Pilot Launch | Stable Foods: IoT-powered Irrigation-as-a-Service in rural Kenya
Image courtesy of Stable Foods
Mercy Corps Ventures and Stable Foods launch a pilot offering Irrigation-as-a-Service (IaaS) to smallholder farmers in rural Kenya. The pilot will test the business viability of borehole irrigation subscription services, leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) technology to reduce water use.
This post is the first of a two-part series. The second blog will share key insights after the pilot is completed. Written by Maria Gomez, Innovation Manager at Mercy Corps Ventures and Andrew Massaro, CEO of Stable Foods.
The Problem
Lack of irrigation drives low yields and incomes for African farmers
After speaking to over 500 farmers in Kenya, Andrew Massaro, CEO of Stable Foods, found that the number-one issue consistently identified by farmers — both small subsistence farmers and larger commercial farmers — is a lack of consistent water sources. Farming in Kenya is particularly challenging due to low rainfall and the degradation of its arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL), which leads to low productivity and poor-quality products. Major issues include soil erosion, poor drainage, and low soil fertility. Despite the critical need for water, irrigation remains minimal — less than 3% of arable land in Sub-Saharan Africa is currently irrigated. Additionally, limited awareness of regenerative agricultural practices among smallholder farmers hinders their ability to reduce water and input needs, making it harder for them to adapt and mitigate the effects of climate change.
Subscription-based irrigation models are emerging, but often neglect the arid and semi-arid lands due to profitability concerns
Implementing appropriate irrigation and regenerative farming practices can improve soil quality in Kenya’s ASALs and enhance smallholder productivity. Irrigation helps farmers adapt to climate change, extend the growing season, and boost agricultural output. However, traditional large-scale irrigation projects often fail due to high costs, unsuitable socio-ecological conditions, and lack of adaptability, leading to economic losses and system collapse when drought reserves are compromised.
Small-scale irrigation systems, which use local water sources without major infrastructure, support diversified livelihoods and have proven successful in other regions. However, in many instances they remain unaffordable for the poorest farmers. In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the International Water Management Institute found that farmer-led irrigation systems have benefited higher income farmers, while the solutions remain unaffordable for the lowest income farmers.
As a result, more affordable models offering Irrigation-as-a-Service (IaaS) have emerged across the world, such as the solution from Mercy Corps Ventures’ portfolio company Stable Foods. Stable Foods is an AgTech startup building low-cost food production systems within smallholder farmer communities in Kenya, offering smallholders an ultra low-cost, climate-resilient IaaS subscription that eliminates the need for upfront capital investments. To date, Stable Foods has successfully served over 100 smallholder farmers in the Lake Victoria region, achieving a 10x increase in production since the adoption of irrigation services. For example, Brian, one of their clients, experienced a 6.4x increase in profits after his first season farming with access to irrigation and is expected to increase his profits by 10x by the end of the year. The model has not yet been tested in drier ASAL regions, where water is scarcer and the main source are boreholes, but holds great promise.
Unrestricted access to irrigation risks depleting scarce water reserves
Farmer-led irrigation services have increased access to water for smallholder farmers, yet in some instances it leads to the overuse of water. According to the USDA, most farmers use less than optimal methods to plan irrigation, like checking the calendar to see what they did last year, following what their neighbors are doing, or physically feeling the soil. These methods lead to inefficient irrigation, likely using more water than required. In India, for example, solar-powered water pumps allowed smallholder farmers to access water effectively, but this led to the overuse of water and a rapid depletion of water sources.
This isn’t sustainable. There’s a crucial need to find innovative solutions that increase access to affordable irrigation for smallholder farmers without compromising the responsible use of water.
The Pilot
We’ve partnered with Stable Foods to launch a new pilot to test how IoT-based irrigation systems combined with regenerative agriculture training can improve soil quality and enhance the climate resilience of smallholder farmers in arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) in Kenya.
In this pilot, Stable Foods will extend these services to regions away from the water-rich areas around Lake Victoria, using water from boreholes to test whether its model works in other regions. Additionally, the pilot will test IoT-based technology to monitor water use and help Stable Foods better manage water resources, which is expected to reduce wastage and costs.
Our Hypotheses
Access to irrigation in ASAL leads to better farmer outcomes. Our north star is increased farmer profits. Other KPIs we will use to measure include:
Number and percentage of farmers accessing irrigation for the first time
Total number of farmers trained on regenerative agriculture practices
Adoption of regenerative agriculture practices (e.g., percentage of farmers adopting at least two soil health principles; number of acres transitioned to regenerative practices)
Yield per season
Input usage per season
Change in average revenue per acre, profit per acre (for farmer)
Borehole IaaS in ASAL is a viable business model for Stable Foods. Our north star is increased profits per acre. Other KPIs include:
Total number of farmers who purchase irrigation (percentage of female farmers)
Cost of capex per installed acre
Average revenue per acre and average profit per acre (for the company)
IoT powered irrigation leads to better environmental outcomes. Our north star is a reduction in water usage. Other metrics we will use to measure include:
Water usage, acreage, and kilograms produced
Crop growth
Irrigation failures or mistakes
Soil health metrics: water retention, organic matter, and usage of pesticides
Through this pilot, we hope to show that combining appropriate irrigation with the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices can improve soil health and productivity of smallholder farmers — and therefore their climate resilience. From a business perspective, we hope to show that IaaS is a viable solution to increase access to irrigation for smallholder farmers.
If successful, this model could be scaled to other regions of Kenya and other emerging markets where smallholder farmers currently cannot afford irrigation services.
Stay tuned for updates, evidence, and insights on our other Mercy Corps Ventures pilots responsibly testing technology solutions to increase climate resilience of vulnerable populations in emerging markets.
