Mapping tool helps private sector identify high-potential locations for solar irrigation pumps

Jun 24 2021

As climate change threatens to exacerbate water scarcity and food insecurity in many parts of Africa, solar water pumps combined with sustainable irrigation practices could boost the climate resilience and livelihoods of millions of farmers.

But which farmers are in the right places to benefit from these pumps? And how do the companies that manufacture and distribute them ensure solar irrigation is part of a sustainable package of solutions to water scarcity and not part of the problem? One answer is solar suitability maps.

In 2018, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), supported by the CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE) and the USAID-funded Innovation Lab for Small-scale Irrigation (ILSSI), began mapping solar irrigation suitability in Ethiopia. These maps pinpointed potential areas for smallholder farmers to introduce solar irrigation without depleting water resources.
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