Case

Reliable irrigation for arid Namibia

Background

The lack of water and late annual rainfall is a constant pain point for Namibian farmers. Each day, they look into the horizons for any sign of rain to relief their livestock and crops from drought. The need for a reliable water supply is extremely high for this Southern African country. Irrigation demands an energy-efficient and reliable system as crops depend on it to thrive through the arid weather conditions of Namibia.

The solution

In the year 2018/19 ConServ Engineering Services installed four GRUNDFOS SP Borehole pumps for a 12-hectare irrigation system on a cattle farm in the Osire Area of Namibia.  Two of the Pumps are SP14 pumps powered each by 36 x 250Watt Solar Modules and the other two pumps are SP8 borehole pumps powered each by 18 x 250Watt Solar Modules via the GRUNDFOS RSI Inverters. All the Pumps are installed at a depth of 100 meters. The pumps supply the water to a 700m³ storage reservoir.  From that Reservoir the two 6ha centre pivots draw water for irrigating the Luzern and Gras fields.  

The outcome

The systems have relieved farmers of the crippling repercussion of late rainfall for their crop and livestock and thus contributing to meeting the demand for nutritional food for the country.