In the district, horticulture crops occupy a relatively high proportion of gross cropped area, raising the economic viability of solar pumps here. 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.
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 | Suitable |
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, a comparatively high concentration of diesel pump users, and a relatively high disbursement of institutional credit, but low crop revenue per holding. Greater support, either through subsidies or credit, would be required to enable farmers to adopt solar pumps.
Parameter | Value | Percentile |
---|---|---|
Number of cultivators reporting use of diesel pumps | 210,101 | 95 |
Water Availability Index | 1 | 100 |
Crop revenue per holding (INR) | 41,885 | 29 |
Medium and long term institutional credit disbursed in a year (in INR Crore) | 110.4 | 69 |
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 | 2% | 29 |
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 | 1 | 100 |
Proportion of small and marginal cultivators | 98% | 93 |
Unirrigated net sown area as a share of total net sown area | 71% | 62 |
Promote 1 HP and sub-HP pumps
Suitable
1 HP and sub-HP pumps could help marginal farmers meet their needs in this district. A relatively high proportion of horticulture crops under gross cropped area, a rather high concentration of marginal farmers, a comparatively high disbursement of institutional credit to marginal farmers, and the availability of groundwater within the safe limit would drive the success of such small-sized pumps in the district. Such small pumps could also be put to use for lift irrigation, provided there is access to surface water.
Parameter | Value | Percentile |
---|---|---|
Area under horticulture crops as a share of gross cropped area | 19% | 76 |
Water Availability Index | 1 | 100 |
Proportion of marginal cultivators | 88% | 89 |
Medium and long term institutional credit disbursed in a year (in INR Crore) | 110.4 | 69 |
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 | 1 | 100 |
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 | 38 |