It’s official: Solar-powered irrigation systems can boost food and income levels in rural Sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new study. Irrigation is known to reduce poverty in Asia, but the success of the technique was not well documented in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The team, from Stanford University, analyzed solar-powered drip irrigation systems – which use photovoltaic pumps to deliver groundwater to the surface – in arid Benin, where most farmers rely on a  3-6 month rainy season and irrigate by hand. The solar system in question was a project of U.S.-based Solar Electric Light Fund – SELF – which “designs and implements sustainable energy solutions for enhancements in health, education, agriculture and economic growth in the developing world.”

Solar pumps were installed in two villages. Compared with villages using hand irrigation, the pumps led to more vegetables being produced and farmers earning more money.

Vegetable intake increased by 500-750 grams per person per day -equivalent to 3-5 servings of vegetables – during the rainy season in villages with solar systems, and people in control villages ate 150 grams more, suggesting that extra vegetables grown in the two villages were being sold in local markets.

“This study thus indicates that solar-powered drip irrigation can provide substantial economic, nutritional and environmental benefits,” wrote the authors.

This article originally appeared in SciDev.net. Click here to view the original article.