Evaluating the Adaptation Benefits of Smallholder Solar Irrigation Systems in Kenya

Abstract

Smallholder agriculture underpins livelihoods in Kenya, with more than 70% of the rural population relying on farming as their primary source of income. Most of these farmers rely on rainfed production in an environment marked by rising temperatures, increasingly variable rainfall, and frequent economic and climate shocks. Research led by Duke University and the University of Nairobi evaluated the SunCulture model—a Kenyan social enterprise providing small-scale solar irrigation systems bundled with financing and support services.