Solar-powered irrigation – A green step forward for farmers
Women-led user groups in Jharkhand implement and manage solar irrigation systems, which help them grow more crops through the seasons, bringing increased income and other benefits.
Sunita Samad has 2 acres of land in a command area. She earned Rs 1.50 lakh last year by cultivating paddy, winter vegetables, mustard and wheat there. She credits her income to solar-powered irrigation.
Solar energy has a great potential as a sustainable alternative to rain-fed irrigation in Jharkhand, and the same is being harnessed now. Large tracts of barren and unproductive land are being farmed because of solar-powered irrigation. These systems are managed by women-led village organisations that are key to implementing the solar irrigation intervention in these areas.
Launch of an irrigation scheme
In 2017 the Jharkhand state government launched renewable energy based community-managed irrigation systems, earmarking Rs 100 crore for the project. The Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS) is the nodal agency that signed an agreement with Transforming Rural India (TRI) to facilitate project implementation.
The objectives of the pilot project were establishing micro irrigation systems by tapping surface water, bringing barren and unproductive land under cultivation, increasing cropping intensity, crop diversification in favour of vegetables and high value crops, developing an agriculture production cluster, and creating institutional mechanisms to scale up such schemes.
A state project management team, referred to as the state irrigation execution cell (SIEC), was set up for the project during the pilot phase. Currently the project is being implemented in seven administrative blocks of seven districts in a pilot intervention.
Getting the scheme off the ground
Implementation of the project at the village level is done by a voluntary water user group through the irrigation project facilitation team (i-PFT). Initially, village level awareness campaigns about the irrigation project were conducted in the project villages, block office and local haat.
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After the sites for the irrigation system were identified, a technical feasibility test was done for each site. This included analysis of the discharge of water sources, command area and socioeconomic data. The test was done to validate each site, the unfeasible ones being rejected.
Technical surveys included the point from where water would be drawn, the place where the pump would be positioned, elevation of command, length of pipe line, location of outlets and lateral extensions.
A detailed project report (DPR) which included total costing, demography of the village, present livelihood of the villagers, site information, technical feasibility, technical survey, farmers’ data, future activity mapping of the irrigation patch and market linkage, was prepared.
Community participation
Right from site selection to execution, from crop planning to operation and maintenance, the community was involved in all the aspects of the project. Through the facilitation of i-PFT members, a water user group (WUG) was formed with interested women farmers of the identified irrigation patch as members.
Norms of operation and criteria for smooth implementation of the irrigation system were put in place. These include regular fortnightly meetings, dividing responsibility on maintenance, opening bank account and collecting water charges.
For maximum impact, season-wise crop planning was done in addition to establishing market linkages for the produce.
Implementing the scheme
Installation of an irrigation scheme has two parts – civil works and vendor works. Civil works include preparation of pump house for lift irrigation, sedimentation tank for gravity-based system, trench cutting and filling, and intake well, all to be executed as per the DPR specifications.
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All the funds for these works were managed by the village organisations within the estimates prepared by the state. The civil works were executed by the village organisation or the water user group. Vendor works include installation of solar panels, pump, pipes, controller, outlets and other accessories required for the scheme.
After installation of all the machinery it was tested in the presence of the WUG members. The village organisation prepared a utilisation certificate of the scheme’s cost and the irrigation system was handed over to the WUG.
Impact of the irrigation system
Solar pumps totalling 2.5 MW capacity irrigate 9,148 acres of land across 543 irrigation sites comprising 9,492 farmers. As the farmers are able to grow crops in successive seasons in a year, the cropping intensity has increased between 200 and 250 percent across all the irrigation sites.
Crop failure has decreased due to assured irrigation. Cultivation of vegetables and pulses has increased, leading to increased consumption of the same by farmers’ households. From each intervention site, two or three farmers have emerged as lakhpati kisans.
Market linkages for agricultural inputs as well as farm produce have been established, with agriculture vendors directly approaching villagers for procuring the produce. The irrigation system is also leading to environment-friendly farming.
Women are leading the way as progressive farmers, as they take care of all the aspects – decision making on scheme implementation, financial management as water charges, vendor management and enhanced technical knowledge on operating and maintaining the solar system and pump.
Migration from villages has come down, and youngsters show a renewed interest in farming as they are able to see the scope of earning in their village.
Working through challenges
The initiative hasn’t been without challenges though. Among the major challenges are lack of replacement of solar parts in case of damage, inability in collecting water usage fee from everyone and lack of local skilled technicians for repairs. Theft of solar panels and pumps is also a concern as most of the sites are far from the residential area.
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Despite the challenges, the project’s assessment indicated an improvement in household food security due to available irrigation for paddy. It can be replicated throughout the state as a green approach to irrigation. The state government has already allocated five more blocks for extension of the project.
Solar energy is used for irrigation for 120 to 130 days a year. The rest of the energy can be used for running small solar-powered machinery like oil extractor, rice mill, wheat flour machine and small dryer. It also opens up the scope for new entrepreneurs who can set up solar shops and processing units in the village. The user group can earn carbon credit through the use of solar energy in future.
The story of Sunita Samad is indicative of the successful stories of all the farmers. “My husband was working in Chennai and I managed my home with daily wages and income from MGNREGA,” she said. “But now we are staying together and send our child to a convent school in Khunti district. We have come a long way as a family.”
The lead image at the top shows women farmers working in a field. (Photo by Surjyakanta Kar)
Surjyakanta Kar is the manager at the Ranchi centre of Transform Rural India.
