Development of Climate Smart Solar Powered Irrigation System for Improved Livelihoods in Garissa, Kenya
The development of a Climate-smart, solar powered, water pumping, surface irrigated banana production systems is demonstrated as a sustainable means of transforming and re-organising a rain-fed, food aid dependent pastoral community into a commercially oriented financially independent, food secure agro-pastoral livelihood system. Irrigation using solar energy is progressive and currently benefits from affordable high efficiency photovoltaic modules. The system designed and developed in Garissa Kenya generates 23kW of electrical power from a 57-255W polycrystalline Photo Voltaic modules and a sun tracker system. The Photo Voltaic modules tap the available 6 kWh/m 2 solar insolation in the area to drive a 80 m 3 /hour; 52 m rated pump to draw Tana river water and deliver it through a 200mm transmission pipe system for final in field application through furrows in a 25 ha banana plantation supporting some 25 households. The system is easy to operate and maintain and generates a gross income of Kenya shilling 40 million per year transitioning households from food aid dependency into secure middle income status. The system demonstrates a scalable model of a climate smart financially and technically sustainable livelihood transitioning system applied to scale.
Articlke sourced from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336589923_Development_of_Climate_Smart_Solar_Powered_Irrigation_System_for_Improved_Livelihoods_in_Garissa_Kenya