Solar-based water can improve access to affordable irrigation

| | Lucknow | in Lucknow

With farmers facing problems due to depleting water table and high expenditure on diesel to run their pump sets as to irrigate their farms, a study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) shows that solar-based water-as-a-service model can improve access to affordable irrigation, in Eastern and Central UP.

In a recent study by the CEEW , half of the 1,600 farmers surveyed across the state expressed dissatisfaction due to depleting water tables and high expenditure on diesel. 

According to CEEW’s analysis, with high concentration of small and marginal farmers, and adequate groundwater availability,  UP is the third ranked state in the country in terms of access to irrigation facilities.

The survey also found that about 80 per cent of farmers were willing to buy water directly from a solar pump run by a rural entrepreneur, provided the price was competitive to prevailing diesel-powered local water market prices. A solar pump entrepreneur can undercut the diesel-based water tariffs, the study said.

CEEW organised a workshop on ‘Solar for Irrigation: Using a Decision Support Tool to Guide Action in Uttar Pradesh’  and introduced a web-based, data-driven decision support tool which can assist policymakers, financiers, and entrepreneurs, in planning and decision- making for the deployment of solar-based irrigation.

Based on the tool, CEEW found that 16 out of 26 districts (60 per cent) of Eastern UP indicate suitability for solar pumps through solarisation of electrical feeders. In Central UP, 7 out of 20 districts (35 per cent) show immense potential for deploying individually-owned off-grid solar pumps. In Western UP, 12 out of 14 districts (86 per cent) have groundwater below safe limit necessitating a cautious approach in deploying solar pumps in the region.

Abhishek Jain, Senior Programme Lead, CEEW, said that Uttar Pradesh, with its high concentration of small and marginal farmers, and relatively high disbursement of long-term bank loans, provides an opportunity to increase farmers’ incomes by incentivising them to invest in farm technologies such as solar pumps.