The accomplishment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is intrinsically connected to improving livelihoods in the Rural Global South (RGS). RGS livelihoods are complex, showing multiple dimensions beyond mere economic considerations. However, many related development policies (over)simplify livelihoods to income thresholds, leading to flawed interventions. Adequate strategies to address RGS livelihoods require a much deeper understanding of their various dimensions and complexities. Q methodology (Q) is a powerful participatory research technique that enables the systematic study of different viewpoints on subjective topics. Moreover, it has the potential to identify and reveal previously unheard narratives, thus allowing us to question the traditional understandings of RGS livelihoods. Yet, as a time- and assistance-intensive technique, its implementation faces methodological challenges that are currently overlooked and ought to be considered. We selected and reviewed 50 Q studies applied to different forms of RGS livelihoods. First, we discuss several on-field Q limitations associated with the physical, logistical, social, and cultural constraints. Second, we draw on good practices and strategies to cope with these limitations. Notwithstanding the limitations and strategies, we advocate building Q capacities and the gender-balanced empowerment of local researchers. This may contribute to a better understanding of the nuances and challenges of RGS livelihoods. ... Read more

Within wider debates on sustainability and digitalisation, frugal innovation (FI) scholars largely assume that digital technologies are important for FI in realising more sustainable outcomes. However, very few studies interrogate this causality. To tackle this challenge, we connect FI with digitalisation. Thereto, we conceptualise digital technologies as and within FIs and discuss three frugality dimensions to analyse three empirical case studies of digitally-enabled FIs. We use these cases to introduce new nuances on how digitalisation affects frugality and scaling. Our results unveil that digitalisation can increase frugality by enabling more accessible and affordable solutions through new flexible funding schemes and pay-as-you-go models. However, our evidence also implies decreasing frugality by an increase in end-user costs and digital exclusion. Likewise, increasing frugality through complexity reduction seems mainly to benefit intermediaries and frugal innovators themselves, whereas benefits of digitalisation in terms of complexity reduction for end-users seem to be limited. Digitalisation can even increase complexity for end-users, thus suggesting decreasing frugality. Finally, just like with non-digital innovations, scaling of digitally enabled innovations is dependent on the quality of logistical infrastructure and local adaptation practices. Moreover, scaling of digitally-enabled innovations is limited to users in regions with a proper ICT infrastructure. ... Read more

This chapter plugs into a wider debate on digitalization and sustainable development in the Global South. Evidence on how digitalization contributes to sustainable development is limited. To address this research gap, we employ the theoretical concept of frugal innovation to identify nuances regarding the opportunities and challenges of frugal digital technology for realizing different Sustainable Development Goals in the Global South. Based on a qualitative case study of Futurepump—a frugal (i.e., simple, affordable, and accessible) version of a smart water pump—we provide empirical evidence on how frugal digital innovation offers opportunities and challenges for development in the Global South obtained from semi-structured in-depth interviews. Our results show nuances regarding different sustainability dimensions, actors (e.g., smallholders, distributors, research institutes, and funders), and the geographical interactions between actors in the Global South and Global North. ... Read more

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 hinder their productivity and compromise their livelihoods. Among the most salient challenges are limited access to (financial) resources and technology, insufficient knowledge and training, limited market access, and climate change vulnerability. Social and gender inequalities, land tenure insecurity, underdevelopment of supply chains, and lack of supportive policies further exacerbate these challenges.

Innovations of different kinds can support SFs in transforming agricultural systems towards the accomplishment of several sustainable development goals. These innovations can take the form of new technologies, new farming practices, social and collective empowerment, and systemic changes at policy and regulatory levels. In this context, and responding to the pressing issue of SFs’ development, the Dutch company aQysta developed a hydro powered water lifting device, known as the Barsha pump (BP). aQysta offers this technology as an innovative and sustainable solution to the irrigation challenges facing SFs. The BP operates solely on renewable energy, meaning that no input of fossil fuels is required to use it. aQysta argues that these features make the BP both an environmentally sound and affordable irrigation solution, with the potential of improving the livelihoods of SFs. In consonance with those claims, the BP represents a promising technological advancement that aligns well with the sustainable development of SF systems.

Technology provider companies typically resort to business models as strategic blueprints to create, deliver, and capture value. This has been largely the case of aQysta and its deployment of the BP across several SF communities. However, when it comes to technological innovations for SFs, traditional business models typically fall short in these purposes due to the several challenges of the SF target customers. By incorporating social inclusion and environmental stewardship strategies (besides legitimate profit generation), sustainable business models (SBMs) can support more robustly companies aiming to serve SFs like aQysta.

In this respect, by focusing on aQysta’s technology proposition, this thesis investigates a) how innovative agricultural technologies cater for the needs of SFs, b) how SFs decide to adopt such innovative agricultural technologies, and how SFs’ contexts play a key role in that decision, and, c) how SBMs can support technology providers in delivering their value propositions to their target SFs. Through an interdisciplinary approach—with aspects of engineering, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development—this study aims to shed light on the intricate relationship between technologies, SBMs, and SF’s social impact, through the following main research question:

What sustainable business model strategies stimulate the adoption of hydro powered pumps for smallholder irrigation?

To answer this research question, I resorted to a mixed method approach applied to five studies, which correspond to the different chapters of this thesis. These five studies compose this dissertation by analyzing the main research question from different angles: technologies, method to study SF phenomena, farmer’s decision making, SFs’ technology adoption, and SBM strategies to cater for SFs’ needs.

I started by reviewing the range of available hydro powered pumping technologies over time (Chapter 2). To this end, I conducted a semi systematic literature review of more than 800 scientific and grey documents. These documents addressed the fragmented storylines of several technologies, from their conceptualization and design to their eventual (mass) production and commercialization worldwide. I classified and plotted a total of 30 pumping technologies in space and time. Some noticeable clusters emerged in regions like Europe, South–Southeast Asia, and Eastern Africa, around 1960 – 1990. Some of the studied technologies had a global impact until contemporary times, others have been key in specific countries, and other ones had almost imperceptible lives. I found that hydro powered pumping technologies currently face a regained momentum, hence a potentially promising future. However, manufacturers and users need to be aware of the importance that proper management systems pose for these technologies beyond their mere performance.

Then, I analyzed the potential of Q methodology (henceforth Q) as a sound participatory research method to understand SF’s phenomena (Chapter 3). To reach the goal of this study, I selected and reviewed 50 Q studies applied to different forms of rural livelihoods in the Global South. In this chapter first I discuss several on field Q limitations associated with the physical, logistical, social, and cultural constraints of such settings. Later, I drew on good practices and strategies to cope with these limitations. Beyond the limitations and strategies, I advocate building Q capacities and the gender balanced empowerment of local researchers in the Global South. This may contribute to a better understanding of the nuances and challenges of SF’s livelihoods in their respective contexts.

Through a co authored study, I later researched farmers’ decision making strategies through the lens of Q (Chapter 4). We used Q to delve into Malawian farmers’ decision to adopt certain water transport technologies for irrigation. The method was administered face to face to several SFs, large commercial farmers, representatives of farmer cooperatives, and experts in farming systems in Malawi. We found that SFs, typically considered a homogeneous group, did not decide in the same ways. Some SFs, in fact, may have progressive and commercial mindsets that can be hampered by lack of access to required resources. Furthermore, our results showed that decision making has a clear gender dimension. We found Q to be a robust methodology, capable of capturing several nuances of farmers’ decision making.

Later, I focused on the specific SFs’ decision (or not) to adopt the BP in its intended contexts of use (Chapter 5). By means of Q, I explored cross cultural discourses around the adoption of BP. I administered Q to 43 (non )farmer respondents linked to Nepali and Indonesian SF systems. I identified three relevant discourses, one of them bipolar in nature. The first one identified BP’s potential early adopters. The second discourse embodied the stereotypically highly dependent SF. The last one characterized contrasting views around the BP as an enabler of potential service oriented business models to achieve well being. These results reflect the need for a shift of mindset toward new ways of understanding technological change in SF settings. Based on my findings, I proposed possible technology adoption pathways that may lead to the exploration of innovative business models to serve the diversity of SFs more effectively.

Lastly, I conducted a study on SBM strategies to cater better to the specific needs of SFs (Chapter 6). I used a multiple case analysis to expand the knowledge on this incipient research area. For this analysis, I considered the cases of 10 organizations providing SF tailored products and/or services. I conducted the cross case analysis stage across five thematic areas relevant to SF’s challenges: information and knowledge, capital and financial services, training and capacity building, rural logistics and supply chains, and market connection. Based on the results of the analyses, I drew lessons for aQysta (and similar companies) to improve BP’s value proposition. I also elaborated on the implications of the study for other organizations engaging commercially with SFs.

Building on the findings of these five individual studies, I was able to identify SBM strategies to stimulate the adoption of hydro powered pumps for SF irrigation. I present these strategies in the concluding section of this thesis (Chapter 7) by following the five SBM thematic areas (identified in Chapter 6) across the four SFs discourses on the BP adoption (studied in Chapter 5). Proposed strategies cover SFs’ issues related to: information content and delivery channels; provision of capital and financial services; approaches to deliver training and build SF capacities; approaches to build robust and sustainable last mile networks to reach SFs; and market connection to increase SFs’ commercial viability to foster technology adoption. Finally, I close my doctoral dissertation discussing the implications of my findings and proposed strategies for different actors involved in SF’s technology adoption: researchers, technology developers, practitioners, and policymakers. ... Read more

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 SFs' livelihoods, and promote environmental sustainability. Recognizing these opportunities, the Dutch company aQysta provides the Barsha pump (BP) as a sustainable irrigation solution for SFs. The challenges for BP adoption that remain for SFs illustrate that there is still limited understanding of how SBMs can support companies in engaging with SFs. To expand this understanding, we conducted a multiple-case analysis of 10 organizations providing SF-tailored products and/or services. Based on this analysis, we have drawn lessons for aQysta (and similar companies) to improve the BP's value proposition and we elaborate on the implications of this study for other organizations engaging commercially with SFs. ... Read more

Despite extensive research on farmers’ constraints and decisions, technology developers, policymakers and development organizations still encounter difficulties in relating policies to farmers’ strategies. Often, the concept of ‘smallholders’ is applied as explaining and predicting farmers’ decisions – suggesting that specific strategies of farmers can be meaningfully related to their farm size. Our study into farmers’ decision-making concerning water transport technologies in Malawi suggests that this way of grouping farmers in policy and development programs does not match actual decision strategies. Using Q-methodology (Q) as a method allowed us to find decision-making patterns without predefining variables that would influence decision-making. We found that farmers within a predefined smallholder group did not decide in the same ways. Furthermore, our results show that decision-making has a clear gender dimension. We argue that Q is able to capture the nuances of farmers’ decision-making processes. As such, the methodology potentially provides a useful feed for policy and technology development. ... Read more

The platform economy largely focuses on consumer platforms such as Uber and Airbnb, whereas business-to-business platforms receive less attention.1 This article2 discusses Apollo Agriculture, a Kenyan-Dutch agro-tech platform that aims to support small farmers (‘smallholders’) in rural Africa to set up commercial business through a bundled input loan that they can use to obtain agricultural inputs. These smallholders are normally unattractive as customers due to their small size and high-risk profiles (e.g., limited chance of repaying loans). Apollo tries to support smallholders with an innovative platform-based business model. ... Read more

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 prototype that was tested by experts. Their feedback was crucial to further improving the toolkit, thereby making it a more robust instrument. The design posed limitations worth considering in future research. Additionally, the spread of water pumps implies environmental and economic concerns. To enhance its benefits, the toolkit still requires thorough testing in diverse contexts. ... Read more

Urinary schistosomiasis is a waterborne parasitic infection caused by Schistosoma haematobium that affects approximately 30 million people annually in Nigeria. Treatment and eradication of this infection require effective diagnostics. However, current diagnostic tests have critical shortcomings and consequently are of limited value to stakeholders throughout the health care system who are involved in targeting the diagnosis and subsequent control of schistosomiasis. New diagnostic devices that fit the local health care infrastructure and support the different stakeholder diagnostic strategies remain a critical need. This study focuses on understanding, by means of Q-methodology, the context of use and application of a new diagnostic device that is needed to effectively diagnose urinary schistosomiasis in Oyo State, Nigeria. Q-methodology is a technique that investigates subjectivity by exploring how stakeholders rank-order opinion statements about a phenomenon. In this study, 40 statements were administered to evaluate stakeholder perspectives on the context of use and application of potential new diagnostic devices and how these perspectives or viewpoints are shared with other stakeholders. Potential new diagnostic devices will need to be deployable to remote or distant communities, be affordable, identify and confirm infection status before treatment in patients whose diagnosis of urinary schistosomiasis is based on self-reporting, and equip health care facilities with diagnostic devices optimized for the local setting while requiring local minimal infrastructural settings. Similarly, the context of use and application of a potential new diagnostic device for urinary schistosomiasis is primarily associated with the tasks stakeholders throughout the health care system perform or procedures employed. These findings will guide the development of new diagnostic devices for schistosomiasis that match the contextual landscape and diagnostic strategies in Oyo. ... Read more

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 sustained uptake is a complex process—largely dependent on the adopter and its surrounding context—usually overlooked by traditional linear technology-transfer approaches. By means of Q methodology, we explored cross-cultural discourses around the adoption of the Barsha pump (BP), a self-reliant hydro-mechanical device that does not require any external input than flowing water to operate. We administered the method to 43 (non-)farmer respondents linked to Nepali and Indonesian smallholder farming systems. We identified three relevant discourses, one of them bipolar in nature. These three groups accounted for 39, 36, and 28% of the total explained variance of our study. The first one identified BP's potential early adopters. The second discourse embodied the (stereotypical) highly dependent smallholder. The last one characterized (contrasting) views around the BP as an enabler of potential service-oriented business models to achieve wellbeing. These results reflect the need for a shift of mindset toward new ways of understanding technological change in smallholder settings. On the one side, simplistic one-size-fits-all models cannot connect to the diversity of issues and opinions as we found. On the other side, it is virtually impossible to produce tailored solutions to satisfy each of those individual realities. We propose possible adoption pathways that may lead to the exploration of innovative and adaptable business models that serve the diversity of smallholder farming needs more effectively. ... Read more

Smallholder farming is the cornerstone of the agricultural sector in the Global South. It produces 80% of the food in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, though it accounts for barely 12% of the global farmland. Its sustainable intensification is therefore paramount in the accomplishment of Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger. In this respect, adoption of sustainable water pumping technologies is key to ensure access to irrigation water, thus to secure smallholder production. Sustained uptake of agricultural technologies, however, is a complex process whose attainment is far beyond the sole technology itself. It encompasses a number of intertwined variables of all kinds related to the adopter and the use context: biophysical, financial, institutional, social, cultural, etc.

We argue that innovative business models—like sustainable product-service system (SPSS)—have the potential to ease the adoption process by overcoming many of its constraints (e.g. unaffordable upfront costs, lack of adequate servicing). These business models, unlike traditional linear approaches of technology transfer, have to take into account a broader network of stakeholders. In this way, the technology becomes an agent of interaction between involved parties. It turns into a dynamic element, connected to other products and well-developed services, that caters multiple farming needs. In our paper, we discuss enablers and barriers for the implementation of an SPSS in smallholder contexts under different scenarios. We analyze them based on evidence from Nepali and Indonesian smallholder communities where a novel hydro-powered pumping technology, known commercially as the Barsha pump, has been deployed. The insights gathered reveal many leverage points to create synergies between farmers, entrepreneurs, financial institutions, non-profit organizations and governmental agencies. They also denote the persistent challenges in the required shift of mindset for such an innovative system to come into full operation. ... Read more

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, education, etc. Eradication of deep poverty therefore demands a holistic understanding of its causes, as well as the wicked interaction of its many variables. International definitions of (deep) poverty, however, keep resorting to income thresholds (e.g. World Bank’s International Poverty Line) to measure it. In consequence, such definitions may overshadow underlying context-dependent complexities: gender dimensions, urban/rural divide, societal power relationships, local economic dynamics. Q methodology is a potentially powerful tool to understand better the different nuances of poverty, thus to enable a more effective tackling of its roots. First, as a participatory method, it offers voices to grassroots participants to express their own priorities and concerns. Second, it encompasses rich qualitative data that go beyond oversimplified quantitative thresholds and analyses. Third, as a reductionist technique, it condenses (virtually) infinite positions into clearly identifiable poverty discourses. At the same time, methodological deployment of Q methodology in low-resource settings, and particularly in rural areas, poses several (underreported) challenges worth to be considered and discussed. These challenges may be exacerbated in light of big shocks, like the current COVID-19 pandemic. Whether related to the concourse development, sorting grid design, P-set sampling, administration, data recording or validation, researchers may encounter a number of concerns/restrictions. In our work, we analyze these challenges along with proposed corresponding best practices. This analysis is the result of both literature review and first-hand Q methodology administration with smallholders in Nepal, Indonesia and Malawi. Best practices notwithstanding, we advocate for the empowerment of local researchers regarding this technique that remains ‘property’ of the western world. By democratizing the knowledge on its application, we expect local stakeholders to explore and prioritize their needs—and its potential solutions—in a more precise manner. ... Read more

Smallholder farming is a backbone of millions of livelihoods in the Global South. It provides up to 80% of the food demanded in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia while scarcely occupying 12% of the global farmland. About 1.5 billion deeply poor households—especially those located in rural areas—depend directly on smallholder agriculture. Stimulating its sustainable intensification is thus of utmost importance in the fulfilment of SDG 2: Zero Hunger and SDG 1: No poverty. Despite decades of (top-down) scientific research, technology transfer and international aid, effective development of this sector remains a summit hard to reach. Profound heterogeneity of smallholder farming systems exacerbates the challenges of this endeavor. Their intricate differences does not only make a single, ultimate development model impractical/impossible, but ignoring them leads us to biases that result in leaving the most disadvantaged out. We argue that well facilitated participatory research is a sounder way to understand, and hence to act. First, it enables a bottom-up, co-creative process of mutual generation of knowledge together with relevant stakeholders. Second, it gives voice to the (generally) voiceless, therefore turning into a more inclusive and empowering exercise. We resorted to Q-methodology—a powerful qualiquantological participatory method—to explore smallholder adoption of sustainable irrigation technologies in Nepal and Indonesia. We interviewed 19 farmers and 24 experts about the uptake of a hydro-powered water pump commercially known as the Barsha pump. Through this research technique, we found three different viewpoints that placed themselves beyond typical social constructs of smallholder farming (e.g. country, land size). This deeper understanding may become an enabler for a more context-sensitive transfer of farming technology. On the flipside, the implementation of Q methodology in low-resource (rural) settings still poses a number of underreported challenges that are worth discussing, especially in light of big shocks such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We therefore raise questions such as, which good practices facilitate the application of Q methodology in low-resource settings? How to empower local researchers with a method that remains ‘property’ of developed countries? How to democratize the tools to allow people to learn better about themselves? ... Read more

Smallholder farming is a backbone of the livelihoods in the Global South. First, it largely sustains local economies in low- and middle-income countries. Second, it produces roughly 80% of the food in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, though barely accounting for 12% of the global farmland. Successful smallholder farming is therefore a main pillar in the eradication of poverty and hunger, thus in the accomplishment of SDG 1 and SDG 2. Yet, many smallholders worldwide remain energy- and water-insecure, which is a major barrier in this endeavor. Although conventional diesel-powered pumps are generally available in low-resource settings, their use poses a number of economic and environmental downsides. These pumps require the constant input of (cost-intensive) fuels, which becomes a constant source of pollution. Renewable energy-powered pumps (RE-pumps), on the flipside, are environmentally sound, technically simpler and more affordable alternatives. They harness clean energy (i.e. hydro, solar, wind) to drive pressurized irrigation systems, and hence, are capable of sustainably intensifying food production. Moreover, given that RE-pumps neither depend on the availability of (inaccessible) fossil fuels, nor on grid-electricity, they are perfect candidates to support irrigated farming in rural communities. RE-pumps are potential key technological allies for the local-level synergies of the water-energy-food nexus. Despite the efforts to implement these technologies in smallholder contexts, uptake rates have been usually low. The effective adoption of RE-pumps is a complex process that depends on a number of (non-)technical factors. These factors pertain to the technology (e.g. cost, ease of use, trialability, complexity), the adopter (e.g. education, purchasing power, risk-aversion, environmental-orientation, innovation awareness), as well as the broader context (e.g. type of farm, market development, legal regulations, financial support and subsidies, institutional environment). This entangled interaction of factors renders the decision to adopt (or not adopt) a RE-pump oftentimes to be an unclear, difficult and unstandardized process. In response to this state of affairs, the Delft University of Technology is carrying out the project ‘Clean energy-based smallholder pumped irrigation: A toolkit for users and practitioners’. Its goal is to provide a set of decision-making tools, which ultimately facilitate stakeholders in the sustained adoption of the most context-appropriate RE-pumps. To reach that goal, the authors will holistically analyze a number of selected cases of (non)successful implementation of RE-pumps in smallholder communities of the Global South. These chosen cases will encompass enough diversity of conditions to provide sufficient richness to the study. In each case, the threefold interaction of factors belonging to the technical, socioeconomic and business dimensions will be studied, thus identifying which of them hindered or facilitated the adoption process. Based on the lessons drawn from the cases, the authors will design the decision-making toolkit in a way that can be flexibly adapted to different smallholder contexts. Furthermore, in a later stage of the project, the toolkit will be tested with real-world cases in Global South countries like Malawi, South Africa, Nepal and Indonesia. ... Read more

Pumped irrigation is a way to intensify smallholder production. In this context, the Dutch company aQysta has developed the Barsha pump (BP), the first-ever commercial version of the spiral pumps. BPs, however, face several constraints that affect the decision-making and access of smallholders to this and other agricultural technologies, and thus to their benefits. On this subject, Product Service System (PSS) is a type of business model able to potentially cope with a number of restrictions of different nature. Moreover, if co-created with the feedback of the users, and by addressing contextual tensions of different cases, these models can be substantially richer than their top-down counterparts. Six cases of the use of BPs have been addressed in Nepal and Malawi. Both primary and secondary data, analyzed qualitatively under the analytic induction approach, were collected through unstructured interviews and Q-methodology. Evidence shows a wide range of (non-)technical facilitating and hampering conditions for the BP, as well as preferences of the smallholders in regard to existing and proposed business model elements. Based on the corresponding analysis, a set of opportunities for an improved BP-based business model - PSS, aiming to fulfil several (and at times opposing) needs, is ultimately proposed in the current paper. ... Read more

Use of water pumping technologies (WPTs) to drive pressurized systems in smallholder irrigation schemes is one of the key interventions to secure water, hence to increase yields and to potentially alleviate poverty, as well as to foster local and global good security. Whichever the chosen WPT, smallholders face many decision-making variables when considering them: finances, information, technical performance, ease of use, market characteristics, and even environmental concerns are amongst them. We will present evidence that suggests that the way smallholders deal with those factors cannot be predicted based on mere land size-based classifications that are used in many existing policy studies and actual policies. As there are not many specific studies that focus on understanding the influence that the aforementioned variables, directly and indirectly, have on smallholders’ adoption of WPTs, we conducted field work in three different contexts—Nepal, Indonesia and Malawi—to identify the multidimensional gaps and relations between farmer and technology. Due to the nature of the study, which comprised several (subjective) variables across a number of contexts and individuals, a triangulation of data collection techniques (e.g. direct observations, semi-structured interviews, surveys) was preferred. The main research method was Q-methodology, an increasingly popular inverted technique of factor analysis that combines the strengths of qualitative and quantitative research. Furthermore, one of its main advantages is that representativeness of the subjectivity does not depend on large samples of respondents but rather on their diversity. By this process, it became evident that clustering farmers under the “smallholders” label—in line with the traditional farm size-based approach—did not reflect their heterogeneity in the WPTs’ adoption process. As a matter of fact, some smallholders are willing (and able, at times) to make substantial investments in WPTs for agricultural irrigation, thus moving away from the “external support-reliant-farmer” image. In conclusion, smallholder’s behaviour, thus decision making, is highly contextualized and cannot be underpinned by solely and simplistically looking at the holding size. ... Read more

Poster presented at IRI THESys Summer School 2019 ... Read more

Water pumping systems driven by renewable energies are more environmentally sound and, at times, less expensive alternatives to electric- or diesel-based ones. From these, hydro-powered pumps have further advantages. Nevertheless, these seem to be largely ignored nowadays. More than 800 scientific and nonscientific documents contributed to assemble their fragmented storylines. A total of 30 pressure-based hydro-powered pumping technologies worldwide have been classified and plotted in space and time. Although these do not present identifiable patterns, some noticeable clusters appear in regions such as Europe, South–Southeast Asia, and Eastern Africa, and in timeframes around 1960–1990, respectively. Some technologies have had a global impact and interest from their beginnings until contemporary times, others have been crucial for the development of specific countries, and other ones barely had almost imperceptible lives. All of them, nonetheless, have demonstrated to be a sound alternative to conventional pumping technologies, which can be unaffordable or inaccessible, particularly in remote and off-the-grid areas. Currently, hydro-powered pumping technologies face a regained momentum, hence a potentially promising future. However, researchers, manufacturers, and users need to be aware of the importance that management systems, as well as business models, pose for these technologies beyond their mere performance. ... Read more

Pumped irrigation is a way to improve water control for smallholder farming, hence to intensify its production. In this context, the Dutch company aQysta has developed the Barsha pump (BP), the first-ever commercial version of a hydro-powered pump traditionally referred to as spiral pump. BPs, however, have to deal with several constraints that affect the decision-making and access of smallholders to this as well as other agricultural (water pumping) technologies, thus to their benefits. On this subject, Product Service System (PSS) is a type of business models able to potentially cope with a number of restrictions of different nature (i.e. technical, financial, social). Moreover, if co-created with the feedback of the users, and by addressing contextual tensions of different cases, these models can be substantially richer than their top-down counterparts. From this perspective, six cases of use of BPs have been addressed in Nepal and Malawi, respectively. Both primary and secondary data, which was analyzed qualitatively under the analytic induction approach, was collected through a number of methods: on-site observations, unstructured interviews, structured questionnaires, and Q-methodology. Evidence shows a wide range of (non-)technical facilitating and hampering conditions for the use of the BP, as well as preferences of the smallholders in regards to existing and proposed business model elements. Based on the corresponding analysis, a set of opportunities for an improved BP-based business model – PSS, aiming to fulfil several (and at times opposing) needs, is ultimately proposed in the current paper. ... Read more