Tripartite partnership for solar irrigation (SOLARIG)

Understanding shared challenges in tropical agriculture—water scarcity, energy inefficiency, and climate vulnerability

Project Partners: Community Energy Social Enterprise Limited (CESEL) and the University of Lincoln

The tripartite solar irrigation for climate-smart agriculture and resilience initiative (SOLARIG) unites the University of Lincoln (UK), CESEL (Nigeria), and Prof. Dener Oliveira’s groups at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV) and the University of Sao Paulo’s Centre for Carbon Research in Tropical Agriculture (CCARBON). This initiative aims to incorporate low-carbon agricultural practices/enhance IRRI-Go, CESEL’s irrigation-as-a-service product for solar-powered irrigation to smallholder farmers in Nigeria.

Through this Travel Grant, SOLARIG seeks to exploit shared challenges in tropical agriculture—water scarcity, energy inefficiency, and climate vulnerability to learn from Brazil’s advanced expertise in solar irrigation and carbon-neutral farming. The travel will identify scalable solutions to enhance food security, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and empower smallholder farmers in Western and Northern Nigeria. A team of four researchers from the University of Lincoln, led by Dr. Aliyu Aliyu alongside Dr. Tolani’s team from CESEL Nigeria, will undertake a 14-day visit to Brazil, hosted by Prof. Oliveira’s team in São Paulo.

The team will engage in workshops at CCARBON and UFV to analyse solar irrigation prototypes and carbon-reduction strategies. It will then visit Brazil’s Fruit Circuit (around Atibaia, Jundiaí, Valinhos), visiting sustainable agri-businesses that utilise solar-powered irrigation to cultivate 100+ fruit varieties year-round. The visit organised to Minas Gerais State will see solar irrigation-based systems that support continuous harvest cycles in tropical climates. It is aimed that joint discussion sessions with the Nigerian/UK team and Brazilian stakeholders will be held to identify barriers to adopting solar technologies in West Africa, learn from Brazil, and draft strategies for climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies for solar irrigation. Clear expected outcomes from the visit will include strengthening Lincoln-CESEL-Brazil partnerships through knowledge exchange on climate-smart irrigation and carbon-neutral farming.

Furthermore, they will draw actionable plans to adapt Brazil’s solar irrigation models (e.g., CCARBON’s research) for Nigerian smallholder contexts but which prioritises affordability and sustainability. They will create a blueprint for integrating renewable energy into tropical farming systems, aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 2, 7, 13).

The visit will connect UK technical expertise, a forward-looking Nigerian business and Brazilian innovations to help accelerate the adoption of next-generation technologies and climate-smart practices to boost crop productivity and build climate resilience in West Africa. The initiative directly supports the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) objectives and the Climate-Smart Agriculture Partnership’s mission to transform food systems through equitable, cross-continental collaboration.

For more information

For more information on this project, contact us, or view all projects funded under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Partnership programme.

Innovate UK Climate-Smart Agriculture Partnership: UK-Brazil-Africa brings together innovative people and organisations to promote climate-smart agriculture in Africa.