Farming Technology TodayFarming Technology Today
  • News
    • Agricultural Drones
    • Animal Health
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Autonomous Robots
    • Autonomous Vehicles
    • Biotechnology
    • Data & Analytics
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Farming Equipment
    • Fertilisers
    • Harvesting Technology
    • Insect Farming
    • Internet of Things (IoT)
    • Livestock
    • Microsensors
    • Plant Health
    • Precision Agriculture
    • Robotics
    • Satellite Crop Monitoring
    • Soil Management
    • Sowing and Planting
    • Sustainability
    • Water & Irrigation
    • Weather & Climate
    • Weed Control
    • Yield Monitoring
  • Technology Features
  • Stock and Shares
  • Videos
  • Events
  • About This Site
  • Meet the Writers
  • Advertising
  • Email Newsletters
Twitter LinkedIn
  • About This Site
  • Advertising
  • Meet the Writers
  • Free Email Newsletters
LinkedIn Twitter
Farming Technology TodayFarming Technology Today
Get Weekly Email News Alerts >
  • Farming Technology
        • Agricultural Drones
        • Animal Health
        • Artificial Intelligence
        • Autonomous Robots
        • Autonomous Vehicles
        • Biotechnology
        • Data & Analytics
        • Energy
        • Environment
        • Farming Equipment
        • Fertilisers
        • Harvesting Technology
        • Insect Farming
        • Internet of Things (IoT)
        • Livestock
        • Microsensors
        • Plant Health
        • Precision Agriculture
        • Robotics
        • Satellite Crop Monitoring
        • Soil Management
        • Sowing and Planting
        • Start-Ups
        • Sustainability
  • Tech Features
  • Videos
  • Stocks & Shares
    • AGCO Corporation (AGCO)
    • Caterpillar Inc. (CAT)
    • CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF)
    • CNH Industrial NV (CNHI)
    • Corteva Agriscience (CTVA)
    • Deere & Company (DE)
    • Nutrien Ltd. (NTR)
    • Origin Agritech Limited (SEED)
    • S&W Seed Company (SANW)
    • The Andersons, Inc. (ANDE)
    • The Mosaic Company (MOS)
  • Events
    • Virtual
    • North America
    • Europe
    • MENA
    • Asia
    • South America
Farming Technology TodayFarming Technology Today
Features

Focus on Africa: Climate smart irrigation solutions for smallholder farmers

Emmanuel MadukaBy Emmanuel MadukaNovember 4, 2021No Comments
Focus on Africa: Climate smart irrigation solutions for smallholder farmers
Share
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email

There are fifty four countries on the continent of Africa and agriculture is a key driver of social and economic growth in each of them. Two-thirds of Africans are employed within the sector, contributing around 23% to the GDP of Sub-Saharan Africa. Containing more than 65% of global uncultivated arable land (according to the African Development Bank) Africa brims with vast potential; however utilisation and productivity has remained low due to a cocktail of challenges at varying levels.

CGIAR – addressing the global climate threat

In Sub-Saharan Africa the trajectory of the global climate threat is particularly daunting, impacts on food production are a key reason climate change could cost African countries up to 15 percent of their GDP by 2030. This week, at the UN’s climate change conference ‘COP26’, a coalition of funders pledged US$575 million to deliver climate-smart solutions to farmers in low-income countries via the CGIAR global network of agricultural research partnerships.

CGIAR is the world’s largest public sector research partnership serving the needs of more than 500 million smallholder farmers who are responsible for feeding billions of people in Africa, Asia and Latin America. 60% of farmers in Africa are smallholder farmers, 80% of them live in rural areas and they account for 90% of agricultural output despite the myriad of challenges they face.

“This critical investment surge is a welcome down-payment for accelerating CGIAR’s climate adaptation efforts that already are providing millions of farmers with innovations like stress-tolerant crop varieties and new strategies to restore degraded lands,” says Kundhavi Kadiresan, Managing Director, Global Engagement and Innovation at CGIAR. “We have a deep understanding of the many ways climate change is affecting food production in fast growing regions like sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia and a commitment to building resilience through integrated, environmentally sustainable solutions that rebalance agriculture’s relationship with nature.”

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation pledged US$315 million over the next three years to support CGIAR’s climate-related work. Half of the US$315 million investment from the Gates Foundation will support climate adaptation initiatives undertaken through the new CGIAR portfolio, which is streamlining CGIAR partnerships, knowledge and assets to accelerate the pace of innovation flowing to smallholder farmers.

“Climate impacts on food production are an existential threat for several hundred million people who depend on agriculture to support their families,” says Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “CGIAR has been delivering high-impact solutions to smallholder farmers for half a century and I’m confident they can lead a global effort to develop the innovations needed to adapt to a changing climate.”

Claudia Sadoff, Executive Management Team Convener, and Managing Director, Research Delivery and Impact at CGIAR thinks the time for the global community to act is now. “There are many exciting innovations available… but there is still a large gap between the magnitude of the climate threat to smallholder farmers and investments required to help them adapt. Adaptation in agriculture is about pursuing a greener pathway.” she says. “That includes providing technologies that help farmers grow more food with less water and revitalizing degraded landscapes through holistic strategies that support both food production and ecosystem services.”

Irrigation challenges for African Agriculture

The majority of African farmlands are primarily rainfed with a dependence on unpredictable rainfall making food production seasonal and vulnerable to climate change induced water shortages.

In some instances farmers flood their fields with nearby streams which can rapidly deplete soil of its nutrients. Relatively wealthy farmers are known to use diesel powered pumps or generators to extract water from the ground – this makes irrigation expensive and increases greenhouse gas emissions. Farmers who are unable to afford commercial irrigation solutions are forced to manually collect water from long distances for an average of 8 hours per day – a largely backbreaking task with minimal beneficial impact on crops.

In Kenya a widespread drought is currently under way, only 3% of Kenyan farmers use the necessary irrigation techniques required to be productive. Israeli smart irrigation company SupPlant has recently begun work with around half a million, mostly female, smallholder maize farmers in Kenya. The firm’s new sensor-less technology collects and analyses hyperlocal climatic, plant, and irrigation data to help smallholders avoid crop failures.

Only 6% of cultivated farmland in Africa (around 32 million acres) is estimated to have access to reliable irrigation, this compares with 37% for Asia and 14% for Latin America. Whilst this poses a big challenge for smallholders it does present a technology opportunity for willing start-ups.

Pay-as-you-go solar-powered irrigation solutions – SunCulture

Kenya’s SunCulture is a start-up transforming African agriculture with its solar irrigation offering. Founded in 2012 by Samir Ibrahim, the company manufactures and distributes solar-powered irrigation solutions that make it cheaper and easier for smallholder farmers to grow crops. The company began by selling its integrated energy generation and water-pumping systems to middle income farmers who hold lucrative jobs in cities like Nairobi and grow crops on land they own in rural areas. That market was willing to spend the required US$5,000 to install SunCulture’s initial systems but the system was unaffordable for the majority of smallholder farmers.

As a result SunCulture redesigned its product and the cost of the newer system is much lower at between US$500 and US$1,000. Its RainMaker product is a solar-powered water pump that can lift 6,000 litres of ground water per day and can pump from wells up to 100 metres below ground. This compares favourably to current market alternatives that draw from only 10 metres deep, the company claims to be 90% cheaper than its nearest rival. SunCulture also provides a model for pay-as-you-go irrigation, thus making its product more accessible to its smallholder customers as they can pay in small monthly instalments for as little as US$2 per day.

With this, the company hopes to prevent the emission of 20,000 tonnes of CO2 per year as farmers replace diesel pumps with solar ones whilst facilitating income growth and job opportunities in rural communities. According to the company, its product helps farmers increase crop yields by 300% and reduce water usage by 80%.

By combining mobile banking technology with pay-as-you-go (PAYG) financing the company has grown to reach customers across Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, Senegal, Togo, and Ivory Coast. In March 2021 SunCulture raised an $11 million credit facility which was arranged by SunFunder, a financing company specialised in solar energy.

SunCulture customer Japhet Muthami told the firm that he previously spent 6-8 hours per day collecting water manually but produced very little yield. He tried using a hand pump and a traditional generator, but these options either didn’t provide enough water or were so expensive that he found he was losing money. Since coming across SunCulture Japhet says he has tripled his monthly income from 12,000 KES (US$108) to 37,000-40,000 KES (US$362) per month and can continue harvesting his vegetables during the dry season. He’s taken advantage of SunCulture’s Pay-As-You-Grow financing option, allowing him to pay small monthly instalments, since he has completed payments ahead of time he currently pays 3,100 KES (US$28) per month.

In a statement Samir Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer at SunCulture, said: “The past year was devastating for the millions of smallholder farmers in Kenya; 87% are in a worse financial position due to the pandemic. 81% of SunCulture farmers, however, were able to increase their revenue from farming in 2020. Solar irrigation helps create food security and sovereignty, and it also helps lift people out of poverty. This facility further enables our efforts to support farmers by providing them with more of our solar solutions and faster.”

International projects – the Chameleon soil sensor

In a project funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Australian Government corporate entity CSIRO developed the Chameleon soil water sensor system for use by smallholders around the world. Use of the sensor enables growers to maximise plant health whilst also avoiding over-watering which, as well as wasting precious resources, can deplete soil nutrients.

Three or four sensors are permanently installed at various soil depths to give the farmer a picture of moisture levels below ground in his field. Using a variable system of coloured light indicators, the Chameleon system visually shows farmers how much moisture is contained in the soil at any one time. A blue light for wet ‘no irrigation needed for a long while’, green for moist ‘no irrigation needed just yet’ and red for dry ‘irrigation required immediately’. One can easily imagine how farmers came up with the name Chameleon (or ‘Kinyonga’ in Swahili).

The array can be connected to either the Chameleon Wi-Fi Reader (US$200) or to a credit card sized reader which uses two wires that protrude from the soil (US$65).
Chameleon credit card sized reader

Sensors can be left in place for the next crop or be removed at the end of the season and reinstalled. The array can be connected to either the Chameleon Wi-Fi Reader (US$200) or to a credit card sized reader which uses two wires that protrude from the soil (US$65).

In addition to improved irrigation efficiency (a reported 30% reduction in water use) and the reduction of diseases previously promoted by over‐watering, farmers have seen up to 30% increases in their crop yields.

Through the establishment of the Virtual Irrigation Academy (VIA) tens of thousands of Chameleon sensors have been distributed. African countries with smallholders using the sensor include Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. In Malawi the women sing praise of the VIA, such is the importance of the device to their daily lives:

Irrigation in Egypt – Remote Sensing

One might assume that with ancient access to the Nile river, Egypt has no such irrigation issues but this is not so. Egypt is the world’s driest country with the lowest rate of annual rainfall. Speaking last week at the fourth Cairo Water Week, Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aty said the country suffers from a water deficit of 90 per cent of its renewable resources.

Despite a strategic decline in its average birth rate, Egypt’s population has continued to increase and the Nile only provides the country with 70% of its water supply. According to the Egyptian Center for Strategic Studies, agriculture uses more than 85% of the country’s share of the Nile. Consequently Egypt is very much subject to the negative impacts of climate change and drought.

Early in 2021 Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, in conjunction with Cairo’s MSA University, began a small precision irrigation technology trial, providing 200 free devices to farmers.

Buried in the ground, the sensors transmit data to mobile phones so that farmers can determine whether their crops need watering, much like the aforementioned Chameleon device. Of course this doesn’t provide the actual irrigation solution itself, but it does enable farmers to make better use of what water they have and improve their application timings to boost plant health and crop yields.

However, new farming technology like this is not necessarily an instant success when dealing with smallholders, it requires trust on the part of the farmer, some training and not to mention, a smartphone – not always a given in Egypt. Smallholders also need to be persuaded that that an investment in new technology like irrigation sensors will provide long term boosts in yields and profit.

Irrigation in Egypt – Mechanised Raised Bed Irrigation (MRBI)

When smallholders come together to invest in new technology they give themselves opportunities that might otherwise only be available to larger commercial farms. In Egypt one such example has been the Raised Bed Machine (RBM) – developed by the International Centre for Agriculture Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) in collaboration with other parties.

The machine has been designed with a row of furrow openers which allow farmers to dig water channels in the land, it can also drill seeds into the soil between these channels. When irrigated, water travels along the resulting furrows and the plants themselves send out their roots sideways in search of the moisture, this makes them stronger and healthier than if they are completely submerged or flooded when roots become lazy and absorb fewer nutrients.

As well as vastly increasing water efficiency ICARDA says the MRBI approach has achieved 20-30% higher crop yields and 25% savings in irrigation water in Egypt, reducing farming costs by about 20%. Scaling-out of raised bed machines has led to wheat area increases throughout Egypt, with production expected to increase to over 14 million tons by 2025. This would result in a total irrigation water saving of more than 1.5 billion m3/year by 2025, benefiting an additional 200,000 hectares. Numerous agreements and funding have been deployed to out-scale the machines outside of Egypt through donors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the EU, and FAO.

All of these irrigation trends and evolving attitudes about water consumption will help African farmers build resilience to the effects of climate change and optimise scarce resources with precision. Hurdles such as financing and suspicion of new technology need to be addressed at the outset. Hesitancy should be countered with proven yield and profit benefits to the smallholder whilst the affordability of solutions likely requires influence from external investment.

Share. LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Email
Emmanuel Maduka

Maduka has over 4 years experience in agricultural communication, he is an active advocate for youth engagement in agriculture and plays leading roles on this through his activities in agri-media and food processing. He is the Founder of Agrostrides Magazine and Co-founder LifePro Food Mills.

Related Stories

Autonomous Robots

Series A boost for Australia’s SwarmFarm Robotics and its Integrated Autonomy solutions

February 18, 2023
Autonomous Vehicles

Advanced Path Planning Technology announced by Trimble Autonomy

February 17, 2023
Latest News

Series A boost for Australia’s SwarmFarm Robotics and its Integrated Autonomy solutions

February 18, 2023

Advanced Path Planning Technology announced by Trimble Autonomy

February 17, 2023

Loam Bio’s endophyte harnessing technology receives fresh investment

February 17, 2023
Upcoming Events
  1. World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit 2023

    March 14 @ 8:00 am - March 15 @ 5:00 pm
  2. 15TH ANNUAL GLOBAL AGINVESTING – New York 2023

    April 3 - April 5
  3. Foodex 2023

    April 24 @ 9:00 am - April 26 @ 5:00 pm
  4. Agritech Israel 2023

    May 2 @ 8:00 am - May 4 @ 5:00 pm

View All Events

In the Spotlight

Reducing methane emissions from cattle and dairy farming

November 15, 2021By Matt Peskett

At COP26 this month, 105 countries including the US, Canada and Brazil promised to reduce…

Visited our sister title?
Site Information

About This Site
Advertising
Meet the Writers
Free Email Newsletters

LinkedIn Twitter
  • Vertical Farming Today
© 2022 Food & Farming Technology is a Firetop Media publication by Firetop Ltd 4854392 | © Editorial images: stock.adobe.com | All rights reserved
Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Analytics" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Necessary" category .
elementorneverThis cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time.
PHPSESSIDsessionThis cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
ab1 yearOwned by agkn, this cookie is used for targeting and advertising purposes.
CMID1 yearCasale Media sets this cookie to collect information on user behavior, for targeted advertising.
CMPRO3 monthsCMPRO cookie is set by CasaleMedia for anonymous user tracking, and for targeted advertising.
CMPS3 monthsCMPS cookie is set by CasaleMedia for anonymous user tracking based on user's website visits, for displaying targeted ads.
CMST1 dayCasale Media sets this cookie to collect information on user behavior, for targeted advertising.
DSID1 hourThis cookie is set by DoubleClick to note the user's specific user identity. It contains a hashed/encrypted unique ID.
id1 year 1 monthSet by Google DoubleClick, this cookie is used to create user profiles to display relevant ads.
IDE1 year 24 daysGoogle DoubleClick IDE cookies are used to store information about how the user uses the website to present them with relevant ads and according to the user profile.
KADUSERCOOKIE3 monthsThe cookie, set by PubMatic, registers a unique ID that identifies a returning user's device across websites that use the same ad network. The ID is used for targeted ads.
KTPCACOOKIE1 dayThe cookie, set by PubMatic, registers a unique ID that identifies a returning user's device across websites that use the same ad network. The ID is used for targeted ads.
mc1 year 1 monthQuantserve sets the mc cookie to anonymously track user behaviour on the website.
mdata1 year 1 monthThis cookie is used by Media Innovation group and registers a unique ID to identify a visitor on their revisit, in order to show them relevant ads.
OAGEOsessionOpenX sets this cookie to avoid the repeated display of the same ad.
OAID1 yearCookie set to record whether the user has opted out of the collection of information by the AdsWizz Service Cookies.
ov1 year 1 monthThis cookie is set by the provider mookie1.com. This cookie is used for serving the user with relevant content and advertisement.
pxrc2 monthsThis cookie is set by pippio to provide users with relevant advertisements and limit the number of ads displayed.
rlas31 yearRLCDN sets this cookie to provide users with relevant advertisements and limit the number of ads displayed.
test_cookie15 minutesThe test_cookie is set by doubleclick.net and is used to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
uuid3 monthsMediaMath sets this cookie to avoid the same ads from being shown repeatedly and for relevant advertising.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysA cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.
YSCsessionYSC cookie is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos on Youtube pages.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
yt-remote-device-idneverYouTube sets this cookie to store the video preferences of the user using embedded YouTube video.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
__gads1 year 24 daysThe __gads cookie, set by Google, is stored under DoubleClick domain and tracks the number of times users see an advert, measures the success of the campaign and calculates its revenue. This cookie can only be read from the domain they are set on and will not track any data while browsing through other sites.
_ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_154262053_11 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users.
_gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
CONSENT2 yearsYouTube sets this cookie via embedded youtube-videos and registers anonymous statistical data.
u1 yearThis cookie is used by Bombora to collect information that is used either in aggregate form, to help understand how websites are being used or how effective marketing campaigns are, or to help customize the websites for visitors.
uid1 year 1 monthThis is a Google UserID cookie that tracks users across various website segments.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
GoogleAdServingTestsessionNo description
ppwp_wp_session30 minutesNo description
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
na_id1 year 1 monthThe na_id is set by AddThis to enable sharing of links on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
na_rn1 monthThe na_rn cookie is used to recognize the visitor upon re-entry. It allows to record details on user behaviour and facilitate the social sharing function provided by Addthis.com.
na_sc_e1 monthThe na_sc_e cookie is used to recognize the visitor upon re-entry. It allows to record details on user behaviour and facilitate the social sharing function provided by Addthis.com.
na_sr1 monthThe na_sr cookie is used to recognize the visitor upon re-entry. It allows to record details on user behaviour and facilitate the social sharing function provided by Addthis.com.
na_srp1 minuteThe na_srp cookie is used to recognize the visitor upon re-entry. It allows to record details on user behaviour and facilitate the social sharing function provided by Addthis.com.
na_tc1 year 1 monthThe na_tc cookie is used to recognize the visitor upon re-entry. It allows to record details on user behaviour and facilitate the social sharing function provided by Addthis.com.
ouid1 year 1 monthAssociated with the AddThis widget, this cookie helps users to share content across various networking and sharing forums.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
CookieDurationDescription
d3 monthsQuantserve sets this cookie to anonymously track information on how visitors use the website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo