Solar-Powered Drip Irrigation in Kenya: Is It Really Worth It?

Today’s farmers operate in a climate where efficient and sustainable solutions are critical to success. One such solution in Kenya is solar-powered drip irrigation, which is changing the lives of smallholder farmers for the better.

With inconsistent rainfall that characterizes most parts of the country, farmers have to irrigate their crops to ensure productivity. The traditional method involves using diesel or electricity grid to power water pumps, but high, fluctuating costs of both diesel and grid electricity can negatively impact profitability.

Thanks to a solar-powered drip irrigation system, farmers can harness the sun for free to grow and water their crops.

Read along to learn everything you need to know about solar-powered drip irrigation in Kenya.

What Is Solar-Powered Drip Irrigation?

Solar-powered drip irrigation refers to the watering of crops by use of solar-powered pumps drawing water from sources like dams, wells, ponds, rivers, or lakes and distributing it across agricultural fields.

A solar-powered drip irrigation system comprises solar panels that harness sunlight to provide energy to run an irrigation pump. The pump can direct water to the farm or to a water storage facility, such as a tank or dam, first.

If you draw water from a borehole as your main water source, you will typically use a submersible pump powered by solar panels to draw water to a nearby storage, often a raised tank. From this tank, the water typically flows to the crops in your farm through a drip irrigation system via gravity.

How efficiently this system works often depends on the sunlight, the capacity of the solar panel, and the water requirements.

Main Benefits of Solar-Powered Drip Irrigation

Here is a look at some of the main benefits of solar-powered drip irrigation for Kenyan farmers.

1. Reduced operational costs

The main cost associated with the drip irrigation system is the installation. After this initial investment, no fuel or electricity costs are involved in operating the system. This means the solar-powered automatic irrigation system runs free of charge, thanks to its reliance on sunlight.

This way, a solar irrigation pump eliminates diesel and electricity overheads that can significantly reduce your profits. Relying on solar gives you more financial stability and greater profit margins.

2. Increased efficiency in water and labor use

Drip irrigation inherently conserves water through reduced evaporation and waste, ensuring that every drop of water is used efficiently where it is required. It is also largely an automatic irrigation system, significantly reducing the labor needed to water crops manually.

3. Improved crop yield and quality

Our observation is consistent with results from surveys that show that crops that benefit from solar-powered drip irrigation tend to do better. The improved yield and quality of crops are due to the stable, consistent watering, as more evidence from Kenya confirm.

4. Environmental sustainability and resilience

Solar energy is clean and renewable. meaning that it does not raise environmental degradation concerns as do alternatives like gasoline. Using a solar irrigation pump to water your farm effectively reduces its carbon footprint and contributes to a healthier environment due to no fossil fuel emissions.

Solar is also the best drip irrigation system for rural or remote areas that are off-grid, and therefore have no direct access to electricity.

5. Autonomy and flexibility

Several parts of Kenya, especially rural or remote areas where agriculture happens, tend to experience unpredictable power supply, with outages being a common issue. In such areas, solar-powered drip irrigation offers the ability to irrigate regardless of unreliable grid power conditions.

The alternative also gives farmers the flexibility to shift away from grid power and fuel when their prices fluctuate unfavorably.

6. Long lifespan and low maintenance

Since solar-powered drip irrigation systems have fewer moving parts than diesel engines, they can easily withstand harsh outdoor conditions with little maintenance. A drip irrigation system is also a fairly automatic irrigation method, further reducing the need for human input.

Even more importantly, solar panels are designed to last for decades with minimal maintenance, giving the farmer 25 years or more of service.

7. Eligibility for government incentives

The Kenyan government has initiatives such as the Agriculture Sector Development Support Program (ASDSP) that can benefit farmers who use solar-powered drip irrigation.

The program often subsidizes climate-smart agriculture technologies like solar irrigation. As such, implementing solar-powered drip irrigation allows the farmer to qualify for such subsidies and other related incentives.

Simple Decision Checklist for Kenyan Farmers

If you are wondering whether investing in a solar-powered drip irrigation system is worth it, here are some questions to ask yourself to guide you in making this decision.

• Do you have a reliable water source such as a well, dam, or river?
• Is your plot size sufficient to justify the investment, e.g., ¼ acre and above?
• Can you access quality solar irrigation pumps and suppliers of irrigation kits and after-sales support? (Notice that Irrihub offers all these, including after-sales support)
• Do you want to benefit from labor savings, consistent watering (especially during dry spells), or increased yields?
• Are you prepared for maintenance of drip lines, filters, and filter cleaning?

If you answered “Yes” to any one or more of these questions, it is time for you to hop aboard the solar-powered drip irrigation bandwagon.

Original Reliable Solar Pumps in Nairobi, Kenya at Irrihub Ke, +254 112 148 880

If you are looking to buy a reliable solar pump in Kenya, Irrihub has nice offers you may consider. We sell solar pumps as independent units or as complete solutions (kits). The complete solutions include:

• Submersible brushless pump
• 600W solar panels
• Delivery pipe 25MM
• 70M head
• Flow rate of 2300 L/hr.
• Solar panels
• Pipes and cables
• MPPT controller
• Full installation

Final Thoughts

Solar-powered drip irrigation carries several benefits, especially for Kenya’s smallholder farmers whose profits are usually eaten away by fluctuating and constantly bloated diesel and grid power energy costs.

The solar irrigation technology represents a more cost-effective and sustainable alternative in several ways, as highlighted in this article.

If you have not invested in a solar-powered pump for your irrigation needs, then perhaps it is time to check out the drip irrigation kits at Irrihub to see what works best for your needs.