By Angeline Mgbele, Bureau Chief, Northern Nigeria
The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has carried out demonstrations of its state-of-the-art solar irrigation pump system to farmers in Kano state, north west, Nigeria, showcasing climate-resilient solutions to dry season farming and post-harvest losses.
This is contained in a press statement e-signed by the Director of Information at NASENI, Olusegun Ayeoyenikan.
Per the statement, the community demonstrations which took place on Wednesday, September 2, 2026 at large scale rice farmlands in Zakirai village in Gabawasa local government area (LGA) and Kwarin Kaba, Kumbotso LGA both in Kano, proved that NASENI’s Solar Irrigation System offers a transformative, climate-resilient solution that reduces operational costs and decouples production from fossil-fuel volatility.
The programme organised by NASENI in collaboration with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), CGIAR, Kano State Ministry of Agriculture, Kano State Agricultural Development Authority (KNARDA) and various farm cooperatives societies in the state was aimed at increasing adoption of solar irrigation systems by farmers.
Director, Technical Services, NASENI, Engr. Dr. Emmanuel Ajani, who led the farm demonstrations using NASENI’s solar irrigation pump machines, said Nigeria possessed an estimated 84 million hectares of arable land, yet an overwhelming majority of its agriculture remained rainfed, with only a fraction under functional irrigation.
“In Northern Nigeria, specifically Kano State, climate variability and rising fuel costs (exacerbated by subsidy removals) heavily threaten the profitability of dry-season farming (rice, wheat, and high-value vegetables). This is why we organised a two-day “Demand-Supply Linkage Workshop and Field Demonstrations for Solar-Based Irrigation Systems (SBIS)” in the state.
“This workshop brought together the Demand (structured farmer clusters), Supply (solar vendors), and Enablers (non-interest banks, conventional banks, NIRSAL, and extension agents) to catalyze bankable investments and directly translate research into actionable equipment adoption. This Demand-Supply Linkage Workshop is designed to bridge this gap,” he said.
Also, speaking Managing Director of Kano State Agricultural Development Authority (KNARDA), Dr. Farouk Ahmad Kurawa, commended NASENI for organising the workshop and farm demonstrations which provided a platform for equipment suppliers to showcase certified, quality-assured SBIS technologies directly to farmers, noting that farmers were willing to adopt new innovations.
A farmer, Mr. Zubairu Mohammed Inuwa, from Kwarin Kaba, Kumbotso LGA on whose farmland NASENI’s Solar Irrigation system was demonstrated, lauded the Agency for developing such a technology that would ensure all-season farming, increase crop yields, reduce post harvest losses and increase income for farmers.
Team Lead, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Dr. Adebayo Oke said recent CGIAR baseline studies and Discrete Choice Experiments (DCE) in Kano, Kaduna, and Kebbi revealed significant adoption barriers, saying while the Solar-Based Irrigation Systems technology was desired, the upfront capital cost was prohibitive for individual smallholders.
“That is why we are working with NASENI. And the primary objective is to establish a functional, sustainable market linkage among smallholder farmer cooperatives, solar irrigation equipment suppliers, and financial institutions to accelerate the adoption of Farmer-led Irrigation Development, FLID/SBIS in Kano State and others,” Dr. Oke said.
Financial institutions who participated in the programme aimed to co-develop acceptable, harvest-synced credit facilities and Islamic finance products included Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Jaiz Bank, Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).
Representatives from the various Vegetable Farmers Association of Nigeria, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Cooperative societies, local vegetable/tomato farming clusters, Women and Youth Farming Groups participated, and also attested to the economic viability of solar-based irrigation systems.
