Fenta Atele gazes at the shrinking shores of Lake Abaya, in Southern Regional State, worry etched on his face. Until recently, the lake’s plentiful water allowed him and his fellow farmers to irrigate their thriving crops of bananas, onions, vegetables, wheat, and fruits. Today, however, he is wrestling with an economic crisis sparked by rising fuel costs.

He used to earn 200,000 Br monthly when fuel prices were below 30 Br a litre. Now that retail gas prices have climbed steeply, Fenta’s farm is sliding towards unexpected losses.

“I’ve tried maintaining my previous production levels,” he said. “But, I can't keep pace with these economic difficulties and the technological advancements.”

Fenta and his colleagues had relied on one fuel-powered pump to irrigate their land. With the lake receding, two pumps are now required, doubling fuel expenses. His only real alternative — solar-powered irrigation — is unaffordable, with pump prices ranging from half a million to over one million Birr.

"I struggle daily with fuel costs," Fenta told Fortune. "If I can't afford a solar pump, I’ll have no choice but to stop irrigating."

Solar irrigation is seen as a revolutionary solution to Ethiopia's agricultural struggles, particularly amid escalating fuel prices and unreliable traditional irrigation methods. However, the prohibitive initial costs, technical issues, and limited skills have kept many of the 19 million farmers like Fenta on the sidelines.

A short distance away, Behailu Abbota has had some success, farming banana, switching partly to solar irrigation. Farming in Arba Minch’s hot climate, Behailu depends heavily on frequent watering for his six hectares of banana farm. Previously, he ran four gas generators daily, consuming about 30Lts of fuel. After investing 300,000 Br in a solar pump last year, his daily fuel consumption has gone down to zero.

Around one million diesel pumps are in use, although this number has declined due to high spare parts and diesel costs. In the last six months of the current fiscal year, 66,648 water pumps were imported, signalling that the year will see much lower import numbers compared to 235,000 in 2023/24 and 238,411 the year before.

Behailu recalled the financial constraints facing other farmers despite clear savings from solar-powered pumps.

"My colleagues want to switch, but now the price has doubled," he lamented. "It's unaffordable."

Solar pumps also present practical issues. They only operate during daylight hours unless connected to electricity.

"Without sunlight, you can’t run the pump," he said.

Take Misganu Sete, who cultivates mangoes and vegetables in Armachho Mdregenet. He bought his solar pump four months ago for half a million Birr. Despite substantial fuel savings, he is disappointed by the technology's limited usability.

"You can only use it during daylight," he said.

He spent heavily on fuel last year, but this year’s savings have not significantly boosted production yet.

Further north in Butajira East Miskan Woreda, Central Ethiopia Regional State, Ibrahim Erede shares Behailu's cautious optimism. He grows fruits and vegetables across three hectares using a solar pump. It pumps water effortlessly from depths exceeding 20 metres, delivering nine litres a second. Yet, he admitted the investment — 1.8 million Br, partly funded by a Dutch company — is out of reach for most.

"Initially, farmers hesitated," he recalled. "I convinced some to adopt it. We’re now growing a diverse range of crops."

However, many in his village still can not afford solar pumps, especially with rising prices.

Across Ethiopia, similar stories emerge where financial realities temper optimism. Abebe Goshu, managing water resources in Wetet Abay District, sees solar pumps as critical in addressing local drinking water shortages. Yet, even with international aid reducing costs, financial strain persists.

"Without sufficient sunlight, the pump can't run, and the cost remains high," he said, noting they reduced fuel expenditure but still face limitations.

There are over 1,500 solar pumps across the country for irrigation; however, this figure also includes community-based efforts. Where Zelalem Girma sits as a manager of Meseret Mare Gebre Solar Importer, uptake has been slow despite importing around 250 solar water pumps since 2020. Prices in Ethiopia are disproportionately high compared to neighbouring countries. A pump that costs between 400,000 and half a million Birr in Kenya can be up to 1.2 million. Customs tariffs and VAT add to the cost of building solar pumps, making them unaffordable for many smallholders.

Those from the International Water Management Institute confirm these observations.

"Solar pumps in Ethiopia cost three times more than in Kenya," Muluken Eliyas (PhD), deputy country representative of the Institute and a researcher, said. "The dynamics are not progressing as swiftly as we'd prefer."

A recent research on solar pump irrigation discovered the viability and prospects of photovoltaic solar pumps for smallholder irrigation, revealing that approximately 1.4 million farmers are engaged in small-scale irrigated agriculture, with 210,000 to 400,000 leveraging motor pumps. Ethiopia imported motor pumps valued at 10 million dollars in 2012, comprising a notable portion of the 70 million allocated for irrigation equipment imports. The research had forecasted this figure would have increased by 10-fold if Ethiopia realised its irrigation objectives by 2020.

It appears an ambition far from realisation. Despite distributing 20,000 pumps this year for farmers in the Oromia Regional State, only a fraction were solar-powered.

"Farmers remain committed to fuel-based irrigation," said Meskelu Tulu, the State's director for mechanisation.