About 80 per cent of net sown area in Uttar Pradesh is irrigated, making it the third ranked state in India in terms of access to irrigation. Despite such high access, in a recent study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (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, solar-based water-as-a-service model can improve access to affordable irrigation, in Eastern and Central UP.
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 as per another recent CEEW study.
The development of this tool is supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH under its ‘Indo-German Energy Programme -Access to Energy in Rural Areas’(IGEN-ACCESS). The programme is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). CEEW organised a workshop on ‘Solar for Irrigation: Using a Decision Support Tool to Guide Action in Uttar Pradesh’ today in Lucknow 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. Whereas, low crop revenues per holding limits the suitability of individually-owned off-grid solar pumps in the region. 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.
Whereas the Bundelkhand region shows significant diversity within itself, indicating the need to make district-specific decisions. The ability of CEEW’s Solar Pump Tool to provide detailed district-level insights across the state makes it particularly useful in such regions.
Solarisation of electrical feeders ensures rapid and cost-effective transition to solar-based irrigation. Though some districts of Eastern UP indicate suitability for solarisation of feeders, 40 out of 71 districts in the state are not conducive for it due to low extent of feeder segregation, while low penetration of electric pumps being additional reason in few districts.
On the occasion of showcasing the tool to the state-level bureaucrats, Abhishek Jain, Senior Programme Lead, CEEW, said, “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. In Eastern UP region, which is highly vulnerable to climate change risks, horticulture crops should be promoted to increase farmers’ income as well as their resilience against changing climate, and to improve viability of small capacity solar pumps (1 HP & sub-HP). This analytical tool, developed by CEEW, will aid stakeholders to prioritise regions and identify suitable deployment strategies based on a data-driven understanding of the potentials and limitations of a given geography.”
Till date, over 10,000 solar pumps have been deployed in Uttar Pradesh and about 1,48,000 solar pumps in India. The Government of India is coming up with a major scheme, Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM), to expedite the deployment of solar for farms. While large-scale adoption of technology is being envisaged, this analytical tool will aid decision-making by helping prioritise regions based on their agro-economic, social, and environmental factors to ensure long-term sustainability.
Link to the studies
Adopting Solar for Irrigation: Farmers’ Perspectives from Uttar Pradesh
Financing Solar for Irrigation in India: Risks, Challenges, and Solutions
Solar for Irrigation: A Comparative Assessment of Deployment Strategies
About CEEW
The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) is one of South Asia’s leading not-for-profit policy research institutions. The Council uses data, integrated analysis, and strategic outreach to explain – and change – the use, reuse, and misuse of resources. The Council addresses pressing global challenges through an integrated and internationally focused approach. It prides itself on the independence of its high-quality research, develops partnerships with public and private institutions, and engages with wider public.
In 2018, CEEW once again featured extensively across nine categories in the ‘2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report’, including being ranked as South Asia’s top think tank (14th globally) with an annual operating budget of less than USD 5 million for the fifth year in a row. In 2016, CEEW was also ranked 2nd in India, 4th outside Europe and North America, and 20th globally out of 240 think tanks as per the ICCG Climate Think Tank’s standardised rankings. In 2013 and 2014, CEEW was rated as India’s top climate change think-tank as per the ICCG standardised rankings.
