Purba Medinipur, West Bengal - Solar Pumps Tool Purba Medinipur, West Bengal | Solar Pumps Tool Humane ClubMade in Humane Club

Purba Medinipur, West Bengal

Overall, water availability for irrigation in the district (based on ground water development and long-term trends of water level decline) is within the safe limit, enhancing long-term sustainability of solar pumps. The district has a relatively high proportion of small and marginal farmers. The district appears in the group of districts, which show (very) low vulnerability towards climate change, as per an index constructed by CRIDA.

Deployment Approaches

Approaches Feasibility
Individually owned off-grid solar pumps Limited Suitability
Solarisation of feeders Not Suitable
Solar based water as a service Limited Suitability
Promote 1 HP and sub-HP pumps Limited Suitability
Solarisation of individual grid-connected pumps Not suitable

Individually owned off-grid solar pumps

Limited Suitability

The district has ground water available within the safe limit and a comparatively high concentration of diesel pump users. However, low crop revenue per holding, and the relatively low disbursement of institutional credit would make it difficult to promote the private ownership of solar pumps here without significant government subsidy support.

Parameter Value Percentile
Number of cultivators reporting use of diesel pumps 268,424 97
Water Availability Index 0.82 70
Crop revenue per holding (INR) 35,100 23
Medium and long term institutional credit disbursed in a year (in INR Crore) 123.5 71

Solarisation of feeders

Not Suitable

The district has a relatively high penetration of electric pumps. But, a rather low cost of power supply for the respective DISCOM and a comparatively low extent of feeder segregation make it very difficult to solarise the feeders here.

Parameter Value Percentile
Actual cost of power supply (INR/kWh) 5.5 28
Extent of feeder segregation
Proportion of cultivators reporting use of electric pumps 20% 69

Solar based water as a service

Limited Suitability

Groundwater availability in the district is within safe limit and the concentration of small and marginal farmers is comparatively high, but the proportion of unirrigated area is relatively low. A solar-based water service will have to compete with existing sources of irrigation.

Parameter Value Percentile
Water Availability Index 0.82 70
Proportion of small and marginal cultivators 100% 99
Unirrigated net sown area as a share of total net sown area 38% 33

Promote 1 HP and sub-HP pumps

Limited Suitability

The district has a relatively high proportion of horticulture crops under gross cropped area, high concentration of marginal farmers and groundwater availability within the safe limit, but disbursement of institutional credit to marginal farmers is comparatively low. Greater support, either through subsidies or credit, would be required to enable marginal farmers to adopt solar pumps.

Parameter Value Percentile
Area under horticulture crops as a share of gross cropped area 13% 68
Water Availability Index 0.82 70
Proportion of marginal cultivators 94% 96
Medium and long term institutional credit disbursed in a year (in INR Crore) 123.5 71

Solarisation of individual grid-connected pumps

Not suitable

The district has a relatively high penetration of electric pumps and ground water available within the safe limits. But, a relatively low power subsidy for agriculture consumers and a comparatively low extent of feeder segregation make it very difficult to solarise individual grid-connected pumps here.

Parameter Value Percentile
Water Availability Index 0.82 70
Actual cost of power supply (INR/kWh) 5.5 28
Extent of feeder segregation

Leveraging Solar Pumps to Promote Policy Objectives

If you are deploying solar pumps in this district then you can further these policy objectives.

National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP)

The relatively low share of oilseeds and oil palm crops under gross sown area in the district makes it a suitable candidate for promoting NMOOP. Solar pumps could meet irrigation needs for these crops and help farmers diversify their yields beyond cereals.

Parameter Value Percentile
Area under oilseeds as a share of total cropped area 47

Purba Medinipur, West Bengal
Summary
Number of operational holdings
587,812
Average size of operational holding (Ha)
0.53
No. of cultivators using diesel pumps
268,424
No. of cultivators using electric pumps
115,909
Parameters (value, percentile)
Unirrigated net sown area ('000 ha)
116
68
Area under horticulture crops as a share of gross cropped area
13%
68
Water Availability Index
0.82
70
Monthly per capita expenditure of rural agricultural households (INR)
1,164
46
Crop revenue per holding (INR)
35,100
23
No. of rural and semi-urban bank branches per 10,000 farmers
5.87
37
Medium and long-term institutional credit disbursed in a year (in INR Crore)
123.5
71
No. of calls made at Kisan Call Centre (between 1.1.2011 - 31.12.2015)
1,651
56
Level of farm mechanisation (tractors, harvesters, threshers per ha)
0.54
69