Despite their potential to reduce irrigation costs and support low-carbon agriculture, adoption of solar water pumps remains low among smallholder farmers in Vietnam. A team of PEP-supported researchers evaluated whether limited information about the costs, benefits and technical characteristics of the technology was contributing to this low uptake. The study found no significant increase in adoption, willingness to pay, agricultural production or profits following the information workshops. Instead, financial constraints emerged as the main barrier, with around 40% of non-adopting households citing insufficient resources as their primary reason for not purchasing a pump. The findings highlight the need to complement information and agricultural extension services with affordable financing options, such as concessional loans, and to test these approaches before scaling nationally.
Find out more about the research methods, findings, and policy recommendations in the following PEP publications:
