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Success Stories
Agriculture without seasonal limits
OMAEL is a large-scale vegetable and fruit farm in Ouidah, southern Benin, employing many women and young people, like Mme Zomakpe Pérèle who explains, "I've been working at the OMAEL farm since 2018 as a vegetable harvesting and sales supervisor. For the bell pepper harvest alone, we have two teams of ladies who are always hired when the peppers are ripe and ready to pick."
In the past, OMAEL has faced major challenges during the dry season due to the lack of rain. However, thanks to a new solar pumping system, farmers no longer have to fear droughts. Mr. Isidore Viera, promoter of OMAEL had a solar irrigation system installed in 2018 on his farm. This installation was made possible thanks to the result-based financing set up by EnDev Benin, which supports off-grid solar businesses in expanding and consolidating their activities.
"With the solar water pumps, we have water at any time of the year for farming," testifies Mr Isidore Viera. The added benefit of having water all year round is that the women who help with the harvest are called to work more often and can earn more income for their families.
A promising future for rural retailers
Mrs. Aklassa Judith, a shopkeeper in a village in Savalou, central Benin, encountered many difficulties when trying to electrify her store. First, she used a generator, resulting in high fuel costs, then an unstable grid connection, leading to high electricity bills. However, since December 2021, these challenges have been resolved with the installation of a solar lamp by a solar company that receives technical and financial support from EnDev Benin.
"Thanks to my solar lamp, I can now keep my store open at night without worrying about additional costs," says Ms. Aklassa Judith. She has been able to reinvest these savings in her business, increasing her income and improving her standard of living.
"The solar pump has radically changed our work".
AMOUSSOUVI Rodolphe is a market gardener who has been producing various vegetables in a large garden along the beach in Cotonou, Benin, since 2004. He attests that watering the whole garden three times a day with a watering can was really difficult.
In September 2020, thanks to the EnDev program's results-based financing mechanism, a solar pump installed in the garden will facilitate irrigation. What's more, the garden's water supply is reliable, plentiful and costs nothing to produce. He reports that since then, his work has become easier, is done in a short time and his income has increased compared to his pre-installation income.
