Solar irrigation keeps farmers growing through the dry season
For Gale James in Kogbo A Village, Kerwa Parish, Kerwa Sub-county, Yumbe District, a nearby well holds water throughout the year. But watering his one-acre garden meant carrying water manually, a demanding task that became harder during dry weather.
In Noa Village, Ndaapi Parish, Omugo Sub-county, Terego District, Nandini Vincent faced a similar problem. His half-acre garden provided food and income, but watering it by hand took considerable time and effort.
Today, both farmers use solar-powered surface pumps to move water to their gardens. James draws from his well and Vincent from a river, allowing them to keep growing food during the dry season.
“When it is raining, we don’t use the pump. When it is dry, we use the pump and continue producing even in the dry season,” Vincent explains.
Their experiences show how irrigation can reduce the work of carrying water, keep crops growing through dry weather and support sales that help meet family needs.
James learned about the pump through Siki Ben Isaiah, a sales agent from Kerwa Village, Kerwa Sub-county, Yumbe District, who organised a community meeting.
After assessment, James was linked to Vision Fund, which covered the UGX 720,000 subsidised purchase price. The supplier installed the pump, and he began using it in September 2025. He repaid Vision Fund over six months in manageable instalments with a small amount of interest.
James grows maize, bananas, cabbages and onions for household consumption and sale. He says the pump has helped him water vegetables during drought and increase sales, including in the dry season. The additional income has helped pay school fees.
He has added onions and is experimenting with cocoa, although irrigation has not removed every difficulty. Some plants still struggle in intense heat, even with watering.
“He says production has begun to increase. From his previous half-acre garden, Vincent earned about UGX 500,000 from produce sales per season, selling across three seasons. With the pump, he expects to earn about UGX 800,000 per season.”
Vincent waters twice a week during the daytime. His pump runs directly on sunshine, without a battery, drawing river water to his crops when conditions allow.
Farming earnings help pay school fees for Vincent’s household of eight. If the sales increase, he hopes to build a house with an iron-sheet roof, expand his garden to five acres and use a sprinkler to ease watering. This will require equipment with greater capacity.
Both farmers emphasise the need to match equipment to the water source, distance and area to be irrigated. Reliable water supplies, installation, maintenance and after-sales support are also essential.
Vincent and Morish connecting the solar water pump to the water source
Both farmers have been supported by the Supporting Stronger Access to Innovative Energy Solutions in Displacement Settings (SUSTAINED) project, funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kampala. Implemented by a consortium led by Mercy Corps with CARE and Oxfam, the project works with local partners including ICAN South Sudan, Community Empowerment for Creative Innovation and the African Youth Action Network, alongside energy companies and financial service providers.
The project targets refugees and host communities in Yumbe, Madi-Okollo and Terego districts in West Nile, particularly women and young people. It aims to improve access to quality, reliable and affordable clean energy for cooking and income-generating activities, including irrigation and refrigeration.
SUSTAINED uses a Market Systems Development approach, connecting communities, energy companies and financial institutions. Farmers need information, suitable equipment and affordable finance; companies need distribution networks and customers. Strengthening these relationships aims to keep products and services accessible beyond project support.
Oxfam focused on demand activation, helping people understand clean-energy technologies and make informed investment decisions. With ICAN South Sudan and other partners, it supported savings groups, farmer groups and individuals through awareness sessions, financial literacy, sales-agent training, demonstrations and links to suppliers and finance.
Mercy Corps led supply-side support to energy companies, while CARE led work on the enabling policy and coordination environment. Oxfam also brought refugee and host-community needs into advocacy for affordable energy access.
Results extend beyond these two gardens. The demand-activation work with partners reached over 2,400 people through awareness sessions and financial literacy training and facilitated the sale of 42 solar water pumps. It also established four irrigation demonstration sites, with 27 groups visiting the sites to learn about clean-energy solutions.
Learning continues in the farmers’ gardens. Neighbours visit James to see his pump working, although many cannot afford their own.
This interest points to both an opportunity and a remaining barrier. Seeing a pump in use helps people understand its benefits, but interest alone does not make it affordable.
“Affordability is central to whether that interest becomes uptake. The consortium recorded a 60% capital subsidy secured by Tulima Solar, reducing the pump price from UGX 1,800,000 to UGX 720,000 for men, and UGX 670,000 for women. Still, this remains high for many farmers, including James, who needed financing to spread his contribution across instalments.”
Expanding solar irrigation requires targeted subsidies and affordable loans with low interest rates, transparent charges and repayment schedules suited to farming income.
This is why for Oxfam, the work did not stop at the community. Oxfam also trained 12 participatory budget champions to identify clean-energy priorities and engage in local government budgeting. With consortium partners, it used a tax policy brief to advocate for targeted waivers on renewable-energy components.
Affordable loans and repayments suited to harvest income remain important advocacy priorities. While these efforts have yet to deliver the intended policy changes, James and Vincent’s experiences show what the technologies can make possible.
The dry season still brings heat and difficult growing conditions. For James and Vincent, however, solar irrigation means food production doesn't have to stop. Water once carried by hand now reaches their crops through a pump, helping them keep farming and work towards larger gardens.