A U.S. startup that sells solar-powered irrigation kits to small-scale farmers in Kenya plans to expand in East Africa, where regular droughts often result in food shortages.
SunCulture, which started business in New York four years ago, has sold almost 1,000 units of the equipment that costs as much as 248,000 shillings ($2,400) in deals that also solve key challenges for growers in Kenya: access to finance and a steady off-take market. It plans to take operations into Somalia, Uganda, Ethiopia and Burundi in coming years, Marketing Director Kathryn Weichel said in an interview in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.
“The first thing we did when we started SunCulture was to spend the first seven months with farmers piloting in the field because we needed to test the product and make sure it worked for farmers in Kenya,” Weichel said. “We try to provide them not only the irrigation system, but seeds, fertilizer, agronomy services, after sales services and financing.”
Population pressure and increasing water competition in a changing climate require us to take stock of the availability and use of water across scales. Water availability not only influences farmers’ commercial prospects but also irrigation-related enterprises and agri-businesses. Greater water scarcity could jeopardize irrigation and agricultural markets while excessive water use can lead to declining ecosystems, water quality and soil health. IWMI advises development partners and the public and private sectors on all aspects of water resource availability and use through a variety of advanced modeling and remote-sensing products and tools, including 
The ability of farmers to engage in or expand irrigation depends on the prevailing socioeconomic, ecological and political contexts, which are often complex, non-linear and changeable. Overcoming systemic barriers to farmer-led irrigation development while taking advantage of existing opportunities 
A lack of affordable credit, particularly for women and resource-poor farmers, is one of the main barriers to expanding farmer-led irrigation in low- and middle-income countries. But 
Scaling farmer-led irrigation requires strengthening human capacity and knowledge exchange among all actors and stakeholders involved. IWMI takes an action research approach, working with national and international research institutions, governments, extension agents and public and private organizations to co-develop the scaling ecosystem and strengthen capacity to drive scaling networks and collective action. We support the