Stanford News<\/a>,\u00a0 “Each system is used by a local women’s agricultural group, which typically consists of 30 to 35 women who share the maintenance costs of the new irrigation technology.”<\/p>\nIn just a year’s time, the solar drip irrigation systems “…supplied on average 1.9 metric tons of produce per month, including such high-valued crops as tomatoes, okra, peppers, eggplants and carrots.” Vegetable intake went up among villagers, and researchers noted a decrease in feelings of food insecurity among the population. And when SELF’s executive director Robert Freling visited the villages in 2009, he saw marked improvement in physical well-being, especially among women.<\/p>\n
Economic opportunity provided by solar irrigation<\/h2>\n
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