Online Reporter
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
ZIMBABWE is set for a major shift towards solar-powered agriculture, with Government and the International Solar Alliance (ISA) working on a programme that could see hundreds of irrigation schemes powered by renewable energy as the country intensifies efforts to build climate-resilient agriculture.
The proposed partnership includes an initial pilot of between 500 and 1 000 solar-powered irrigation pumps, alongside solar-powered cold rooms, crop-drying facilities and agro-processing equipment, subject to technical and financial feasibility.
The initiative is being pursued under a Country Partnership Framework (CPF) signed recently in Victoria Falls between Energy and Power Development Minister July Moyo and ISA director-general Mr Ashish Khanna on the sidelines of the 8th Meeting of the ISA.
The agreement provides a structured framework for cooperation in solar agriculture, investment and project development, mini-grids and rooftop solar, with the two sides seeking to mobilise technical expertise, concessional finance and private-sector investment.
The partnership comes as the country seeks to reduce the vulnerability of agriculture to climate change while expanding irrigation to support year-round production.
A major challenge facing many irrigation schemes is the cost and unreliability of electricity and diesel-powered pumping systems, which can make irrigation expensive and disrupt production when power supplies are unavailable.
The solarisation programme is expected to address some of these challenges by providing decentralised and potentially lower-cost energy for water pumping, while also extending the use of solar power across the agricultural value chain.
In a statement, the Ministry of Energy and Power Development said Zimbabwe had considerable scope to deploy decentralised solar energy in agriculture.
“Zimbabwe has significant potential to utilise decentralised solar energy to support agricultural productivity, particularly in irrigation, cold storage, crop drying and agro-processing. This will provide an opportunity to support Zimbabwe in developing and scaling practical, bankable and sustainable solar-for-agriculture interventions,” said the ministry.
Under the proposed National Solar Pumping Programme, Government and its partners will initially assess the feasibility of installing between 500 and 1 000 solar-powered irrigation pumps.
The partnership will also support the deployment of solar-powered cold rooms, crop-drying facilities and agro-processing equipment linked to priority agricultural value chains.
The two sides are expected to develop standard technical specifications, guidelines and solar pump-sizing tools to improve the quality and efficiency of solar irrigation systems.
Projects will also be aggregated to make it easier to access concessional financing, private investment and other funding mechanisms.
The ministry said a digital monitoring, reporting and verification platform would also be developed to track installed systems, water use, agricultural output, energy savings and emissions reductions.
“The proposed areas of cooperation include solarisation of agriculture; investment, finance and project development; mini-grids; and rooftop solar. The CPF is expected to facilitate the mobilisation of technical and financial resources, strengthen project preparation and development, and create opportunities for collaboration with development partners, private-sector investors and other stakeholders,” said the ministry.
“The signing of the CPF during the 8th ISA meeting demonstrates Zimbabwe’s commitment to translating its renewable energy priorities into bankable, scalable and implementable projects, while strengthening the country’s access to technical assistance, investment and appropriate financing mechanisms.”
Minister Moyo said the partnership came at an opportune time as Zimbabwe sought to diversify its electricity generation mix and increase the contribution of renewable energy.
“We feel that this comes at an opportune time when we are talking about energy and all sources of energy. It is very good for us so that we can push our solar energy as part of our mix,” he said.
“Our mix includes coal, which is in abundance in this country. It includes hydro, which is now a challenge because of climate change. Otherwise, we were having a balance, almost a balance, with thermal at 55 percent and hydro at 45 percent, with very little solar.”
Minister Moyo said the partnership would help Zimbabwe move towards its target of increasing renewable energy’s contribution to the country’s electricity supply to 27 percent by 2030.
The solarisation drive builds on the Government’s wider efforts to strengthen agricultural resilience through increased irrigation, dam construction, rehabilitation of existing irrigation schemes and climate-smart agriculture under the National Development Strategy 2.
However, the expansion of irrigation infrastructure has also exposed the importance of reliable and affordable energy to keep schemes operating.
Many irrigation schemes still depend on diesel pumps or grid electricity, leaving farmers vulnerable to fuel costs, power interruptions and rising operational expenses.
Solar-powered pumping could provide an alternative by allowing farmers to draw water during daylight hours without depending entirely on the national grid or diesel.
Beyond irrigation, the proposed solarisation programme could support farmers after harvesting by powering cold storage and crop-drying facilities, while renewable energy could also be used in agro-processing.
This could help reduce post-harvest losses, improve the value of agricultural produce and create opportunities for rural enterprises to process crops closer to where they are produced.
The partnership has the potential to link Zimbabwe’s renewable-energy ambitions directly to food production, rural industrialisation and improved household incomes.
If successfully implemented and scaled, solar-powered irrigation could allow farmers to produce throughout the year, reduce the cost of pumping water and make agricultural production more resilient to increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns.
