Solar investment provides sunny future for farmers

Smallholder farmers face daily challenges as a result of climate change, including a lack of reliable access to water. Many have to rely on fossil fuel-powered water pumps, as adopting climate-smart technology, such as solar-powered water pumps, involves high up front costs.

In 2023, we committed £1.7 million to SunCulture, a Kenyabased company that provides solar-powered irrigation systems to smallholder farmers. The company’s off-grid solar technology provides its customers with reliable access to water, irrigation, lighting and mobile charging from a single system.

Our investment will enable SunCulture to improve the affordability of its water pumps by pre-financing the carbon credits that would be generated from its use by smallholder farmers. Through this pilot, we expect to reach 9,000 smallholder farmers, who will experience a 25–40 per cent reduction in the up front cost of solar irrigation products. Once able to afford this technology, the farmers will increase their land’s productivity and thereby support food security in Kenya. They can boost crop yields by 300 per cent and reduce water usage by 80 per cent with a simple push of a button. And it costs the equivalent of a little over $20 a month.