Benin: Solar-powered Irrigation

Across the sub-Saharan Africa's region, the populations are predominantly rural and frequently survive on less than $1 per person per day. Whereas most are engaged in agricultural production as their main livelihood, they still spend 50 to 80 percent of their income on food. Only 4 percent of cropland in sub-Saharan Africa is irrigated and most rural, food-insecure communities in the region rely on rain-fed agriculture, which in places like Benin is limited to a 3-6 month rainy season. On top of potential annual caloric shortages, households face two seasonal challenges, that are to stretch their stores of staples to the next harvest (or purchase additional food, often at higher prices) and access micronutrients via home production or purchase diminishes or disappears during the dry season. The solar-powered pumps installed in remote villages in the West African nation of Benin were a cost-effective way of delivering much-needed irrigation water, particularly during the long dry season. Three 0.5-hectare (1.24-acre) solar-powered drip irrigation systems were installed in the Kalalé district of northern Benin. The systems, which used photovoltaic pumps to deliver groundwater, were financed and installed by the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), a nongovernmental organization. These systems supplied on average 1.9 metric tons of produce per month, including tomatoes, okra, peppers, eggplants, carrots and other greens. Woman who used solar-powered irrigation became strong net producers in vegetables with extra income earned from sales, significantly increasing their purchases of staples and protein during the dry season and oil during the rainy season. These systems significantly enhanced household incomes and nutritional intake of villagers in arid sub-Saharan Africa and provided environmental benefits. During the rainy season the vegetable intake in villages with solar systems increased by 500-750 grams per person per day - equivalent to 3-5 servings of vegetables, and people in control villages ate 150 grams more, suggesting that extra vegetables grown in the two villages were being sold in local markets. Solar-powered pumping systems in an easily maintained, battery-free configuration have long lifetimes and in the medium-term, cost less than the irrigation systems that run on liquid fuels, such as gasoline, diesel or kerosene and also have an advantage of providing emissions-free pumping power.

Source: Science Daily, 5^th January 2010