Solar Irrigation in Kenya: The future of agriculture
• According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation by 2020
agricultural productivity in parts of Sub-Sahara Africa will drop by 50%
• Kenya’s agriculture is 96% rain-fed and hence highly affected by
changing climatic conditions.
• Only 12% of Kenya is considered to be high potential for farming or
intensive livestock production. A further 5.5%, which is classified as of
medium potential, mainly supports livestock especially sheep and
goats. Only 60 % of this high and medium potential land is devoted to
crops and the rest is used for grazing and forests. The other 82% of
the total land in Kenya is classified as arid and semi-arid lands
The problem
• Rainfall patterns are no longer
regular or predictable
• When it rains, it pours
• Irrigation has long been seen
as an option to improve and
sustain rural livelihoods by
increasing crop production.
• Large scale irrigation schemes
have ran into operation and
maintenance challenges
Solution
• Smallholder irrigation technologies
• Transformation in how agriculture has
previously been done
• Farmers must be at the center of every
effort to improve agriculture
• They must be involved in innovation and
coming up with solutions that address
their pressing challenges
Article source: https://aidembs.com/africafood-security_conference/images/PRESENTATIONS/2017/ESTHER%20K.pdf
