More than 80,000 smallholder farmers in Uganda are set to benefit from climate-smart agriculture training and access to solar-powered irrigation equipment under a new initiative led by the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) in partnership with international and private-sector actors.
The project, which is supported by a 60 percent subsidy from the European Union, will provide German-manufactured solar irrigation pumps and kits from Lorentz. The equipment will be distributed and installed by Akvo International, alongside farmer training and technical support.
Speaking on Thursday, Adrian Honey, Head of Marketing and Business Development at Lorentz, said the initiative is designed to improve productivity and incomes among smallholder farmers by combining appropriate technology with education and ongoing support.
“We have worked with about 2,000 farmers so far to better understand their needs. Our focus is not simply on pushing equipment, but on how farmers can gain real economic benefits through a mix of education, coaching and technical solutions tailored to their requirements,” Honey said.
He added that the project has developed simplified package solutions that make solar irrigation easier to access, supported by training and after-sales services. The first phase will focus on farmers in Eastern and Northern Uganda.
Honey noted that smallholder farmers stand to gain the most from such interventions, as they often lag significantly behind commercial farms in productivity.
“The overall goal of the project is to reduce climate vulnerabilities and increase sustainability of smallholder food production systems and improve livelihoods of smallholder farmers by enhancing availability and adoption of smart irrigation solutions and climate adaptation practices within an inclusive ecosystem of private sector driven services. The focus interventions are to build knowledge and capacity, while supporting private sector driven business models including technology, finance to invest in quality irrigation solutions and produce markets."
Paul Ochuna, EAGC Country Programs Manager for Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan, said the project is being implemented under the DANIDA Grain Business Partnership Programme, funded by the Government of Denmark.
“This program is responding directly to the impacts of climate change. We know that many smallholder farmers have experienced production and yield losses of up to 60 percent due to climate variability,” Ochuna said.
He explained that the initiative promotes the adoption of solar-powered irrigation technologies while strengthening climate-smart agricultural practices to help farmers adapt and build resilience.
Beyond training, farmers will receive solar irrigation technologies to support improved productivity and enable diversification into high-value crops such as fruits and vegetables, which have growing market demand.
“We expect that once farmers adopt these irrigation technologies, they will be able to increase household incomes and improve their overall livelihoods. We also want to support them penetrate the market. The market penetration to smallholder farmers is currently low, being constrained by limited knowledge about the products among smallholder farmers, and limited last mile access, and more important the economics around smallholder farming that limits the farmer access to finance hampering their ability to adopt technologies that promote their resilience."
Under the project, EAGC will lead awareness creation among smallholder farmers, followed by training in climate change adaptation, environmental management, and best agronomic practices. Support will cover the entire value chain, including pre-production, production, post-harvest handling and market access.
Officials said through cooperation with the EAGC farmer-centered ecosystem for resilient food systems and a network of field-based commission agents, the commercial partners, Akvo International and Lorentz will establish a solid farmers base and a pipeline upon which to develop and promote suitable irrigation technology packages and build capacity for service provision in irrigation systems management.
Akvo International Project Manager Daniel Eberu said the company will serve as a key commercial partner and lead driver of the initiative.
“Our target is to deploy more than 1,200 solar pump kits. This time, we have deliberately chosen a partnership approach to ensure sustainability and scale,” Eberu said.
He added that financing barriers have been addressed through government-backed subsidies and partnerships with financial institutions. Farmers will pay 40 percent of the equipment cost, while the remaining 60 percent will be covered through subsidies.
“We are also linking farmers to banks to make financing more accessible,” Eberu said, citing Pearl Bank (formerly PostBank Uganda) as one of the key financial partners.
The solar irrigation equipment packages are priced between Shs2.4 million and Shs4.7 million, depending on capacity and specifications.
