Reducing Fossil Fuel Dependency of Syrian Irrigation Systems

​OVERVIEW

The International Rescue Committee (IRC), the Seeker for this Wazoku Crowd Challenge, is seeking innovative solutions to power irrigation systems with lessened fossil fuel dependency or no fossil fuels required. 

In northeast Syria, farmers are facing conflict and destruction, supply chain disruption, and little to no agricultural support. The ongoing disruption has led to skyrocketing fuel costs: with more and more farmers unable to adequately power their irrigation systems for their crops, the seed quality is deteriorating from season to season. Reduced quality and quantity of yields is directly affecting the livelihoods of farmers and food security across the region.

In this Challenge, the IRC is looking for two types of solution: effective, affordable solar power systems to power irrigation systems; or more efficient irrigation pumps, generator designs, or other innovative advancements that can lessen the fossil fuel usage of diesel-powered systems. Solvers are encouraged to submit their own solutions, modifications to existing technologies, and/or mature partner and market proposals to deliver the requirements of the solution: greater technical and feature requirements to power irrigation systems.

The IRC’s success with the Citizen Seed Network in the country means that they are also interested in cost-sharing recommendations: how to minimize upfront costs for farmers, set up subscription or cost-sharing models, and how to scale it within the region. Further information about the weighting of the evaluation criteria (technical and economic factors) of this Challenge is available in the Solution Requirements section.

There are monetary prizes available from a US $35,000 award pool for solutions that meet enough of the criteria after theoretical evaluation.

Your IP Rights are protected in this Prize Challenge; the International Rescue Committee (IRC) must award you to obtain them. 

This is a Prize Challenge which requires a written proposal to be submitted. Awards will be contingent upon the theoretical evaluation of the proposal by the IRC and evaluators against the Solution Requirements. To receive an Award for this Prize Challenge, Solvers are required to transfer non-exclusive rights to the Intellectual Property (IP) in their proposed solution. There is no assignment of IP Rights with this challenge.

Solvers will retain all rights to any proposal not Awarded.

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on October 20, 2024.

- Login or register your interest to start solving! - 

 

ABOUT THE SEEKER & ELIGIBILITY

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is a global humanitarian aid, relief, and development nongovernmental organization. Working in more than 40 countries and over 20 U.S. cities, the IRC helps those affected by humanitarian crises to survive, recover, and rebuild their lives.

IRC’s Airbel Impact Lab aims to find and advance breakthrough solutions, delivering them at scale – with an emphasis on solutions that can shape policy and practice around the world and not only in local contexts.   

The IRC is supported in this project by SeaFreight Labs (www.seafreightlabs.com), an open-innovation consultancy using global challenges to cost-effectively deliver breakthrough innovation. Participation in this project is a direct result of SeaFreight Labs membership in the Pledge 1% movement.

The employees of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), as well as their spouses or partners and their relatives up to the fourth degree, are welcome to participate but are not eligible for awards in this Challenge.

Find out more about participation in Wazoku Crowd Challenges.

 

THE CHALLENGE

Background

In this Challenge’s context, northeast Syria, the primary crop cultivated is wheat, but farmers also grow barley, vegetables, and pulses/legumes. The primary method for irrigation in the region is drip/trickle irrigation, where water is supplied by pipes to the roots of plants, either just below or above the soil. This is used to deal with the realities of the heat in the region: sprinkler irrigation in very warm climates would result in less water being delivered to the plant. In the summer months, ambient temperatures can reach up to 48°C/118°F. In times of drought, the need for irrigation is much greater.

Farmers are currently dependent on access to fossil fuels to power their irrigation system’s pumps, ensuring that their fields remain productive even in arid conditions. Before the onset of the war, the Syrian government provided substantial assistance, including access to affordable fuel for diesel pumps, loans, agricultural inputs, and specific training.

This support helped to establish the northeast as the ‘breadbasket’ of the country. However, after 13+ years of conflict, these systems and support have been devastated by drone strikes, policy changes, and the increasing poverty of the region. After each agricultural season, the quality and supply of seeds has deteriorated amidst drought, conflict, and lack of government assistance.

The challenges faced by farmers are compounded by the increased costs and lesser availability of fuel to power their irrigation systems. Damaged oil production facilities, disruptions to the supply and delivery of fuel, and resultant inflation is pricing out farmers across the region. The region is also particularly isolated, even in the country, making import even more difficult. This vicious cycle is decreasing the quality of seeds, lessening the yields of farmers, and increasing the poverty and hunger of farmers and the rest of the populace alike.

In response, IRC's Airbel Impact Lab and Syria Country Program launched the ‘Citizen Seed Network’, designed to empower farmers across the region. This initiative supports farmers in testing, sharing, and multiplying seed varieties that are well-suited and providing good yields. Over time, this has progressively enhanced seed quality and availability - in its first year, 100 farmers had joined. Now, they have 260 total members, working together to face these challenges and overcome them.

However, despite initial successes, the project faces significant challenges, particularly in accessing fuel for irrigation. In the 2022-2023 agricultural season, farmers were still reporting to the IRC that access to fuel was a major issue and a blocker to successful harvests. In 2023-2024, this problem has intensified with further conflict: since October, 264 airstrikes and drones have targeted local water, electricity, and fuel facilities. This has halted local fuel production, increasing the reliance on international or local imports of fuel.

Farmers are now having to rely on imported fuel which is more expensive, tariffed, and often involves expensive middlemen to the deals. When possible, the Government of Syria has fuel reserves - but this access has become less frequent as the conflict worsens and in 2024 to-date, no fuel has been provided. Farmers are now left with a single choice: being forced to the open market for exorbitant prices on diesel/other fuels to power their pumps, or foregoing irrigation and the powering of their other agricultural machines altogether.

Those with limited financial resources or smaller farms are particularly affected, forced to cultivate less and less land, exacerbating the problem. The cycle of poverty, food insecurity, and economic hardship doesn’t just affect farmers - whole communities are devastated by the decreased quality and quantity of farm yields.

A small number of larger, commercial farmers who have the resources are transitioning to solar power as a reliable and cost-effective alternative to diesel-powered pumps. However, the market for solar power systems is very early-stage, with currently-available options typically designed for household use.

These available and accessible solar systems in NE Syria are often not optimized for the high power requirements for agricultural irrigation. High-power submersible pumps used for agricultural irrigation require the ability to draw water from wells 80-100m+ deep, and require suitable horsepower/wattage output to distribute the water. The locally-available pumps require at minimum 6-10 horsepower for effective water drawing/extraction and distribution, and are submersible pumps - working at a depth of 80-100m or above. There are also the initial high set-up costs, which are influenced by import tariffs and middlemen: making them mostly inaccessible to the majority of farmers. So, the region continues to use fossil fuel (usually diesel) energy systems to power their pumps and achieve irrigation.

Farmers have expressed that having access to solar power systems would be transformative, “a dream come true”, allowing them to achieve reliable and timely irrigation without the crippling costs associated with fossil fuels. However, there is a high upfront investment required for solar systems that can achieve the minimum performance—often exceeding $20,000 for a setup that could achieve pump-sprinkler irrigation systems over 25-30 hectares of land. However, this set-up involves over 300 solar panels—making this solution unattainable for most due to the overwhelming cost. Additionally, most solar systems available on the Syrian market are intended for household use, not matched to the high power and output applications required for farmers running irrigation pumps continuously for multiple hours every day. Farmers have had to increase power by purchasing a large quantity of solar pumps, often imported from Iraq and Turkey.

Below are some examples of currently-used solar-powered pumps, solar systems, and diesel-powered pumps in the region, along with their output, indicative costs, and typical use cases:

Solar-powered pumps, Solar panels, and/or Battery Systems

Type	Output	Cost (US$)	Use Case
Solar Submersible Pump - (submersible meaning it is wholly within the water in order to be able to pump it)	1000 Watts (W) / ~1 Horsepower (HP) 3m³ = 3 cubic meters of water per hour	250-300	These pumps are commonly-used for irrigating vegetable fields, typically less than 0.5 hectares. Since small-scale irrigation draws water from shallow wells (~20m depth), even 6-8 panels could be sufficient (min. US$1,500). To-date, however, these pumps are used for shallow wells (up to 15-20 meters depth), that draw water from the upper aquifer. The water extracted is insufficient in volume for irrigating large wheat fields as compared to small vegetable gardens. Farmers would have to use at least 6 panels minimum in order to make irrigation for vegetable cultivation cost-effective.
Deep Well Solar Submersible Pumps	6000W / 8HP 4 inch output pipe diameter This output diameter translates to 10-15 cubic meters of water per hour - a larger output necessary for irrigating wheat fields 150m depth	1,500-2,000	This type of pump is used for wheat cultivation drawing water from 100m or deeper.
Photovoltaic (PV) Panels	Example: 130 panels total for 10 hectares	150-200 per panel	Costs go up significantly once multiple solar panels are stacked together. In this example, roughly $19,500 minimum was spent. Please note: assume a combined efficiency of 50% for the pump and solar system: likely resulting in issues of insufficient output for crops that require longer irrigation time.
Solar Op-Ex - (where the consumer does not own the panels, only paying for the energy)	No IRC data available for this region	No IRC data available for this region	Most of the systems are new, with farmers reporting these to work well. The IRC is not aware of these requiring extensive repair or maintenance.
Batteries	Not currently-used	The IRC is open to receiving solutions that detail more cost-effective, high-capacity batteries that can withstand the environmental considerations.	For these kinds of applications, batteries with substantial capacity are required: to ensure continuous operation. Not only are these unavailable, but stacking batteries increases the initial cost significantly - so farmers do not use them at this time.

 

Fossil fuel-powered pumps

Type	Amount of Fuel Required	Cost (US$)	Use Case
Diesel-powered pumps	32 liters over 10 hours, for 10 hectares of land. Powered by diesel generators.   Currently, it costs between 4,700-6,000 Syrian pounds (SYP) per liter (between 0.35 - 0.46 dollars, or US$11.20-14.70 per day)	800	Anecdotally, farmers say that for every 2 horsepower, five sprinklers can be used.   In this example, you could cultivate 10 hectares of land for one day with one pump, for $11 (excluding purchase cost of pump).

The need for innovative, affordable, and sustainable irrigation solutions is critical. By addressing these issues, the Challenge aims to improve agricultural productivity, enhance food security, and support the economic resilience of farming communities in northeast Syria.

To learn more about the currently-used systems in NE Syria from a local IRC survey, as well as view photos and videos of current diesel-powered and solar systems, you can visit this GoogleDrive to view and download the files.

The Challenge

In this Challenge, the IRC is looking for two types of solution: effective, affordable solar-powered solutions for powering pumps; or more efficient fossil fuel-powered solutions/pumps. Solvers can submit their own ideas and solutions, modifications to existing systems, and/or market-level submissions that could solve the problem.

The IRC also acknowledges and welcomes other renewable-powered opportunities that match the requirements: however, the reference to solar-powered pumps is due to farmers’ existing use of solar and the nascent opportunities in the space.

This Prize Challenge invites Solvers to develop solutions that provide the same or greater power output to irrigation systems than commonly-used diesel-powered pumps, while reducing the requirement or need for fossil fuels. The IRC is particularly interested in innovative technologies that can power irrigation with renewable energy or solar power, to reduce the need for fossil fuel use further and in order to lessen farmers’ dependency on fuels bought on the open market for high costs.

The overarching aim of this Prize Challenge is to reduce farmers’ reliance on fossil fuels, therefore avoiding or mitigating the problems caused by recent market-driven rises in prices of diesel and petrol. Your submission, whether detailing renewable-powered or fuel-powered solutions, must demonstrate a reduction in the use of fossil fuels, compared to the specific example of a currently-used pump: given below with points 1-7.

Your submission, whether of an effective, affordable, and renewable-powered system for powering and achieving irrigation, or of a solution that achieves improved efficiency and reduced costs of fossil fuel-powered irrigation, must meet or exceed the existing performance of pumps used throughout northeast Syria.

These current diesel-powered pumps:

1. Successfully irrigate various crop types across the region by providing enough water,
2. by outputting 6-10 horsepower/4500-7500W of power (minimum),
3. which allows the pumps to draw water from depths of 80-100 meters (minimum),
4. and output this water across 5+ hectares of land,
5. for 6-8 hours continuous usage,
6. in temperatures of up to 60°C/140°F,
7. costing at minimum US$6.72 (for 6 hours of usage).

a. The usage cost’s calculation is as follows: using 32 liters over 10 hours; 32/10 = liters required per hour = 3.2; 3.2 liters x $0.35 cost per liter = $1.12 cost per hour per liter; 1.12 x 6 = $6.72 cost for 6 hours
b. The per liter current cost of fuel should be used in your estimates as: US$1 = ~13,000 SYP

In order to be awarded, solutions should be more cost-effective and achieve the minimum outputs than the nascent solar power market solutions, or provide greater fuel efficiency/irrigation output than already-used diesel-powered pumps.

The IRC would like Solvers to provide detailed descriptions of their well-reasoned ideas, concepts, and proposals around more efficient diesel-powered pumps or less-costly renewable-powered systems for irrigation, with particular note of the above listed use case: the power, depth, time, temperature, and cost achieved/incurred by current pumps.

This Challenge’s requirements to meet or exceed the irrigation output, cost, and power performance of current systems can be achieved in a number of ways. For instance, your submission may detail a solar system that has a lower operational cost and similar output than fossil fuel-powered generators, but a higher up-front/capital cost. This could be of interest to evaluators. Or, your submission may detail a much higher capital cost system that achieves much better output (e.g. being able to irrigate twice the area for the same operational cost) - this would also be of interest. However, submissions that do not meet the minimum listed requirements for irrigation in this region will not be of interest.

Costs

When creating your submission, please note that the cost implications for your solutions should be broken down by capital/up-front costs and operational costs. This is to inform the IRC and evaluators about the purchase price and any import considerations, as well as to inform farmers and the NE Syria country team about the possible economic burden of running your solution.

When calculating the costs of your submission, please use this linked Google Sheet, titled ‘Wazoku | IRC NE Syria Fossil Fuel Dependency Challenge - Cost Sheet: Capital, Operating, and Summary’. Use the three tabs (Summary Sheet and Assumptions, Capital Costs and BOM, and Operating Costs) to write up, in detail, the cost implications of your submission. Please note: in order to be considered for award, Solvers must use this cost sheet to show the Economic solution requirement.

In your submissions, please also be aware of the IRC project’s overarching criteria of cost-sharing, subscription models, or reduced up-front costs. Solutions that are accessible, affordable, and scalable are more likely to be of interest to evaluators, and this is reflected in the nice-to-have section of the Solution Requirements.

Mitigations

Successful solutions from this Challenge might also be subject to the same supply chain, import, and middleman problems that affect the price of fuel in NE Syria at the moment. Wherever possible in your submission, please inform the IRC how you would mitigate the risks that could be a barrier to adoption for your solution. For instance and purely for example, if your solution details an innovative solar system that achieves the minimum outputs, but you foresee that it would still be hampered by traditional import paths into the country, please note this to the IRC and suggest how your project could overcome these barriers.

Any awarded designs/outputs from this Challenge would be further used in human-centered design workshops, to engage with farmers and stakeholders for their inputs and engagements with the proposed concepts and their potential effects on the market.

 

SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS

In solving this Challenge, the IRC is aware of the to-date expensive, inefficient solar market in Syria and the challenges posed by fuel-powered pumps. This Challenge’s solution requirements and acceptance criteria are designed for Solvers to overcome these problems, by using a range of measures to prove the effectiveness of your proposed solution: its output (horsepower), environmental applicability (functional in the temperatures), fuel efficiency (reduction or removal of fuel needed), and its cost (operational; capital/up-front; maintenance and Bill of Materials).

Solvers are encouraged to develop written proposals and optional, complementary designs that solve one of the two Challenge pathways:

1. Effective, Affordable, and Renewable-Powered Irrigation: proposing designs for renewable power systems or pumps that meet the below requirements of output, cost, and fit-to-use, or suggesting improvements to irrigation set-ups that would enable renewable-powered systems to flourish in northeast Syria.

2. Improved Efficiency of Fossil Fuel-Powered Irrigation: submissions that detail more efficient diesel-powered pumps or suggest accessible and realistic improvements to fossil fuel-powered irrigation systems to make them more fuel-efficient.

However you choose to solve the problem, your submission will have to meet the following must-have requirements:

1. Technical - 50% Weighting for Evaluation

a) Solution must demonstrate how farmers will reduce their reliance on fossil fuels (reduced use or no use of fossil fuels). There is no minimum reduction to meet, but reducing, for instance, the currently-used 32 liters of diesel over 10 hours used by diesel-powered pumps to irrigate 10 hectares of land - or removing the need for the fuel altogether are both of interest.
b) Solution must match farmer irrigation needs for cultivating land 5-10 hectares or larger.
c) Solution is not reliant on proximity to the grid, or a household (for example: standalone, powered device, or where adequate wiring connects an on-farm solution to a local grid or household mains).
d) Solution is capable of matching/exceeding the performance of, or powering and pairing with the locally-available irrigation pumps (6-10 horsepower minimum, submersible pumps) and irrigation equipment (sprinkler system network for 5 hectares or more).
e) Solution is suited for drawing water from depths of 80-100 meters or deeper.
f) Solution is able to operate uninterrupted for 6-8 hours; where this is not feasible, the IRC requires a strategy to reduce overutilization or overheating. For reference, ambient temperature during the summer can reach up to 48°C/118°F. Radiant heat can further raise surface temperatures to 60°C/140°F.

2. Economic - Capital and Operating Costs - 50% Weighting

In order to be achievable in the region, your submission must be affordable to the typical farmer. If suggesting improvements to fossil fuel-powered systems, please note the up-front capital cost of ~US$800 and the operating costs of US$11.20-14.70 per day to irrigate a field of 10 hectares.

If suggesting renewable-powered systems and/or pumps, please use the above data in the table in the Background part of The Challenge to inform the IRC how your solution matches up to the typical landscape costs of existing systems in the region.

Important: Solvers must use this linked Google Sheet, titled ‘Wazoku | IRC NE Syria Fossil Fuel Dependency Challenge - Cost Sheet: Capital, Operating, and Summary’ to detail the summary, capital, and operating costs of your solution. Please view the Google Sheet, click ‘File’, then download a copy to fill out this dummy sheet with your own information. Then, when completing your submission, simply upload your own version of the cost sheet - please use your Solver username and submission ID in the title to aid evaluators.

Please note: when describing costs, ranges are acceptable when you do not have a specific value, e.g. “Between US$719 to $749, depending on the vendor”. When describing costs to the IRC, please use the US dollar (USD) to provide bill of materials (BOM) or operating costs - this is due to both the significant fluctuations in the Syrian pound/lira, and the fact that Syrian external purchases are often in USD.

In addition, your submission could meet the following nice-to-have criteria:

1. Economic - Cost-Sharing Models
   Following the success of the Citizen Seed Network, the IRC and Airbel Impact Lab would also like to encourage Solvers to include innovative cost-sharing/subscription models for sharing both the up-front costs of pumps and the ongoing costs of fuel.

a) Solution could include recommendations suggesting how upfront costs of the solution can be minimized for farmers (for example: describing how subscription models, pay-as-you-go (PAYG), or other cost sharing approaches would be applicable)
b) Solution could include recommendations on energy or fuel burden sharing (local mesh grids models encouraged)
c) Solution could include recommendations for scalability, from initial farm usage (minimum 5 hectares) to local cost-sharing between farms and farmers, and then across the region.

Any solution and its cost sharing models should be more suitable for equitable access than existing, personal solutions used by farmers. Any proposed solution should also not be intended exclusively for farmers who have finances to afford it: meaning it should be cost-effective and able to be shared/subscribed to through a network. This would help to equip stakeholders across the region with an accessible means to alleviate the agricultural crisis.

Solvers who propose detailed descriptions of solutions/technologies and of proposed cost-sharing models and their social dynamics would be of great interest to evaluators.

 

Things to Avoid

A further factor to consider is Political - solutions must not be reliant on subsidies from the government, due to ongoing disruption and conflict.

Additionally, regarding Environmental considerations: please note, solutions that utilize alternative fuels (for example, biofuels) require justification for the viability of use for the proposed fuel in the region, any import implications, and explain how the use of this fuel would not be affected by similar market problems that are hampering access to fossil fuels.

Solutions with Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 3-9 are invited.

This Prize Challenge has the following features:

1. Your IP Rights are protected in this Prize Challenge; the International Rescue Committee (IRC) must award you to obtain them.
2. The best solution(s) in this Prize Challenge has the opportunity to win from the award pool of $35,000 for meeting all requirements, as solely determined by the IRC and evaluators.
3. Awards will be contingent upon the theoretical evaluation of the proposal by the IRC against the Solution Requirements.
4. To receive an Award for this Prize Challenge, Solvers are required to transfer non-exclusive rights to the Intellectual Property (IP) in their proposed solution. There is no assignment of IP Rights with this challenge.
5. The IRC may also issue “Honorable Mention” recognitions for notable submissions that are not selected for monetary awards.
6. The IRC may wish to partner with the Solver at the conclusion of the Challenge. Please indicate your interest in partnering.

YOUR SUBMISSION

Please login and register your interest to complete the submission form.

The submitted proposals must be written in English and can include:

1. Partnering - there may be an opportunity to partner at the conclusion of this Challenge. Please indicate if partnering is of interest to you.
2. Participation Type – you will be asked to inform us how you are participating in this challenge, as a Solver (Individual) or Solver (Organization).
3. Solution Level - please confirm the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of your proposal: TRL1-3 ideation, TRL4-6 proof of concept, TRL7-9 production ready.
4. Problem & Opportunity - highlight the innovation in your approach to the Problem, its point of difference, and the specific advantages/benefits this brings (up to 500 words).
5. Solution Overview – Please ensure that you describe the features of your proposal and how they address the SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS (up to 500 words, there is space to add more in the summary field, and attach supporting data, diagrams, etc).
6. Solution Feasibility – Supporting Information and Rationale, such as references and precedents, that will help the IRC evaluate and validate the feasibility of the solution (up to 500 words).
7. Experience - Expertise, use cases and skills you or your organization have in relation to your proposed solution. The IRC may wish to partner at the conclusion of the Challenge; please include a statement describing your expertise and indicating your interest in volunteering towards realizing your prototype solution (up to 500 words).
8. Solution Risks - any risks you see with your solution and how you would plan for this. This section should also include how you respond to the ‘Mitigations’ part of The Challenge (up to 500 words).
9. Timeline, capability and costs - describe what you think is required to deliver the solution, estimated time and cost. Please use this dummy Google Sheet template to total up your summary, capital, and operating costs and add as an attachment.  (up to 500 words).
10. Online References - provide links to any publications, articles or press releases of relevance (up to 500 words).
11. How did you find this Challenge? – please indicate what drew you to this Challenge, including any relevant advertising or marketing that you followed to this Challenge.

Wazoku encourages the use by Solvers of AI approaches to help develop their submissions, though any produced solely with generative AI are not of interest.

Find out more about participation in Wazoku Crowd Challenges.

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on October 20, 2024.

Late submissions will not be considered.

Your submission will be evaluated by the evaluation team first reviewing the information and content you have submitted at the submission form, with attachments used as additional context to your form submission. Submissions relying solely on attachments will receive less attention from the evaluation team.

After the Challenge submission due date, the IRC will complete the review process and make a decision with regards to the winning solution(s) according to the timeline in the Challenge header. All Solvers who submit a proposal will be notified about the status of their submissions.