An international project led by the UK Agri-Tech Centre addresses the challenge of estimating energy demand in rural communities in Ethiopia.
| 17 hectares of land irrigation | International Consortium |
| Farmer Association established | 37 new jobs |
| Benefiting 1500 people in Garda Marta, Ethiopia | Installation of surface solar water pump with |
The project is primarily focused on understanding the energy needed for irrigation which is crucial for mini-grid developers and renewable energy providers to avoid under or over investments.
The “Optimising Energy Demand in Rural Communities via Precision Agriculture Technology” project, launched in 2023, is a collaborative effort between the UK Agri-Tech Centre, LENKE, Arba Minch University Renewable Energy Technology Research Centre and CABI, funded through Innovate UK’s Energy Catalyst Competition.
Working closely with an Ethiopian farming community grappling with recurrent crop failures due to insufficient rainfall and crippling fuel costs, investigations into affordable renewable energy sources and irrigation technologies were conducted.
The project aimed to enhance food production, renewable energy optimisation and climate resilience in Ethiopia’s remote regions through the use of LENKE’s SWaDE technology. This aligns with the government’s agenda to mitigate agricultural sector challenges stemming from rain dependency and bolster the country’s green economy development.
The Challenge
There are many difficulties in correctly estimating the energy needed in rural communities, including a lack of historical data, unreliable forecasting methodologies and on-the-ground challenges that hinder the identification of commercially viable sites.
The crop failure challenges faced by the community of Garda Marta, where the project site was located, showed there is a pressing need for affordable energy sources and irrigation technologies to support agriculture. The region’s dependency on rainfall for farming exacerbates the situation. Additionally, there is a critical need to build climate resilience in these remote areas to sustain agricultural productivity and overall development.
The Innovation
LENKE’s SWaDE technology aims to provide a decision support tool to predict the agricultural irrigation water-demand in Ethiopia, based on Earth-observation (EO) satellite data, along with climatology and cutting-edge software computation techniques.
This technology utilised machine learning and satellite data to inform users about a farm plot’s historical and future irrigation needs based on crop types. This data is then mapped onto the energy demand, enabling the assessment and design of appropriate renewable energy sources. Most notably, the transition from diesel to electric pumps for irrigation represents an opportunity to save costs, increase productivity and reduce carbon emissions.
The Solution
To date, the project has had the following outputs and outcomes:
- Developed game-changing SWaDE technology.
- Installed and field-tested a surface solar water pump in collaboration with LENKE’s SWaDE technology, delivering 3.3kW of energy, a pumping height of 20m and a flow rate of 35m³/day. This benefited over 30 farms, representing 1,500 people, and irrigated 17 hectares of land that had previously seen six failed harvests.
- Surveyed 150 households.
- Created 30 new jobs during installation and 7 new jobs for survey work.
- Provided capacity building and training for farmers on technology utilisation.
- Raised awareness of renewable energy, promoting a transition from diesel pumps to renewables, offering environmental and cost-saving benefits.
- Delivered community outreach services and new skills development.
- Built networks and partnerships, creating a new farmer association to optimise irrigation use, delivering multiple benefits and empowering farmers.
Next Steps
Senior International Business Development Manager, Dr Jenna Ross OBE, said:
“Our project has focused on the Garda Marta area of Ethiopia, an area with limited energy access and where the cost of diesel has crippled the use of standalone diesel generators for irrigation. This, coupled with extreme droughts, has led to 6 seasons of failed harvests resulting in sever food insecurity.
Transitioning from diesel pumps to electric pumps has huge benefits with regards to cost saving, increased productivity, increased food security and reduced carbon emissions.
Through the Innovate UK Energy Catalyst funded project, the talented multidisciplinary team has installed and field-tested a surface solar water pump in collaboration with LENKE’s SWaDE technology, delivering significant benefits to 30 farms, thus providing greater food and energy security.”