The long dry season – from November to April every year – used to spell hardship for the village of Kunkua in the Bolgatanga-East District of Ghana. But now a solar-powered water system has transformed their fortunes in the most remarkable way.

Catastrophic climate change

The northern region of Ghana is believed to be one of the most vulnerable to climate change. Longer and more frequent periods of drought have spelt disaster for the Tele-Bere cooperative who depend on rainfall to grow their crops and water their livestock. Crop failure and food shortages have been a reality for its 5,500 members – 85% of which are women.

Water, especially during the dry season, was virtually non-existent and farmers had to travel long distances with their livestock to drink at dams in neighbouring communities. As a result of the drought, young farmers were leaving their homes and migrating to cities in the south of the country in search of other jobs to earn money.

Although solar technology has become more affordable in recent years, the cost still prevented many farmers from installing irrigation systems, with micro-finance organizations and banks unwilling to take the risk to provide loans.

Here comes the sun

But thanks to a solar-powered water system installed in 2023 through the support of FFF, things have changed dramatically.  Harnessing the power of the sun, the local farmers have turned the situation on its head. Their enemy is now their friend and allows them to produce a year-round supply of water.

So how does it work? The solar-powered system drives a mechanized borehole which irrigates an area of land up to 6 hectares. First a hole is drilled deep into the ground to access the water below and a steel casing is installed to prevent the hole from collapsing. A borehole pumping system then makes it possible to extract natural water directly from the ground. Six solar panels convert the sun’s rays into electricity to power the pumping system, and every day, it produces 36,000 litres of life-changing water.

It means farmers can grow their crops – including tomatoes, amaranthus, okra, sweet potatoes, chilli peppers, cassava, bananas, cashews, maize and millet – all year round. Their livestock too are thriving once more. 

“We no longer trek for hours in search of water. It’s right here, within our reach. This project is a blessing, a game-changer,” says Ateni Azia, farmer and head of the Anongtaaba Women's VSlA group under Tele-Bere.

Not only does the solar irrigation provide farmers with an increased and more stable year-round income, it’s also improving the nutrition for their families as they are able to produce food crops throughout the year. 

From drought to raising fish

The transformation has been remarkable. Most community members are now able to stay and engage in agricultural activities in the long dry season and there has been a marked reduction in the levels of outmigration from the village. 

And that’s not all. Because of the abundance of water throughout the year, some villagers in the community garden at Kunkua are even undertaking aquaculture to boost their income, raising freshwater fish including tilapia and catfish. 

Looking to the future, the major challenge facing the Tele-Bere remains the growing impact of climate change and the increasingly erratic rainfall. Their priorities are to adopt greener sources of energy, especially the use of solar for water systems, and to increase the use of agroforestry practices to restore nature.