Climate Smart (Solar) Irrigation

Accelerating farmer-led irrigation development

Off-season farmer-led irrigation (2)

The gap between (solar) irrigation technologies and smallholders is reducing in Africa and Asia. However, a lack of know-how and practical skills in technical, commercial, and financial aspects, or misconceptions about the benefits of tailor-made irrigation solutions, becomes an obstacle to the sector's development. Practica’s approach aims to lead the development of climate-smart and solar-powered irrigation in the most sustainable direction. With more than 20 years of experience, we are well-positioned to support locally-led scalable solutions that successfully assist smallholders in optimizing (or entering) small-scale irrigation practices to boost their food security and essential family income.

We accelerate farmer-led irrigation development (FLID) by supporting the following enabling factors:

FLID

  • We conduct action research, often called "co-construction", by engaging farmers to develop solutions that meet their real needs and expectations.

  • We build the capacity of the sector to create durable market chains, and support them to close the gap between farmers and technology, repairmen and spare parts suppliers.

  • We develop decision-making tools and technologies to improve farmers' climate change resilience and access to appropriate solar irrigation technologies.

  • We foster discussion and engagement between key actors of the FLID chain advocating for sustainable irrigation sector development.

Find more information about our approach in this brochure

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Product development & capacity building

Demonstration of an app to a group of women next to solar panels

We specialize in undertaking capacity-building activities for the dissemination of climate-smart and solar-powered irrigation, developing context-oriented technical and financial tools for decision-making, and facilitating the scaling of knowledge and lessons learned to the policy level to facilitate the appropriation of climate-smart irrigation technologies in national policies.

Next to many years of experience in SPIS training to technicians, vocational teachers, extensionists, and NGO employees, we have also trained up government agents, finance advisors and credit officers, and have a dedicated SPIS finance curriculum for this.

All our training specifically focuses on practice in the field. Depending on the target group, the approach is adapted to make a connection with their field of expertise. We keep training as dynamic and varied as possible by using different sorts of training materials, including field-bases trainings, serious games, decision-making tools and energizers. We invite participants to engage, share their experiences, and use their senses and hands as much as possible.

Examples of our decision-making tools:
  • IRRIS concept is the decision-making tool that makes irrigation design easy for suppliers, promoters, and project implementers. Are you wondering about the surface you can irrigate with your water source, the equipment to invest in, or the system's costs? IRRIS concept streamlines processes and accelerates project implementation. Practica also developed a free IRRIS Android mobile app as a tool for technicians, advanced farmers, distributors, and extension workers. It provides the specifications for buying a (solar) pump adapted to your farm.
  • Caloa Agri - financial tool is a decision-making tool for finance institutes to support them in selecting capable small-scale agri-entrepreneurs for their irrigation investment portfolios. Practica developed this with Aliénor Consulting SAS.

Project implementation

In 2022, Practica completed a feasibility study with IHE Delft on the potential of sand rivers as a sustainable water source for irrigation in Gaza province in Mozambique. This was accompanied by a training program for local stakeholders with the help of Nuffic funding. Watch the following video "Water that exists below dry rivers - How to use it sustainably?" to see the results.

After that Practica accelerated the upscaling of solar-powered irrigation solutions along the Limpopo River with support of GIZ funding. We realized this by:

  • Co-constructing and monitoring the adoption of tailor-made irrigation solutions that adapt to farmers’ needs and realities
  • Providing technical and financial trainings to build capacities of key FLID chain actors (technology suppliers, government, educational and financial institutions)
  • Testing innovative financial mechanisms such as PAYGO solutions.
  • Organizing institutional-level workshops to foster the dialogue and to close communication gaps between key FLID chain actors.

Results have been discussed in a special webinar, organized by Energypedia and AMER: "Lessons learned-solar powered irrigation systems for smallholder farmers in Gaza, Mozambique"

Training on pumps and irrigation systems

Technical Assistance

Women community garden in Boghé Mauritania, with solar irrigation installations

As part of the PARIIS project, our role as Type 2 Strategic Partner (PS T2) was to provide technical assistance to the projects units of the 6 PARIIS countries (Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger & Tchad), and to ensure the capacity building of public and private actors.

  • Advisory support to the partners in charge of the field implementation.
  • Technical trainings to the private sector and institutional actors
  • Capitalisation and sharing the lessons learnt in each country
  • Strengthening of the capacity of Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS)

Innovations

Zainer

The zainer is simple machine to support climate resilient agriculture. It allows to easily and quickly made Zaï holes.

Learn more

IRRIS

IRRIS is an app facilitating the choice of pumps for solar irrigation systems. Enter the specifications of your farm, and get info on the pump and panels needed.

Download the app

Sunflower pumps

The sunflower range of pumps have been developed by Practica and are now owned and commercialised by Futurepump. 

Visit Futurepump's website
Click here to discover more

Latest news on irrigation

Financing solar irrigation

4 November 2022