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Green irrigation saves water, costs, and working hours

Five people in a field preparing a water pump for an irrigation system. Tools and other equipment lie on the ground, with trees, hedges and dry soil in the background.

In light of climate change, smallholder farmers in particular need to keep irrigation costs low and conserve precious water resources. In Ethiopia, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and its Green People’s Energy project initiated a pilot project with local partners that does both. And makes work easier.

In view of global warming and increasing water scarcity, it is becoming more and more important to use water resources sparingly – in Ethiopia too. Costs for fossil-fuel-driven pumps are also becoming increasingly expensive and placing a heavy financial burden on small farmers in particular. “Solar-powered irrigation systems – “green irrigation” in short – can mitigate the effects of climate change, increase farmers’ productivity and strengthen their resilience,” says Anteneh Gulilat, coordinator for productive energy use and investment promotion at Green People’s Energy in Ethiopia (GBE).

A person works with a metal pipe and a cabled water pump. Three people stand around them, cables and equipment on the floor.
A person smiles in the camera, holding a flexible tube. Trees in the background.
Six people lift a cistern onto a metal stand in a field, with trees and hedges in the background.
A person is sitting on the ground in a field, with a cistern on a stand connected to a solar panel in the background. They are smiling at the camera.
A person smiles at the camera, arms crossed, in a field with a cistern on a stand connected to a solar panel in the background.

In cooperation with the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Water and Energy and the Strengthening Rural Value Chains in Ethiopia project implemented by GIZ, GBE set up two pilot clusters for solar-powered irrigation systems. The clusters demonstrate resource-efficient irrigation systems on 29 smallholder farmers’ plots. On the one hand, the pilot project is intended to increase farmers’ productivity. On the other hand, it saves them a lot of time and physical strength – if they have been working without irrigation pumps before.

As smallholder farmer Edmealem Wanengnaw confirms, “With the help of solar irrigation, I will be able to plant and harvest three times a year in future. Before it was only possible once a year.” Smallholder Amarech Gerie describes how much of a relief it is in terms of time and physical effort. “Before, I had to draw water from the well and carry it to the field in buckets.” For her, the advantages of solar irrigation are obvious. “Today I save a lot of time and energy that I can use elsewhere,” she says. She learned how to irrigate her fields efficiently in a training course.

Water is sprayed from flexible pipes on the ground in a field of crops.
Solar panels in the foreground, two people stand on a metal frame with a cistern on top. Blue sky with white clouds, a field, and some trees in the background.
Two white cisterns stand in a field surrounded by hedges and trees. Buildings can be seen among the trees in the background.
A worker looks at the pieces of irrigation equipment in their hand. In the background, a field with crops, trees and two other people.
Two hands hold a flexible pipe and some equipment. Light dry soil in the background.
A solar panel and irrigation pipes in a field of crops.

The pilot project is intended to demonstrate the advantages of solar-powered pumping systems. At the same time, it also aims to raise awareness among stakeholders from the agricultural and energy sectors, explains GBE’s Anteneh Gulilat. “We focused on high-value vegetables that can be grown on smaller plots.” The pilot clusters also demonstrate different irrigation systems. “Our goal is for other smallholder farmers to also use solar irrigation in future. We also hope other development actors will take up and promote this idea,” Gulilat adds. In this manner, GBE in Ethiopia primarily supports the energy and agricultural sectors, but also the country’s development goals.