News Start of the GIZ project in Togo

The 14-month project to expand solar irrigation on our CPIA training farm in Togo has just started. The aim of the project is to familiarise agricultural producers with solar irrigation in order to increase their income in the long term. The German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) is supporting the project with more than 170,000 €.

The project envisages that the training farm of the Urbis Foundation Togo (CPIA) will be used as a training centre for solar irrigation and climate-resilient agriculture in the central region. To this end, the 11 trainers will be trained in the use of solar energy for irrigation. Already during the project period, 30 youths who participate in the annual CPIA training agricultural training at the CPIA will also be trained in solar irrigation techniques.

In addition, 9 solar irrigation systems will be installed in regional cooperatives for the cultivation of vegetable and fruit crops, paving the way for increased use of solar irrigation in the region.

15 solar trainers of local vocational institutes acquire technical skills in solar irrigation. They can then pass on this knowledge to their students.

Since we want to ensure that farmers will soon be able to finance solar irrigation systems independently, 10 financial institutions are being sensitised to the topic of solar energy.

In preparation for the project, our UFT staff visited the farm "Zaap de Pya" in Kara. The farm has a well-developed irrigation system and the team was able to gain valuable knowledge about the different irrigation methods. The visit was of great importance for the UFT team to get an insight into the challenges and opportunities through the use of solar irrigation. For example, they learned about the advantages of a borehole compared to a water storage tank. In addition, the impressions on the farm help them in the upcoming selection of vegetable cooperatives for the Pro-Energy project.