aQysta, a “clean-tech” start-up, joined Business Call to Action in October 2018 with a pledge to bring its affordable, clean-energy water pump to 10,000 smallholder farmers globally to save 300 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, while improving crop yields and incomes by 2021.

Water is essential to successful agriculture and food security. Subsistence farming communities around the world have long-relied on rainfall to sustain crops, yet in an era of climate change, this already uncertain water source is further threatened. Smallholder farmers that either own or rent land for agriculture can pay a high price to rent access to irrigation, and some simply do without it, despite flowing rivers or canals existing nearby.

Access to reliable irrigation can boost agricultural productivity up to five times compared to rain-fed crops, however regular forms of irrigation pumps are often costly to acquire, operate and maintain especially in remote rural contexts where transport costs increase. Farmers that can affrod these irrigation system tend to see a reduction in profit margins due to costs and struggles of implemnation.

aQysta’s Barsha Pump addresses a gap in the market for cost-effective, reliable irrigation that could help farmers move away from subsistence to commerical farming in locations where rivers, streams and canals are vast but irrigation systems too costly. The Barsha Pump looks like a wheel floating on water and relies on energy created in the flowing current of rivers and canals to pump water through a hose, up hills, as far as two kilometres away. There is no need for fuel or electricity to operate the pump, bringing the operating cost and environmental impact down to zero.

aQysta’s BCtA commitment will see another 10,000 farmers in Latin America, Africa and Asia benefit from the pump, a tool that secures water for crops all year round. A reliable, constant water supply provides an opportunity for farmers to transition from subsistence to commercially-viable farming with better income.

About aQysta: aQysta was founded in 2013 at the Yes! Delft start-up incubator, attached to the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands. Last year the multi-award winning company made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, and consists of a young, international and motivated team which shares a vision of developing and implementing sustainable hydro-powered pumping solutions that can have a positive economic, environmental and social impact. aQysta develops hydro-powered pumps that provide sustainable irrigation solution for small and medium sized commercial farmers, without requiring any fuel or electricity. The company’s flagship product, Barsha Pump, utilizes the energy present in flowing rivers and canals to pump water. The Barsha Pump does not require any fuel or electricity to be operated, doesn’t emit GHGs and does not involve any operating expenses. It is a sustainable, cost-effective solution for high value agriculture in the developing countries, saving up to 70% of watering costs for farmers, compared to conventionally-used fossil-fuel based pumps.