Irrigation technology at the service of smallholder farmers: A sociotechnical approach to exploring sustainable business strategies

Recently, there has been a growing need for sustainable agriculture to increase food security, alleviate poverty, and contribute to climate change mitigation. Smallholder farmers (SFs) play a key role in this endeavor as they are a considerable segment of the global farming population. Despite their relevance, SFs face several challenges that hinder their productivity and compromise their livelihoods. Among the most salient challenges are limited access to (financial) resources and technology, insufficient knowledge and training, limited market access, and climate change vulnerability. Social and gender inequalities, land tenure insecurity, underdevelopment of supply chains, and lack of supportive policies further exacerbate these challenges.

Innovations of different kinds can support SFs in transforming agricultural systems towards the accomplishment of several sustainable development goals. These innovations can take the form of new technologies, new farming practices, social and collective empowerment, and systemic changes at policy and regulatory levels. In this context, and responding to the pressing issue of SFs’ development, the Dutch company aQysta developed a hydro powered water lifting device, known as the Barsha pump (BP). aQysta offers this technology as an innovative and sustainable solution to the irrigation challenges facing SFs. The BP operates solely on renewable energy, meaning that no input of fossil fuels is required to use it. aQysta argues that these features make the BP both an environmentally sound and affordable irrigation solution, with the potential of improving the livelihoods of SFs. In consonance with those claims, the BP represents a promising technological advancement that aligns well with the sustainable development of SF systems.

Technology provider companies typically resort to business models as strategic blueprints to create, deliver, and capture value. This has been largely the case of aQysta and its deployment of the BP across several SF communities. However, when it comes to technological innovations for SFs, traditional business models typically fall short in these purposes due to the several challenges of the SF target customers. By incorporating social inclusion and environmental stewardship strategies (besides legitimate profit generation), sustainable business models (SBMs) can support more robustly companies aiming to serve SFs like aQysta.

In this respect, by focusing on aQysta’s technology proposition, this thesis investigates a) how innovative agricultural technologies cater for the needs of SFs, b) how SFs decide to adopt such innovative agricultural technologies, and how SFs’ contexts play a key role in that decision, and, c) how SBMs can support technology providers in delivering their value propositions to their target SFs. Through an interdisciplinary approach—with aspects of engineering, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development—this study aims to shed light on the intricate relationship between technologies, SBMs, and SF’s social impact, through the following main research question:

What sustainable business model strategies stimulate the adoption of hydro powered pumps for smallholder irrigation?

To answer this research question, I resorted to a mixed method approach applied to five studies, which correspond to the different chapters of this thesis. These five studies compose this dissertation by analyzing the main research question from different angles: technologies, method to study SF phenomena, farmer’s decision making, SFs’ technology adoption, and SBM strategies to cater for SFs’ needs.

I started by reviewing the range of available hydro powered pumping technologies over time (Chapter 2). To this end, I conducted a semi systematic literature review of more than 800 scientific and grey documents. These documents addressed the fragmented storylines of several technologies, from their conceptualization and design to their eventual (mass) production and commercialization worldwide. I classified and plotted a total of 30 pumping technologies in space and time. Some noticeable clusters emerged in regions like Europe, South–Southeast Asia, and Eastern Africa, around 1960 – 1990. Some of the studied technologies had a global impact until contemporary times, others have been key in specific countries, and other ones had almost imperceptible lives. I found that hydro powered pumping technologies currently face a regained momentum, hence a potentially promising future. However, manufacturers and users need to be aware of the importance that proper management systems pose for these technologies beyond their mere performance.

Then, I analyzed the potential of Q methodology (henceforth Q) as a sound participatory research method to understand SF’s phenomena (Chapter 3). To reach the goal of this study, I selected and reviewed 50 Q studies applied to different forms of rural livelihoods in the Global South. In this chapter first I discuss several on field Q limitations associated with the physical, logistical, social, and cultural constraints of such settings. Later, I drew on good practices and strategies to cope with these limitations. Beyond the limitations and strategies, I advocate building Q capacities and the gender balanced empowerment of local researchers in the Global South. This may contribute to a better understanding of the nuances and challenges of SF’s livelihoods in their respective contexts.

Through a co authored study, I later researched farmers’ decision making strategies through the lens of Q (Chapter 4). We used Q to delve into Malawian farmers’ decision to adopt certain water transport technologies for irrigation. The method was administered face to face to several SFs, large commercial farmers, representatives of farmer cooperatives, and experts in farming systems in Malawi. We found that SFs, typically considered a homogeneous group, did not decide in the same ways. Some SFs, in fact, may have progressive and commercial mindsets that can be hampered by lack of access to required resources. Furthermore, our results showed that decision making has a clear gender dimension. We found Q to be a robust methodology, capable of capturing several nuances of farmers’ decision making.

Later, I focused on the specific SFs’ decision (or not) to adopt the BP in its intended contexts of use (Chapter 5). By means of Q, I explored cross cultural discourses around the adoption of BP. I administered Q to 43 (non )farmer respondents linked to Nepali and Indonesian SF systems. I identified three relevant discourses, one of them bipolar in nature. The first one identified BP’s potential early adopters. The second discourse embodied the stereotypically highly dependent SF. The last one characterized contrasting views around the BP as an enabler of potential service oriented business models to achieve well being. These results reflect the need for a shift of mindset toward new ways of understanding technological change in SF settings. Based on my findings, I proposed possible technology adoption pathways that may lead to the exploration of innovative business models to serve the diversity of SFs more effectively.

Lastly, I conducted a study on SBM strategies to cater better to the specific needs of SFs (Chapter 6). I used a multiple case analysis to expand the knowledge on this incipient research area. For this analysis, I considered the cases of 10 organizations providing SF tailored products and/or services. I conducted the cross case analysis stage across five thematic areas relevant to SF’s challenges: information and knowledge, capital and financial services, training and capacity building, rural logistics and supply chains, and market connection. Based on the results of the analyses, I drew lessons for aQysta (and similar companies) to improve BP’s value proposition. I also elaborated on the implications of the study for other organizations engaging commercially with SFs.

Building on the findings of these five individual studies, I was able to identify SBM strategies to stimulate the adoption of hydro powered pumps for SF irrigation. I present these strategies in the concluding section of this thesis (Chapter 7) by following the five SBM thematic areas (identified in Chapter 6) across the four SFs discourses on the BP adoption (studied in Chapter 5). Proposed strategies cover SFs’ issues related to: information content and delivery channels; provision of capital and financial services; approaches to deliver training and build SF capacities; approaches to build robust and sustainable last mile networks to reach SFs; and market connection to increase SFs’ commercial viability to foster technology adoption. Finally, I close my doctoral dissertation discussing the implications of my findings and proposed strategies for different actors involved in SF’s technology adoption: researchers, technology developers, practitioners, and policymakers.