SPIS – ADDRESSING KEY QUESTIONS
Do solar powered irrigation systems work in Egypt’s Delta? As assessment partner for GIZ’s Nile Delta Water Management Program (NDWM), GEBAL is measuring the soil, water, CO2, and economic impact of GIZ’s solar powered irrigation system (SPIS) pilots across the Nile Delta. A better understanding of this impact is critical for advancing the uptake of SPIS among small-scale farmers in Egypt.
DELIVERING A TARGETED ASSESSMENT
To this end, GEBAL has assembled a team of dedicated and multi-disciplinary team of water, soil, climate change, nexus farming, agricultural economy, and irrigation experts. This team has embarked on a 2-year technical assessment of GIZ’s NDWM pilot sites. Anchored in a scientifically sound methodology, the team conducted a baseline assessment for soil and water quality, irrigation efficiency, carbon footprint and economic performance across 8 sites located in X Delta Governorates and Fayoum. The baseline informs data collection on soil salinity, water use inefficiencies, and farm productivity across 3 agricultural seasons. Regular site visits and conversations with local farmers further help to understand how they are coping with the new technology.
SHARING CAPACITY ON IRRIGATION INNOVATION
As a farmer, how do I implement solar-powered drip irrigation? For smallholder farmers in Egypt, SPIS remains a technology that is poorly understood. To help share information, GEBAL is designing an educational toolkit to deliver key information on SPIS in an accessible manner. Composed of training modules and videos easily accessible by mobile phone, this toolkit delivers critical information in a playful way. The content is co-designed with local farmers to address local needs and knowledge gaps. Its conversational language and easy-to-understand terms will generate interest and enhance accessibility. Building on other GIZ toolkits, the content answers questions and provides tips on soil and water management, system operation, and troubleshooting. In addition to this, it offers farmers easy, interactive calculators to plan, design, and implement an SPIS.
MONITORING IN REAL TIME
Can technology help to improve SPIS? The project will test a real-time, sensor-based and weather-sensitive monitoring system. The system’s integrated dashboard is designed to inform farmers’ irrigation and soil management practices. The team will jointly test the system with farmers in one location and measure its impact across two agricultural seasons.
0 Comments