Affordable, High-Performance Solar Irrigation for Smallholder Farmers
Overview
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Innovator |
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Project |
Affordable, High-Performance Solar Irrigation for Smallholder Farmers | |
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Collaborators |
Angaza Design (United States) | |
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Location Applied |
In Kenya, solar-powered irrigation technology remains prohibitively expensive, far beyond the means of poor smallholder farmers. There is also limited demand due to lack of awareness of clean energy technology and the prohibitive cost. KickStart’s clean energy solution will not only greatly reduce the cost of the irrigation hardware, but, through the introduction of a PAYG mechanism, will provide farmers with flexible financing options that will further promote affordability and, therefore, demand.[1]
Clean Energy Solution
KickStart and its partners will focus on designing a clean energy solution with the farmer in mind—a high-performance yet easy to assemble, highly mobile, robust and durable unit that requires minimal maintenance. KickStart will design a foldable, flat pack solar irrigation pump that is easy for farmers to install. As Encap’s pumps are both low cost and highly efficient, they only require small solar panels. The addition of an innovative, flexible and reliable PAYG system will provide the farmer with affordable, alternative modes of payment and, by substantially de-risking the provision of credit, will attract investment from traditional lenders such as banks and microfinance institutions.[1]
Impact
KickStart aims to transform the food and income security of smallholder farmers by enabling them to transition from rain-fed subsistence farming to year-round commercial irrigated agriculture. Over the next six years, KickStart plans to sell approximately 270,000 pumps across 16 countries in Sub Saharan Africa and estimates that 30 percent of these could be solar powered.[1]
Organization
KickStart was established in Kenya in 1991 with the mission to lift millions of people in Africa out of poverty quickly, cost-effectively and sustainably. KickStart designs, promotes, and mass-markets simple irrigation pumps that smallholder farmers buy and use to start highly profitable family enterprises. KickStart has partnered with Encap Technologies to provide motors for affordable, solar-powered irrigation pumps and with Angaza Designs to incorporate a ‘pay as you go’ (PAYG) mechanism.[1]
Progress Update
KickStart and its partners are conducting two parallel R&D processes on the first generation prototypes of both a low-cost solar PV irrigation pump and an optional pay-as-you-go (PAYG) financing platform.
A highly specialized and experienced design team is currently developing the first prototype of an individual solar-powered irrigation pump that will be more efficient and affordable than any product currently available in the Kenyan market. The assembled group of expert engineers combine deep knowledge on the needs of smallholders, typical characteristics of their farms and water sources, and experience building state-of-the-art motors and impellers with broad industrial applications. Their targeted design parameters for a “pack and play” pump are firmly rooted in farmers’ reality. Based on feedback from KickStart’s customers and Nairobi-based product design team, the prototype under R&D must reach a minimum suction depth where groundwater is known to be available, irrigate half an acre assuming four peak sunlight hours per day, have a total diameter that can fit down a standard 2” borehole, and sell for an affordable retail price of under $200.
To further reduce the upfront cost of solar- powered irrigation, R&D for a PAYG system to couple with KickStart’s pumps is also underway. Angaza has completed the initial hardware for the first PAYG prototype, which includes a power switch, cell phone charger offtake (USB) and keyboard that can enable farmers to pay for time used, time passed, or a combination of both. The fist generation hardware is complete, including a durable enclosure that houses the electronics, is resistant to sun, water, and dust that is fitted for easy mounting directly on the back of solar panels, and input/output connections.[1]
Further Information
- Powering Agriculture Portal on energypedia
- Powering Agriculture Homepage, Winners/ Innovators
- Powering Agriculture: An Energy Grand Challenge for Development
- Powering Agriculture Newsletters
- Kenya Energy Situation
- Website KickStart International
- Website Angaza Design
- Website Encap Technologies
