The Viability of Solar Mini-grid Irrigation as a Replacement for Diesel Technology in Ethiopia

Pairing electric irrigation systems with mini-grids in communities that currently lack electricity has the potential to both increase the productivity and resilience of smallholder farms and contribute to rural electrification in Africa. This research develops a solar mini-grid irrigation viability model to assess the feasibility of such a technology setup. Authors parameterize the model using site-specific data – collected using surveys and from local extension agents – from 9 sites in rural Ethiopia, which were selected as pilot locations for such systems due to their current reliance on diesel pumping. They estimate costs and benefits relative to the current irrigation system and find that a mini-grid system could deliver large economic benefits in many of these sites. The economic viability of the mini-grid setup is highly dependent, however, on cropping choices, crop parameters such as output prices, and on the sufficiency of current irrigation for supporting high-value production (especially avocado and banana). Several sites would appear to require public or grant subsidies to be both economically viable and provide affordable electricity. As these and other projects move forward to implementation, it would be useful to carry out detailed empirical evaluation studies to better understand the successes and limitations of this innovative approach, in order to inform its potential scale up to other locations.