Myth: Are subsidies the solution for “costly” small-scale irrigation technologies?

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dc.creatorRingler, Claudia
dc.creatorLefore, Nicole
dc.date2026-05-07
dc.date2026-05-11T21:09:44Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T14:59:43Z
dc.descriptionA common claim we hear in discussions about small-scale irrigation is that the technologies are simply too expensive, and that subsidies are therefore the only way to make them viable for smallholders. It’s a familiar argument--and on the surface, it sounds perfectly reasonable. If you search online, you’ll quickly find headlines reinforcing this idea. In India, farmers are described as unable to switch to solar-powered irrigation because the upfront costs are too steep; and in Kenya, affordability is raised as the key challenge to adoption. But once we look at actual field evidence, we find that reducing costs is far from the main—or only—solution for supporting smallholders in accessing irrigation technologies, and that subsidies are a blunt instrument for reducing farmers’ costs.
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/182849
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/91502
dc.languageen
dc.publisherUniversity of Nebraska
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/163234
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceRingler, Claudia; and Lefore, Nicole. 2026. Myth: Are subsidies the solution for “costly” small-scale irrigation technologies? Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute Opinion Piece. https://waterforfood.nebraska.edu/news-and-events/news/2026/05/myth-are-subsidies-the-solution-for-costly-small-scale-irrigation-technologies
dc.subjectcapacity building
dc.subjectinvestment
dc.subjectirrigation
dc.subjectsmall-scale irrigation
dc.subjectsubsidies
dc.subjectirrigation technology
dc.titleMyth: Are subsidies the solution for “costly” small-scale irrigation technologies?
dc.typeOpinion Piece

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Instituto Internacional de Investigación sobre Políticas Alimentarias (IFPRI)