Challenge
Every year, from August to September, around 11 million people in Zimbabwe’s rural and arid/semi-arid areas face high levels of acute food insecurity. At the same time, less than 5% of Zimbabwe’s cultivated land is irrigated, while more than 13 million hectares of land (11%) are suitable for solar irrigated agriculture.
Additionally, agriculture accounts for 40% of Zimbabwe’s GDP and employs about three-quarters of the country’s workforce. However, rhree-quarters of farmers are smallholders who work on farms of about 2 acres and earning, on average, $707 per year.
Solution
Zonful’s solar irrigation solution can help farmers improve their yields, enhance crop and water productivity, and reduce the time and physical burden of farming compared to manual irrigation. The innovator’s pumps are also longer-lasting, more efficient, and cheaper to operate than petrol-powered pumps.
To address end-users’ inability to pay huge upfront payments, Zonful a pay-as-you-go financing solution that allows rural off-grid farmers to pay small monthly fees. To improve women’s access to agricultural inputs, Zonful targets households that are women-headed and have never used a solar-powered water pump.
Recent News
ZONFUL Energy Nominated For Top Technology Award (New Zimbabwe)
Embrace solar power: Zonful (NewsDay)
Photos
Click on a photo to view it larger. Right click on the larger version to save it to your computer.
