairy Cooperative (Photo credit: ILRI/Fikadu Tessema).

Cooperatives boost incomes and value chains

Alemu explained that membership numbers in the Genet Lerobit Dairy Cooperative have increased from 57 members 3 years ago to 180 now, due to the growing interest in irrigated fodder production and the market opportunities created for fluid milk:

“Currently, we are supplying about 300 liters of milk daily at a price of 22 birr (US$0.50) per liter to a milk processor in Bahir Dar town. This volume of milk is up by more than 50 percent from what we used to supply few years back.”

The cooperative’s engagement in forage seed multiplication and marketing is expected to provide an additional source of income for its members, while also strengthening the fodder value chain in the communities.

“We have allocated 1.5 hectares of dedicated land for forage seed multiplication and also formed farmer interest groups, which showed interest in multiplying forage seeds and planting materials on their own land and supply to the cooperative,” said Alemu.

According to him, the cooperative is planning to use both individual farms and the land secured through the cooperative as a source of forage seed and planting materials.

Alemu Demoze (right) standing in front of the newly constructed milk-collection center and feed shops (Photo Credit: ILRI/Fikadu Tessema).

Explaining further the cooperative’s preparations to strengthen the irrigated fodder value chain, he added:

“With the support we received from ILSSI, we have constructed a forage seed store, milk-collection and processing rooms, as well as sales shops. These facilities will considerably increase our market share and incomes in the near future.”

The cooperative’s management believes they are now in a good position to increase dairy production in the community, using irrigated fodder technologies and new market opportunities created through the collaboration with ILSSI and other development actors.

“We are in discussion with the local extension office so that they can support us in certifying the forage seeds that we plan to produce this season. We are also in discussion with the livestock and fisheries sector development project to create market linkages for forage seeds,” Alemu explained.

Providing protection against COVID-19 disruptions

Habebo Dairy Cooperative, located in the Lemo district of Ethiopia’s Southern region, is another entity engaged in irrigated fodder development. The cooperative provides services to its members by collecting fluid milk and processing it into butter and cheese, which allows the cooperative members to sell these higher-value products to consumers. Over the past three years, the support the cooperative members received from ILSSI enabled them to grow their capacity and become more resilient to market fluctuations.

Aberash Tamre, chairman of Habebo Dairy Cooperative (Photo credit: ILRI/Tigist German).

“Our collaboration with ILSSI came at a critical time for us,” said Aberash Tamire, the chairwomen of the cooperative. “When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted market chains, we were able to cope with problem by processing our milk into shelf-stable and easily transportable products, such as butter and cheese. Other farmers who didn’t have the capacity to process milk were seriously affected by the movement restrictions and market disruptions for fluid milk.”

This cooperative has managed to construct a well-designed milk processing room, a forage seed store, and sales shops in their compound with a grant received from ILSSI.

Habebo Dairy Cooperative management members in their newly set up milk-collection and shop center (Photo Credit: ILRI/Tigist German).

“Our members are highly indebted to the support provided to grow our capacity. This collaboration with ILSSI has also motivated other farmers to apply for cooperative membership, and currently the total membership has reached 220 households, which is up by 40 percent compared to two years ago. Some of the newcomers recently bought crossbred cows and joined us,” explained Aberash.

Tackling land and water challenges

In the areas where these two dairy cooperatives are located, land remains a major constraint to agricultural productivity. There is a lot of competition for land to produce food crops and fodder. However, adoption of irrigated fodder production has helped ease the competition for land, as farmers are now able to produce fodder year-round on a small plot of land.

In addition, ILSSI is working with national partners to provide alternative forage varieties that can be grown with minimum water and nutrient input and at the same time supply the needed fodder for farmers’ livestock. Adoption of such new varieties would further ease the pressure on natural resources, and cooperative members are currently participating in the evaluation of the new forage varieties for wider scaling.

Finally, ILSSI has planned a series of training programs to build the capacity of the cooperatives in forage seed multiplication and marketing businesses. The impact of the ILSSI intervention is now visible in the project sites:

“We are very happy at the moment because we are making tangible progress in improving our income and livelihoods,” concluded Aberash.

The two-faced challenge of the credit constraints limiting smallholder farmers’ irrigation investments

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by Nicole Lefore, Director of Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI), Bedru Balana, Research Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and Claudia Ringler, Deputy Director of Environment and Production Technology Division at IFPRI

Many smallholder farmers, especially women and other marginalized groups, face difficulty in accessing loans and other forms of credit. Such credit constraints are often considered a key barrier to adoption of mechanized agricultural technologies, such as small scale irrigation equipment.

So how can this challenge be overcome? A new study indicates that the solution might be more complex than previously assumed.

A challenge with two equally important causes

In the past, both research papers and policy guidance documents have advocated for improving the supply of credit to smallholder farmers. The argument is that smallholders face credit constraints on the supply side, meaning that not enough loans or credit schemes are available to them. Therefore, the argument goes, expanding the supply of loans or other forms of finance would unleash investment in irrigation technologies.

Based on this premise, the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) has been exploring various affordable and accessible financing options to make loans more available to small scale irrigators, to particularly address these supply-side constraints to credit.

However, a more recent ILSSI study cautions against oversimplifying the solution to credit constraints, when looking to scale irrigation technologies. It has found that demand-side factors, that is, constraints related to the farmers’ own perception and context—such as their risk aversion, bad experiences with past loans, financial illiteracy, perceived high transaction costs, and their household’s labor supply shortages—might play an equally important role, effectively shaping the amount of credit that smallholder farmers are willing to take on, even if they had access.

Complementary solutions required

Using primary data from surveys in Ethiopia and Tanzania, scientists from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) working with ILSSI analyzed both demand- and supply-side constraints to credit. The aims of the study were to identify the credit-constraint status of smallholder farmers, that is, whether farmers are unconstrained, supply-side constrained, or demand-side constrained and to assess gender-differentiated credit constraints.

Fig. 1. Supply- and demand-side credit constrained households.

The results showed that demand-side credit constraints are at least as important as supply-side factors. The message is that easing supply-side constraints alone—for example through lowering barriers to entry for credit—will be insufficient if demand-side constraints are not also addressed. Moreover, gendered credit constraints are also on the demand side – and women face additional challenges generating demand for credit as well as accessing credit.

Fig. 2. Supply- and demand-side factors to credit constraints.

These findings open a broader discussion of what it will truly take to improve farmers’ access to and use of credit and other financing mechanisms, which can support their uptake of small scale irrigation and other technologies. As men and women farmers increasingly desire to take on irrigation, credit will continue to be critical.

Scalable solutions in finance for irrigation will require closer understanding of the nature and sources of credit constraints. What is needed is both more targeted finance instruments, from loans to asset-based finance to insurance, and complementary interventions that address demand-side constraints, such as by improving financial literacy and mitigating perceived risks. Finally, gender-sensitive credit instruments and targeted activities are needed that will both increase women’s interest in and access to credit products.

Further reading

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