Innovation Lab For Small Scale Irrigation

Innovation Lab For Small Scale Irrigation

capacity building

How connecting innovators and implementers can catalyze solar irrigation scaling in Ghana

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This post is written by Joseph Isaiah Mensah, Manager, USAID SSI Project, PEG Ghana and was first publish on agrilinks.org.


A farmer uses solar power to irrigate his crops. Photo credit: PEG Africa.

Solar power has the potential to revolutionize water use in agriculture, providing an attractive means for farmers to irrigate their crops. This is especially the case in sub-Saharan Africa, which has among the lowest electrification access in the world and irrigation potential in dry-land regions of an additional 6-14 million hectares, 84 percent of which is small scale irrigation.

Private sector companies are eager to capitalize on this potential by expanding the market for small scale solar irrigation. For these companies, serving small scale irrigators, who have traditionally been perceived as high risk, can be profitable if the right business models are applied. 

PEG Africa was founded in 2015 to deliver affordable energy to the 150 million people in West Africa with no access to electricity. Based in Ghana and with operations in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal, we initially offered solar home systems using a pay-as-you-go financing model that enables customers — often resource-poor farmers in remote locations — to pay for and eventually fully own their solar energy products through monthly installments. These installments can be sculpted, meaning farmers pay lower amounts in lean seasons and higher amounts in harvest seasons. Financing is supported by after-sales, agronomic and market access services, helping farmers to optimize the return on their investment and reduce the payment default risk.

Barriers to irrigation adoption and scaling

In 2019, we decided to add solar water pumps to our product line, using the same financing and after-sales model. The decision followed a series of field-based tests we conducted in Ghana to verify the suitability of the technology as well as market surveys to understand demand for solar pumps among small scale irrigators in rural and peri-urban areas.

The results showed that there is a considerable level of demand as the solar pumps offer an affordable and efficient alternative to conventional diesel pumps, which are costly to maintain, have a shorter lifespan, and can have adverse health and environmental effects. Moreover, we were aware that women farmers tend to prefer solar pumps to other water-lifting technologies because they decrease the labor required to extract water for domestic and other uses such as agriculture.  

These findings served as a strong basis for PEG Africa to venture into the sale of solar pumps, although we continue to encounter significant barriers to the adoption and scaling of the technology.

We identified two main challenges. The first is limited input and output market linkages (poorly developed distribution channels, inadequate input supply, information asymmetry with regard to determining price, and securing markets for produce), which ultimately constrain farmers’ productivity and profitability. The second is gender-based constraints to information and financial resources that affect women’s ability to invest in solar irrigation technologies.

De-risking private sector engagement in small scale irrigation

A new agreement aims to facilitate the development of innovative solutions to these challenges by de-risking private sector engagement in small-scale irrigation. Initiated by the USAID-funded Feed the Future Innovation Lab For Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI), the agreement comes with a monetary award of USD 725,000 to support the trial of new business and financing models over three years.

Following a call for proposals, PEG Africa was announced as the recipient of the award on August 27, 2020 during the second Farmer-Led Irrigation–Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue event in Ghana. Hosted by IWMI, which leads ILSSI’s scaling research, the dialogues bring together relevant actors, including the private sector, to kickstart system-level collaboration on scaling small scale irrigation. 

Pitching contests target next-generation innovators

To complement the award, IWMI identified pitching contests as a novel way to build capacity in the private sector. Targeting young professionals and recent graduates, the contests aim to close the research-private sector divide, drive innovation, and stimulate entrepreneurship. The first contest is being held in October 2020, and two winners will be selected to undertake a paid internship with PEG Africa in Ghana. Additional contests will be organized over the next three years.

In determining the winners, the selection committee will look for solutions that bridge specific knowledge and capacity gaps within PEG Africa. Currently, these relate to business innovations that address the barriers to equitable solar pump access and adoption. In addition, we anticipate that the interns will help us to establish a framework to track the impact of pump use on farmers through return-on-investment, gross margin and cost-benefit studies.

These innovations will contribute to the formulation of a profitable and sustainable business model for our solar pumps. At the same time, the interns will gain valuable private sector work experience as well as an appreciation for the private sector’s role in scaling development solutions.

Solar irrigation is a relatively new addition to PEG Africa’s offering but one that strongly aligns with our vision of affordable energy for those who need it. We are excited to see what innovations the interns will bring to our company and how we can leverage our established infrastructure and market knowledge to test and implement them.

Student interview: Finding the right crop varieties for irrigated fodder production and livestock benefits in Ethiopia

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Misba Abdela is a lecturer and PhD student at Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar University, in Ethiopia. In March 2020, he joined the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) as a PhD graduate fellow, supported by the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI). Abdela previously worked with ILSSI researchers to study the effect of deep tillage on groundwater recharge as part of his MSc work.

Misba Abdela doing fieldwork in Ethiopia. Photo: Fikadu Tessema.

You have won a fellowship to conduct your PhD research on irrigated fodder cultivations. How did you get interested in this topic?

In Ethiopia, livestock play a vital role in smallholders’ livelihood by providing food, cash income, farm power, and other inputs such as manure to improve crop production. However, the productivity of livestock has remained very low due to various constraints, with feed shortages—both in quantity and quality—being the major one.

Feed shortages are aggravated by limited investment in feed and forage development and by the increased expansion of cropland, to the extent of encroaching into grazing land. As a result, the ‘business-as-usual’ approach to livestock feed sourcing is no longer a viable option, and there is an urgent need to optimally use available land, water, and capital resources to produce high-quality fodder for a sustainable livestock feed supply and production system. The increasing demand for livestock products, together with the shortage of feed and of the complex layers of challenges posed by climate change, justifies the need for alternative feed production and supply systems in the nation.

Before I joined this fellowship, I was doing research on farmer-managed irrigated fodder production, funded by the Appropriate Scale Mechanization Consortium (ASMC) project in collaboration with ILRI and Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, under which farmers received solar pumps (Maji pumps) and water storage tanks for irrigation use. While conducting this research, I understood farmers’ willingness to engage more in fodder production and their interest in potential alternative fodder crops with higher regenerative capacity and biomass yield per unit of land. Therefore, I was very happy when I got the opportunity to continue my PhD research in the area of irrigated fodder production. 

What’s a poorly understood aspect of irrigated fodder cultivation?

Information on the suitability of fodder varieties, and their responses to nutrient and water when they are produced under irrigation, is largely lacking in the Highlands of Ethiopia. Therefore, the main aim of our study is to investigate the performances of selected fodder species under different nutrient and moisture-input regimes.

Particularly, our study will explore yields and nutritional value of ten selected species and cultivars of fodder under optimal moisture conditions, under the conditions of drought stress, and under different nutrient application rates. We will also explore viable economic and agronomic scenarios of irrigated fodder production within the smallholder farmer setting in Ethiopia.

Misba Abdela working to identify fodder varieties with the highest biomass per unit of land. Photo: Fikadu Tessema.

What would be the gains of scaling up irrigated fodder production and who could benefit?

Scaling up fodder production would have great benefits. It would solve the feed challenge in local communities. Availability of a high-producing forage for livestock would benefit women by reducing the time they spend looking for feed; it would improve food security and household nutrition because of improved livestock productivity (more milk and milk products such as cheese and butter).

Also, producing high-quality fodder crops would reduce free grazing and allow farmers to adopt a ‘cut-and-carry feeding system’ – cutting and carrying feed to the animals in their corrals, rather than letting the animals roam free. In turn, zero or reduced grazing then create opportunity for girls to attend school as it is otherwise often the girls who are often kept home from school to look after the cattle.

Fodder production would also bring other benefits to the landscape: Fodder crops like Napier grass are deep rooted, and planting these on a large scale would minimize runoff as well as soil and nutrient loss from farm fields. This would result in reduced soil nutrient losses and contaminant fluxes into Lake Tana, and it would help to combat the rapidly expanding water hyacinth, which is endangering the lake. At a larger scale, limiting the growth of water hyacinth will in turn help to regulate water flow downstream, to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) reservoir.  

What are the biggest challenges to making irrigated fodder cultivation more widespread?

Identifying the major challenges to making irrigated fodder production more widespread might require more studies. Some of the major challenges may include farmers’ awareness in the area of irrigated fodder – for example, farmers might prefer to produce and irrigate vegetables or cereal crops rather than fodder crops due to a lack of knowledge on the comparative advantages. Another major challenge is market linkages, as it is difficult for farmers to get seeds of different fodder crops and to sell the excess fodder that they produced. 

What do you hope your work can contribute to in the future?

At the end of this research, we hope we will be able to identify the best fodder crops that are suitable for the agro-climatic conditions of the Ethiopian Highlands. Improved fodder crops—both in quantity and quality—would mean fodders with higher biomass per unit of land, higher regenerative capacity, higher production per unit of water and nutrients inputs, higher nutritional quality, and higher cost-benefit ratios. Identifying these best-bet fodder crops would solve the feed problem of the communities, improving the livestock production, incomes, and livelihoods of farmers in the nation. 

Webinar: Market-based agricultural technology scaling in fragmented markets

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During a time when face-to-face meetings and trainings are temporarily suspended, experts from the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) are turning to webinars to share research-based insights and recommendations on how to expand smallholders’ access to small scale irrigation.

One webinar, organized by Agrilinks.org, explored the complex process of market-based scaling of agricultural technology. This event took place on June 10, 2020, and it delved deep into the difficulties of scaling agricultural innovations in fragmented markets.

Nicole Lefore, ILSSI Director, presented in the webinar in partnership with Jean-Baptiste De La Salle Tignegre, Lead of the Allium Breeding Program at World Vegetable Center. They spoke of ongoing work in Mali, which is investigating how irrigated production of vegetables could improve farming households’ nutritional health.

View the webinar on market-based agricultural technology scaling in fragmented market settings.

Noting results from an initial study by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Lefore said that irrigating households in Mali have higher consumption of nutrient-rich foods, which improve both household income and nutrition. However, weak market conditions, worsened by weather extremes and ongoing conflict, are significant barriers to farmers adopting irrigation and increasing vegetable production in Mali.

Under ILSSI, the World Vegetable Center is working to identify entry points to improve access to seed for Malian producers, including through farmer-led irrigation. Increased local irrigated production of seed could boost vegetable production, which previous research has linked with food security and health outcomes.

Tignegre said that farmers’ access to seed could be improved by decreasing the distance they need to travel to purchase seeds and by supporting the establishment of seed enterprises that can serve farmers locally. A number of regulatory reforms may also be needed to reduce barriers in the formal and informal market supply of seeds. In other words, supporting the production of seed through the private sector could, in combination with greater uptake of irrigation and increase vegetable production.

To conclude, Lefore underscored that the current fragmentation of the market in Mali decreases farmers’ resilience and increases their vulnerability, particularly in times of crises. These barriers currently limit options for addressing nutritional needs at a national level. Currently, existing and rising demands for fruits and vegetables, as well as seed, are being met through imports. ILSSI will, in its ongoing work in Mali, look to collaborate with private sector companies and cooperatives to increase farmers’ access to both irrigation equipment and seed.

Other invited presenters, who discussed how to address last-mile scaling challenges, included Suzan Bishop, Project and Technical Officer, Livestock Emergency Guidelines and Standards, who spoke about how private community animal health services in emergency contexts can be better supported, and Brett Rierson, Managing Director, African Harvest Ventures, who presented on how simple tools can help reduce post-harvest losses.

Webinar: Accelerating inclusive farmer-led irrigation and reaching scale

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“Farmer-led irrigation means that we start with the farmers and their farming systems, where diverse conditions and resources form a first barrier to scaling,” stated Thai Thi Minh, Senior Researcher for Upscaling Innovations at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

Minh spoke about experiences on farmer-led irrigation gained through her work with the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Small Scale Irrigation (ILSSI) in a webinar that took place on June 11, 2020. The event was co-organized by IWMI, the World Bank, the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, and the Global Water Partnership, and it was the first in a two-part series.

Watch part 1 of the webinar series on farmer-led irrigation development. Register now for part 2 on accelerating inclusive farmer-led irrigation sustainably.

Today, around 500 million farmers generate between 30 and 34 percent of the global food supply, but they face significant challenges, including competition for water and reliance on unpredictable rain to grow food. Now in the face of a global pandemic, enhancing farmers’ resilience by meeting water, food, and nutrition security goals, has never been more important. This is the background against which the organizers zoomed in on the potential of farmer-led irrigation.

Reflecting on challenges to bringing farmer-led irrigation to scale, Minh went on to say that this practice cannot be separated from agricultural value chains, in which barriers such as under-developed irrigation supply chains as well as limited input and output market linkages represent significant barriers. In a broader context, policy frameworks biased toward large-scheme irrigation development and use of technology-transfer approaches without understanding the actual demands across market segments hamper farmer-led irrigation from reaching scale. Minh’s recommendations for scaling included identifying which systemic barriers to tackle first, understanding how to increase investments in bundles of technologies and services, and identifying the public and private partnerships needed to scale, such as through multi-stakeholder dialogue platforms.

Speaking during the same webinar and addressing the matter of social inclusion, Nicole Lefore, ILSSI Director, highlighted the need for scientists and projects to invest in understanding what women actually want. Lefore said that while research suggests that millions of farmers can benefit from small scale irrigation, those figures assume that women farmers participate:

“But will women invest? Can they? Do they even want to?”

Highlighting a case in Mali, Lefore provided an example of a top-down, infrastructure-driven project, in which most funding went into construction and large solar pumps, but not into addressing women’s need to reduce labor. Women chose not to become members of the project’s farming cooperatives, because they were still expected to irrigate fields using calabash bowls.

“We need to understand whether women are interested in investing. And if they are, our approach to including them has to be part of a larger systemic approach, with multiple actors who will play different roles,” Lefore ended.

The webinar also featured contributions from Regassa Namara, Senior Water Economist at the World Bank, Phil Woodhouse, Professor of Environment and Development, University of Manchester, Nick Brozovic, Director of Policy, Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute, and Samir Ibrahim, CEO, SunCulture.

The second part of this webinar series on farmer-led irrigation will take place on July 9, 2020, and will focus on a systems approach to reaching scale.

Student interview: Working with the private sector to find acceptable solutions to farmers’ challenges

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Habtamu Muche is currently working as a lecturer at the University of Gondar, Ethiopia. In 2016, he joined ILSSI’s capacity development program as a graduate student, while enrolled at Bahir Dar Institute of Technology, Bahir Dar University. For two years, Habtamu Muche studied the how the Berken plow can be used to improve infiltration and crop productivity in the Highlands of Ethiopia. He carried out his MSc thesis together with researchers at Bahir Dar University and the International Water Management Institute, funded through ILSSI.

You are a co-author of a paper on the benefits of using the Berken plow in the Ethiopian Highlands. How did you get interested in this topic?

Conventional tillage is the major cause of soil and water losses in Ethiopia. For thousands of years, farmers in Ethiopia practiced repeated cross-plowing with the traditional tillage implement, the Maresha. Long-term use of the Maresha is believed to create a hardpan, thereby restricting water movement and root growth, while decreasing yield of crops. In 2015, we tested deep tillage through manual digging and learned that breaking the hardpan can increase rainwater infiltration. However, we did not have the right implement for farmers to practice deep tillage. We heard that a new tillage implement, known as the Berken, had been developed by Aybar Engineering to enable farmers to break the hardpan. We initiated a study to assess its impact on hydrological and biophysical processes.  

Habtamu Muche collecting a soil sample in the Ethiopian Highlands.
Habtamu Muche collecting a soil sample in the Ethiopian Highlands.

What’s the most unexpected thing you found?

Looking at the Berken plow, we first thought it was a simple modification of the Maresha, with little or no impact. However, we found that the Berken affects several hydrological variables in positive ways. For example, the tillage depth increased more than we expected and disrupted the restrictive hardpan layer because the plow cuts the soil deep at the center and shallow on the sides. Second, the infiltration rate was significantly improved—tilling the soil at that depth increases the microscopic channels in the soil that allow water to move from the cultivated surface and to the subsurface layer of the soil. We also saw that rainwater runoff and sediment yield reduced because each furrow laid along the contour of the steep slopes helped slow the movement and generation of runoff and sediment. Finally, root development and grain yield also improved. The higher water infiltration might have led to more moisture being available deeper in the soil, and that has positively affected maize grain yield.   

The Berken plow was invented by private sector entrepreneur Aybar Engineering.
The Berken plow was invented by private sector entrepreneur Aybar Engineering. Photo: Habtamu Muche.

What did you learn about how innovation and new inventions like the Berken plow come about?

I have learned how a simple innovation like the Berken plow solves a great challenge we faced in improving infiltration. It is not acceptable to tell farmers to manually dig 60 cm into the soil to break up the hardpan. So, I learned that we need to work more on innovations to solve farmers’ problems.   

What was it like to work on a research trial with a private sector entrepreneur?

After we realized that breaking the hardpan was effective in reducing rainwater runoff, thereby improving infiltration, we wanted to test the new Berken plow in the field. We helped the inventors at Aybar Engineering by sharing our research results. It is interesting to work with the private sector because they are working on the ground with farmers. They are manufacturing and selling tools that have good impacts for farmers. As a graduate student, I felt happy to work on a tool that is going to be used by many farmers.

What do you hope to work on in the future?

In the future, I have planned to work on the impact of the Berken at the watershed scale. Conservation structures, such as soil bunds, may become more effective if farmers can use the Berken to plow the land in between the conservation structures.

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