Irrigation technology at the service of smallholder farmers: A sociotechnical approach to exploring sustainable business strategies

Recently, there has been a growing need for sustainable agriculture to increase food security, alleviate poverty, and contribute to climate change mitigation. Smallholder farmers (SFs) play a key role in this endeavor as they are a considerable segment of the global farming population. Despite their relevance, SFs face several challenges that...

Sustainable business models for smallholder farmers:: Challenges for and lessons from the Barsha pump experience

Smallholder farmers (SFs) are cornerstone actors in eradicating poverty and hunger. Companies have recently focused on SFs as potential customers and suppliers. Several hindrances yet prevent SFs to be commercially viable actors. In this respect, sustainable business models (SBMs) bring opportunities for companies to increase profit, improve...

Renewable Energy for Smallholder Irrigation: A Technology Adoption Toolkit

Smallholders are the backbone of livelihoods in the Global South. Yet, many remain water- and energy-insecure. For this challenge, this study presents a toolkit to stimulate the sustained adoption of renewable energy-powered water pumps for smallholder irrigation. A human-centered design method was used to co-create it. It first consisted of a...

Discourses on the adoption of the Barsha pump: a Q methodology study in Nepal and Indonesia

Improved water management is an important strategy to support smallholder farming, and thus to foster food security and improved livelihoods. Within this strategy, technologies like water pumps, especially those operating on renewable energies, are key, as they are more environmentally sound and affordable alternatives. Their successful and...

Q methodology in low-resource settings: Challenges and best practices

Reduction of poverty is a main goal in the global development agenda. The most extreme forms of poverty are mainly rooted in the Global South, and even more engrained in its rurality. Such poverty is not only characterized by infimum incomes, but also by the lack of access to many resources and services: health, sanitation, drinking water,...