Innovation field

East and West Africa

Summary

Avec la baisse du coût des panneaux photovoltaïques le pompage solaire devient une solution prometteuse pour la petite irrigation privée. Des pompes solaires portables et faciles à installer  pour l’irrigation de surfaces inférieures à 0,5 ha, émergent sur le marché Est et Ouest africain : SF2 & SE1 (Futurepump), SP2-100 (Lorentz), Sunlight (Ennos/Jain), Rainmaker (Sunculture).

For many smallholders, solar pumping is the only effective option when water extraction is carried out manually or the water depth is greater than 10 m.

The PAYGO digital finance (leasing) offered by suppliers and mobile payments contribute to the financing of the purchase of solar pumps, the cost of which remains beyond the reach of smallholders. The subsidy associated with PAYGO seems essential for the sustainable development of the supply chain, and due to the lack of credit supply from the microfinance sector and banks.

Emergence of the innovation

FuturePump (in partnership with PRACTICA) and Sunculture are the pioneers of a small number of private operators engaged in the service offer and sale of solar pumps to small farmers in the African continent. In sub-Saharan Africa, at least 5 million farmers practice irrigation, half of them using rudimentary water extraction techniques (buckets). The design and supply of solar pumps specific to the segment of farms smaller than 0.5 ha responds to a market gap, while the cost of solar panels has been divided by 10 over the past decade. The emergence of this innovation also responds to the fact that:

– no solar pumping solution for irrigation was viable for small producers;

– local capacity and supply chains are limited;

– there is little knowledge of the market and purchasing costs are prohibitive.

Solution(s) provided by the innovation

Typical profile of farmers targeted by the innovation:

– Cultivated area less than 0.5 ha;

– Water depth less than 12 m;

– The practice of irrigated off-season crops is commensurate with the limited means at their disposal;

– Most of them use manual water extraction/irrigation (buckets);

– Very low capacity for financing and access to credit;

– Produce sold on the market;

– Agriculture is the main source of income.

Direct effects of the innovation at the farm level:

– Increased income and improved living conditions;

– Secured production in the dry season (two agricultural seasons in the off-season) if the water source is permanent;

– Reduction of the difficulty of water extraction;

– Expansion of the irrigated area where water extraction was previously manual;

– Pumping depth over 10 m for solar submersible pumps;

– Return on investment after 3 to 4 campaigns (2 to 3 years) depending on the crops grown and the area irrigated;

- No water production charges (fuel and lubricant).

Indirect effects of the innovation:

– Greenhouse gas reduction;

– Creation of economic activity and employment;

– Increase in irrigated areas and national agricultural production while limiting the effects of climate change;

– Reduced food insecurity in the face of climatic hazards.

History of evolution since emergence (implementation on the field)

As early as 2010, the decreasing cost of solar panels and the growing volume of the smallholder segment led to the design and first tests of solar pumps for this market. At the COP-21 (2015), the goal of the States to limit global warming and the subsequent mobilisation of funding marks the beginning of the market penetration of solar pumping for irrigation.

The design, production and marketing of a pump is an iterative process that feeds on lessons learned in the field and the response from the pump's users. Several lessons have been learned over the past 10 years.

Design:

– The solar pump must be portable and easy to use and install (plug & pump). Beyond 240 watt panels, the weight and bulk becomes difficult. The theft of solar panels is a reality;

– Pumping takes place exclusively with the sun between 6 to 8 hours/day without batteries. Energy storage is costly, sensitive to breakdowns and the recycling capacity of used batteries is non-existent;

– The daily pumping volume must be between 6 and 18 m3/day with a water depth of less than 15 m to guarantee portability. Under these conditions, the irrigable area varies from 0.1 to 0.5 ha maximum;

– The capacity of the wells in the largest market segment rarely exceeds 1 m3/h, therefore it is not necessary to have a pump flow rate higher than 3 m3/h. The flow rate of a pump decreases with the depth of water at constant panel power;

– Piston and helical pumps are the two most suitable models. They are less sensitive to water quality (sand, sludge) and have a higher efficiency than centrifugal pumps for flows below 3 m3/h.

 

Production, marketing and maintenance:

– Solar pumps are manufactured in Asia (China and India) and Europe. Experience of production in Africa (Burkina) has shown the complexity of setting up a supply chain which proved not to be competitive with pumps imported from Asia;

– Futurepump and Lorentz have a network of distributors in many African countries as do other emerging manufacturers and suppliers. The recent partnership between Sunculture/EDF/BBox aims to sell 3000 solar pumps for irrigation in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Togo;

– Some pumps are equipped with a remote monitoring system to facilitate maintenance and repair work. In rural areas where telephone coverage is often poor, communication with the pump is difficult or impossible;

– Through its distributors, Futurepump offers a 5 year warranty on defective parts or those causing a breakdown. The application of the warranty is highly dependent on the reactivity of the distributor and the stock of spare parts.

Finance:

– The initial cost of the solar pump is the main obstacle to its purchase by an operator despite all the efforts made to reduce the cost from the design stage: between 500 and 1500 euros, a significant difference depending on the country;

– The rural finance sector is not very present and does not offer loans or financial products to this category of producer;

 – Sunculture and other suppliers supported by projects (SISAM implemented by ESF in Benin, Burkina and Togo), or investors, offer their clients the possibility of paying for the pump in several instalments over a period of 12 to 36 months, based on the PAYGO principle, which is similar to leasing. The repayment is made by mobile payment. In case of non-payment, the supplier can block the pump remotely. This service also depends on the unequal mobile phone coverage from one country to another. It is in the supplier's interest to provide a good after-sales service to recover the full cost of the pump.

– Subsidies for solar pumping and risk capital mobilisation by the supplier are necessary to accelerate the adoption and dissemination of solar irrigation.

Users' opinions / elements of acceptance of the innovation

The solar pumping market is growing rapidly across sub-Saharan Africa. For example, since 2017, Futurepump has marketed over 8000 solar surface pumps.

 Several key elements of acceptance are mentioned by smallholders:

– Cost is the main obstacle to purchase but the staggered payment facilities (PAYGO) granted by some suppliers seem to be a good compromise that accelerates distribution;

– No operating costs as the water is free;

– Simple operation of the pump based on the plug & pump model;

– Pump performance (flow rate, pressure, irrigation time) should improve on the previous situation. The motor-pumps have a flow rate 5 times higher than the targeted solar pumps and their users are not inclined to change their practices.

Economic assessment of the innovation

– The cost of a solar pump (pump <1 kW + controller + solar generator) producing less than 20 m3/day at a height (TDH, total dynamic head) of less than 20 m is in a range of 500 to 3000 euros for an irrigable area between 750 m2 and 5000 m2. There are significant differences between countries and pump brands. In Burkina Faso, a solar installation of 20 m3/day (irrigation 3000 m2) at 20 m of TDH costs 1435 euros.

– In Senegal, the net margin for a vegetable growing season (4 months) on an area of 3000 m2 is about 2300 euros for a total initial investment of 2600 euros, including 1300 euros for solar pumping. There is no doubt about the financial profitability but the results can vary from one situation to another because of the risk linked to the nature of market gardening activity.

– When irrigation is done with a motor-pump, the cost of water production (fuel, lubricant, maintenance) represents between 40 and 60% of the total expenses, i.e. +/- 300 euros/campaign for an area of 3000 m2. This amount is zero for solar pumping. In the case of a depth higher than 10 m, electric pumping is the only option (solar or with a generator).

 – The main issue is not the profitability of solar irrigation but the ability of the producer to raise the initial investment in the case of a new installation, or the question of financing the replacement of installations.

Prospects for the evolution of the innovation

In the next 10 years, we can expect a decrease in the price of solar pumps due to China's considerable investments in green energy and the saturation of its domestic market, which will result in a significant decrease in the cost on the international market. Over the same period, the price of lithium batteries is expected to fall considerably, driven by the growing demand of the global electric car market (down 88% since 2010), which will accelerate significantly with the recent incentives to support the industry and purchasing. Energy storage is currently too expensive for irrigation but could prove to be a hybrid solution with solar pumping in the near future. Technological monitoring must be maintained to open up new perspectives.

– In the absence of incentives for purchase (subsidy, leasing, specific financial product), we can fear that access to solar irrigation solutions will be reduced to a small minority of producers or restricted to a segment of customers capable of raising sufficient funds.

– Approximately two thirds of Futurepump's customers in Kenya (survey of a sample of 400 farmers) were irrigating manually before purchasing a solar pump. Limiting greenhouse gas emissions by replacing existing motor pumps (fuel) with solar pumping is difficult to achieve as it is not part of the smallholder production strategy. The main reasons given are that the performance and flexibility are lower than with motor pumps or the required additional investment in water-saving techniques (drip, sprinkler tape).

– In sub-Saharan Africa the majority of existing wells are less than 15 m deep. Pumping deeper requires an additional investment with motorised drilling that is inaccessible to small producers. However, low-cost manual drilling combined with shallow solar pumping opens up interesting prospects for a rapid increase in irrigated areas for smallholders.

– Raising capital from investors by suppliers using PAYGO is complex and few candidates have access to it. The risk is that a monopoly is established in the market, draining the financial support offered by donors and governments.

– On observe une offre croissante de pompe solaire en provenance d’Asie sur le marché Africain auprès de fournisseurs « locaux ou travaillant dans l’informel » d’un coût très attractif et d’une qualité quelque fois équivalente au lead pris par les fournisseurs reconnus. Cette tendance va s’accélérer avec la segmentation du marché  qui commence à s’organiser

Conditions for the dissemination of the innovation and replicability

The segment of smallholders (area <0.5 ha) classified as vulnerable is the highest in number and favourable to the creation of sustainable chains of the service and supply of solar irrigation solutions. It is this segment that should be supported as a priority as it probably represents more than 80% of farmers.

– Surface water resources that can be easily mobilised are generally largely exploited with motor-pumps. When the water depth reaches 10 m, the motor pump gives way to solar submerged pumping. Solar pumping at intermediate depths (less than 12 m) offers significant prospects for increasing the irrigated areas that were previously inaccessible or limited by manual pumping.

– The profitability of solar irrigation is based on the practice of one or two seasons of high value-added off-season crops (onion, chilli, pepper, etc.). It is likely, given the population growth and the increasing demand for agricultural products, that the African market will be able to absorb the production of new irrigated areas. However, smallholders, whose mode of production is often associated with subsistence farming whereas most of their production is sold on the market, must be integrated into programmes to support the value chains of agricultural products.

– Des efforts considérables doivent être engagés dans la formation et l’information, y compris des campagnes de marketing et de communication de masse, de l’ensemble de l’écosystème d’acteurs sur la thématique de l’irrigation solaire : gouvernements, bailleurs de fonds, services techniques, fournisseurs, bureaux d’étude, prestataires de services, associations professionnelles, banques, associations et faitières d’agriculteurs, agriculteurs

– For the smallholder segment, solar pumping should be subsidised over a long period of time, at a rate equivalent to the cost difference between a motor-pump and a solar pump, in order to trigger a sustainable behavioural change within the ecosystem of the chain of actors. This financial support should be backed by the leasing (PAYGO/leasing) offered by suppliers to their customers, thus guaranteeing an after-sales service during the recovery period.

Associated risks, negative externalities

– Le pompage électrique alimenté par solaire tout comme par générateur électrique ou réseau ouvre la voie à la mobilisation et à l’exploitation des eaux souterraines avec localement un risque de surexploitation des aquifères. La réalisation de nouveaux forages destinés à l’irrigation doit être suivi. Il ne s’agit pas de restreindre mais de suivre l’évolution spatiale et numéraire des forages : où ? quel débit ? quel usage ? PRACTICA a développé une application digitale sur smartphone qui peut être utilisée par les entreprises de forage pour la collecte des données. L’accès aux informations se fait par une plateforme web.

– Les politiques d’incitations financières accordées à la chaine d’acteurs ou aux agriculteurs sont un levier majeur de l’accélération du développement du pompage solaire, mais également un moyen de réguler l’expansion des solutions d’irrigation solaires.  Les facilités financières doivent cibler les segments de producteurs et les territoires ou les effets produits seront durables. Là où la ressource en eau est réputée comme fragile les taux de subvention seront nuls ou adaptés à des solutions ne présentant pas de menaces :  par exemple subvention plafond de la profondeur de l’ouvrage de captage et de la puissance du générateur solaire

Additional documentation

- Intermediate depth solar irrigation solutions for small-scale farmers in the Niayes region (Senegal) - Practica Foundation, World Bank, Ministry of Economy and Industry of the State of Israel - 2019

Video , Report

– Market study for SISAM solar irrigation solutions - Practica Foundation, Electricien Sans Frontières, Agence Française de Développement, Agence de l'Environnement et de la Maitrise de l'Énergie - 2019

Report

– Presentation of the SISAM project - 2020

Video

– Everything you need to know before buying a solar irrigation pump - Practica Foundation, Aqua for All, Kit, Mete Meta, SNV, Dutch Embassy - 2019

Guide

– 2019 Buyer’s guide for solar water pumps – Ukaid, Power Africa – 2019

Guide

– Smartphone application - The driller's toolbox

– Smartphone application – Solar irrigation pump selector

Futurepump – Video

Sunculture – Video

Discussion