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A solar irrigation programme aimed at improving the lives of farming communities in Togo has started to yield results.
The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Union jointly funded the Project to Support the Social Component of Togos Rural Electrification Programme with $11.68 million.
It has impacted livelihoods in around 500 rural areas in Togo by improving energy access to households, community amenities and small farms, said the AfDB.
The scheme is used to promote solar energy through off-grid solutions as part of the national programme, "CIZO" (light up). The programme includes providing school with solar kits.
By mid-September 2023, the project had installed 122 solar water heaters in health centres and provided electricity to 87 peripheral care units. In addition, 153 immersion and surface pumps have been deployed on farms.
The project aligns with two of the AfDBs "High 5" strategic priorities, "Light Up and Power Africa" and "Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa".
Solar irrigation pumps helping to change lives
Kpadonou Hounlessondji, a respected farmer in the village of Aglanvikope, in the Bas-Mono region of southern Togo, has been tilling the soil with passion since he retired from his job as a welder.
From a modest start in 2008, he now owns a vast farm that produces vegetables and maize.
"Thanks to the revolutionary solar irrigation pump given to me, my tomatoes, maize, carrots, cabbages and beets are doing better than ever.
"This ingenious technology, with its sprinkler system, ensures optimal irrigation across my land. It is far better than the system of pipes I was using previously. Now, my harvests are abundant, and my hives are producing good-quality honey," he said. |
