Hello, we are Aaron, Xander and Renee and we are three project students of the Humasol vzw! This summer (2024) we are going to Uganda to execute an irrigation project where sustainable technology takes centre stage.
In several countries around the equator, periods of heavy rainfall alternate with periods of drought. Due to climate change, these periods are becoming less and less predictable, making agriculture without irrigation difficult for some crops. However, in Uganda, agriculture is an important economic activity and consequently more stability is needed in this sector. An appropriate irrigation system that takes advantage of Uganda's relief and climate can provide a solution to this. Farmers can do this themselves if they have sufficient knowledge or can purchase a commercial irrigation system. However, the second option is relatively expensive, making an irrigation system less feasible for farmers with limited scientific knowledge.
The goal of the project is to design a sustainable and accessible irrigation system, this on a farm in Kabale, near Mbarara, Uganda. This involves using solar energy to pump water from a low-lying basin to a water tower on a naturally higher ground. In this way, the high irradiance and varying relief are optimally utilized, and energy can be efficiently produced and stored. The water will be distributed over the field using sprinkler irrigation. The farm will serve as a pilot farm where other farmers can gain inspiration and knowledge to get their own hands on. The Isingiro district supports the project and hopes that through the pilot farm, more complex irrigation will become more accessible to all farmers in the Isingiro District.
The project will be carried out in close cooperation with MUST, Mbarara University of Science and Technology. This University selected three students whose project would be the basis of their final project. The students helped in the search for the pilot farm, data collection and communication. Their final project focuses on automating irrigation systems, but the budget does not lend itself to achieving this on a large scale.
After all the efforts we put into this project we are more than ready to go to Uganda to implement the irrigation system and meet all the partners.
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