1.
Three points on why solar-powered irrigation
can happen for smallholder farmers
Jennie BARRON ,
Professor Agricultural Water Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
LWS Flagship leader, CGIAR Research Program ‘Water, Land and Ecosystems’ (WLE)

2.
WLE is global research-
for-development
program connecting
partners for agriculture
solutions that protect
people and our natural
resources
Land, soil &
ecosystems
Risks, tradeoffs
& ecosystems
Inclusivity
Connected thinking,
compelling solutions
Water &
ecosystems

3.
CGIAR Research Program Water, Land and Ecosystems
(WLE) and solar powered irrigation for smallholders
 Research for development in sustainable agricultural
intensification and poverty alleviation in Africa and Asia
 WLE works in partnership with public and private sectors,
as well as practitioners from global to local scale
 Solar powered irrigation for 5+ years, smallholder
irrigation development in 10+ years
 On the ground experience in Africa (Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali ,
MENA) and Asia (India in Gujarat and Bihar)
 Develop knowledge base for investment, policy and
practise, collaborate in piloting for learning

4.
We don’t have a lot of ‘silver bullet’ solutions for
sustainable intensification and climate resilience…
 Water management, incl.
irrigation, critical for
sustainable intensification
 Water management
fundamental for smallholder
farmer income generation
and food security
 Water management in
agriculture essential to
meet ecosystems targets
and climate resilience

5.
Solar powered irrigation is a nexus opportunity for
smallholder farmers…if technologies work and are available

6.
Are partnerships for piloting and development mobilising?
Systems approach for solutions demands multiple
actors and disciplines:
 Human, institutional capacity to analyse and develop
 Innovations, data and technology
 Levelled market and policy arena
 Wise (=best informed) investments by public, private
investors and IFIs

7.
Thank you!
If you wish to take part in this conversation, please join us at https://wle.cgiar.org/

8.
List of WLE material and contributions
 Closas, A.;, Rap. E. 2017. Solar-based groundwater pumping for irrigation:
Sustainability, policies, and limitations. Energy Policy,104:33-37
 Schmitter, P., Kibret, KS., Lefore, N.,Barron, J. 2018. Suitability mapping framework
for solar photovoltaic pumps for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa Applied
Geography, (online)
 Otoo, M., Lefore, N., Schmitter, P., Barron, J., Gebregziabher, G. 2018. Business
model scenarios and suitability: smallholder solar pump-based irrigation in Ethiopia.
Agricultural Water Management Making a Business Case for
Smallholders. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
67p. (IWMI Research Report 172)
 ITP work: http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/iwmi-tata/PDFs/iwmi-
tata_water_policy_research_highlight-issue_10_2016.pdf
 ICIMOD work: https://cgspace.cgiar.org/rest/bitstreams/91410/retrieve