solar-powered irrigation

A recent study by IWMI provides important insights for efforts to expand farmer-led groundwater irrigation (including solar irrigation pumps) in Ethiopia.

Data-driven tools are helping solar irrigation companies target their products and services to the right people, in the right way.

IWMI and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation have awarded five organisations with funds to develop innovations for solar irrigation.

IWMI plans to use the data from Futurepump’s 4,000 pumps to calculate how much water is being extracted at any given time, which can help governments ensure it is used sustainably, with limits on extraction or a shift to less water-intensive crops.

IWMI researchers underline both the promise and perils of Africa's emerging boom in solar-powered irrigation in a Devex opinion article.

Realizing the huge potential to bolster water security in the Middle East and North Africa.

What’s not to like about the idea of using solar-powered pumps to irrigate crops in developing countries?

Toward sustainable solar-powered pumping of groundwater for irrigation

Only about 5 percent of African agriculture is irrigated, according to the International Water Management Institute. In Tanzania, for example, the government says it has a 6.8 trillion-shilling ($3.1 billion) irrigation funding gap.