Kenya scales up climate-resilient farming as SoLAR II program enters growth phase
Kenya’s transition toward climate-smart agriculture has received a significant boost as the Solar Energy for Agricultural Resilience (SoLAR) Phase II project officially scales its operations across the country.
The initiative, implemented by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), aims to move thousands of smallholder farmers away from expensive, polluting diesel pumps toward integrated solar solutions.
While Phase I focused largely on the technical feasibility of solar irrigation, Phase II is championing agrivoltaics, the dual use of land for both solar energy generation and agriculture.
Under this model, solar panels are elevated above crops, providing a “triple win” for Kenyan farmers. The shade from panels reduces soil evaporation by up to 47%, a critical advantage in arid and semi-arid lands. Furthermore, studies in Kenyan test plots have shown that certain crops, such as cabbages, grow up to 24% larger when protected from extreme heat stress by the panels’ partial shade. The energy generated doesn’t just pump water; it powers “productive uses” like cold storage, solar drying, and milling, helping farmers cut post-harvest losses which currently claim nearly half of produce in Sub-Saharan Africa.
For many Kenyan farmers, the shift is a matter of financial survival. Conventional diesel pumps consume roughly 6 liters of fuel per day, a cost that eats a massive portion of a smallholder’s earnings.
“By adopting solar solutions, we can provide reliable access to water for communities, whether in crop production, livestock, or aquaculture,” noted Eng. Vincent Kabuti, Irrigation Secretary at the Ministry of Water. “It allows farmers to pump water even when rains end prematurely, preventing total crop loss.”
According to recent data from Climate Impact Partners, solar irrigation systems in Kenya have already saved households an average of 17 hours per week previously spent collecting water, while simultaneously offsetting over 54,000 tons of $CO_2$.
A key pillar of SoLAR II is the creation of innovative financing mechanisms. To address the high upfront cost of solar equipment, the program is exploring the Solar4Africa Fund. This blended finance instrument is designed to offer inclusive credit to women and youth, who often face the steepest barriers to technology adoption.
The program aligns with Kenya’s National Irrigation Sector Investment Plan (NISIP), which targets the irrigation of one million acres by 2030. Currently, only about 710,000 acres are under irrigation out of a potential 3.3 million.
Over the next three years, the project will establish “Living Labs” across the country, real-world farming landscapes where agrivoltaic innovations are co-designed and tested by local communities.
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