News about solar irrigation

@ Isaiah Esipisu I Nation Media Group
Solar irrigation has become a reliable, relatively low-cost, clean-energy solution for agricultural water management in areas with high incident solar radiation.
Image by Aimable Twahirwa
Estimates compiled from administrative data by Rwanda’s agriculture and resources board show that 87 farming cooperatives, especially from drought-prone zones in eastern Rwanda, are using solar-powered irrigation to increase crop yields by delivering precise amounts of water, thus conserving water resources.
There is a rapidly growing trend towards adopting solar-powered irrigation systems as a critical adaptive strategy by smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. The El Niño phenomenon has intensified food and water insecurity across southern Africa, including Zambia, resulting in an increase in the adoption of solar-powered irrigation pumps.
“We are talking about close to US$60 million. It cuts across all the provinces in this country and, in fact, the one in Hakwata village, which is a mini-grid facility, we are talking about close to US$2,5 million,” Odusola said in an interview with NewsDay Business.