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NewsSDG 17

Green People’s Energy promotes solar irrigation in Ethiopia

How do you combine climate-friendly water pumping and irrigation with efficient water usage? Solar-powered irrigation is the answer! To spread this insight, the Green People´s Energy initiative has built up a training plot and demonstration plot for this technology.

To increase awareness and knowledge of these proven, innovative systems, Germany’s Green People’s Energy programme installed a solar irrigation demonstration and training plot at the Ethiopian Water Technology Institute (EWTI). In Ethiopia, the programme is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German government and works in partnership with the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE).  

The installation features not only two types of low-maintenance solar-PV-powered water pumps, but also several highly efficient irrigation systems, such as drip irrigation. EWTI sent staff to a training of trainers, conducted earlier and plans to include the solar irrigation training contents into its technical and vocational training modules. 

In addition, the project provided an elaborated solar irrigation training manual, that was developed in collaboration with MoWE and the Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Agriculture. 

This institutionalized solar irrigation training capacity is the first one of its kind in central Ethiopia.