Solar Brings Long-Awaited Water to Ethiopian Farmers

A case study by the World Resources Institute (WRI) detailing a pilot project in Berbere, Ethiopia, where solar-powered irrigation pumps replaced costly and unreliable petrol pumps, significantly increasing farmer incomes and crop yields.

• In 2024, WRI and DanChurchAid (DCA), with IKEA Foundation funding, installed two 2.75 kilowatt (kW) solar-powered pumps in the villages of Gebe Keku and Gora Hido. This US$19,200 investment allows 48 farming households to irrigate 14 hectares of land year-round.
• Solar irrigation has enabled farmers to shift from single-season staple crops like maize and teff to harvesting high-value crops such as onions, tomatoes, chili, and cabbage three to four times per year. In the April-June 2025 season, farmers produced over 5,100 kg of onions, 8,000 kg of peppers, and 3,300 kg of cabbage.
• The transition to solar power has dramatically increased household earnings. While average annual crop sales were previously about US$207, farmers in a single production season now report earning an average of US$709 from onions, $274 from peppers, and $77 from cabbage.
• Solar pumps are more cost-effective over their lifecycle than petrol pumps, which have a lifecycle cost roughly 3 times higher. Solar systems have a 20-year lifespan (compared to 10 for petrol) and annual maintenance costs under US$10, whereas petrol pumps cost over $1,300 annually for maintenance and US$91-$203 per hectare for fuel.
• WRI modeling suggests that with further funding, irrigation could expand to 30–142 hectares per kebele, supporting 50 to 260 farmers per site and indirectly benefiting up to 1,500 people. To scale the project, a cooperative business model has been created to provide access to bank loans, de-risked pay-as-you-go models, and donor subsidies.

APA

World Resources Institute (2026). Solar Brings Long-Awaited Water to Ethiopian Farmers. https://www.wri.org/insights/solar-transforms-farming-berbere-ethiopia

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Solar Brings Long-Awaited Water to Ethiopian Farmers. 2026. https://www.wri.org/insights/solar-transforms-farming-berbere-ethiopia.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Solar Brings Long-Awaited Water to Ethiopian Farmers |date=24 February 2026 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/solar-transforms-farming-berbere-ethiopia |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2026solar, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Solar Brings Long-Awaited Water to Ethiopian Farmers}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/solar-transforms-farming-berbere-ethiopia}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }