Energy Assured

The Challenge

Smallholder farmers in Nigeria struggle to make a stable living, as they confront limited water access, depleted soil, and fickle weather. Only five percent of the country’s arable land is irrigated. Most rice farmers in Northern Nigeria contend with minimal rainfall and rely on diesel pumps that come with high fuel costs, operational volatility, and exposure to market and climate shocks. With better, more affordable irrigation, farmers could improve their livelihoods, strengthen their resilience, and produce more food with less land and water. 

The Innovation

Energy Assured provides smallholder rice farmers with trolley-mounted solar water pumps. Its core innovation is a cluster irrigation-as-a-service model, which allows farmers to share the cost of a pump. A monthly rental fee of $56 for the season brings individual farmers’ effective cost down to $9 per month, significantly lowering the upfront cost barrier that has hindered the adoption of solar irrigation through traditional pay-as-you-go models. Additionally, farmers can pay their share by selling produce to linked buyers to reduce inflation exposure and credit risk. 

The Impact

The vast majority of Energy Assured’s customers are accessing solar irrigation for the first time. Many of them live at the margins and operate at the bottom of the pyramid. Among income-generating users, 100% report higher earnings, and 86% see a significant improvement in quality of life. Moving forward with Acumen’s support, Energy Assured aims to scale its agent network and replicate its cluster model across Nigeria.