Ethiopia – Solar Equipment for Water Pumps

Ensuring reliable access to water for agriculture is a central challenge for food security in Ethiopia, particularly in regions bordering Somalia where climate variability, limited infrastructure, and fuel dependency constrain large-scale agricultural production. In these areas, surface water pumping schemes are critical for irrigating extensive farming zones that contribute to regional and national food supply.

Traditionally, such pumping systems rely on diesel-powered generation or unstable grid connections, exposing operators to high and volatile operating costs, fuel supply disruptions, and significant greenhouse gas emissions. These constraints undermine the sustainability and scalability of irrigation systems that are essential for stabilising food production in drought-prone and logistically complex regions.

For the World Food Programme, scaling up irrigation infrastructure to support food security objectives required an alternative energy solution that could be deployed rapidly and consistently across multiple sites. The challenge was not the installation or operation of pumping systems themselves, but rather the procurement and delivery of technically compatible, standardized solar PV equipment at scale, capable of powering high-capacity surface water pumps while reducing long-term operational risks.