Solar irrigation system yields Una farmers good returns

Rajesh Sharma

UNA, JANUARY 25

The HP Crop Diversification Promotion (HPCDP) Project, being implemented in Una district under the financial assistance of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has set up the state’s first irrigation scheme that runs on solar energy in Lower Badheda village of Una district. The water, drawn from the underground aquifer, benefits 35 families, who collectively own about 265 kanals of land.

HPCDP Project Director Dr VK Sharma said the activities and objectives of the crop diversification project were being implemented at 210 different locations in five districts Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Mandi and Kangra. He said kisan vikas associations of local farmers had been formed in all 210 areas and they were working under the guidance of project officers for improving irrigation facilities, crop diversification and marketing of farm produce.

Dr Sharma said in Una, water was mostly found in the ground aquifer and drawing it out for irrigation incurred huge expenditure in terms of power. He said a pumping system that worked using the energy from the sun was used to draw out water in Lower Badheda.

Kulbhushan Dhiman, Project Manager of Una block, the farmers donated land for setting up solar panels and now they got water free of cost.

Raghubir Singh, president of the Kisan Vikas Association, said the farmers could sow only traditional wheat and maize crops when their land was rainfed, but after April 2017, they were now cultivating ginger, turmeric, broccoli, peas, radish, cauliflower and leafy vegetables like spinach, coriander and fenugreek.

Raj Kumari, who owns eight kanals of land, said her family cultivated potato crop for the first time and they were even able to sell the surplus crop in the market. Another beneficiary farmer Sanjeev Singh said due to irrigation, the potato yield had almost doubled and he was able to sell eight truck loads of the produce.

The solar irrigation scheme had come up as a model and progressive farmers were visiting the village to see and learn about the eco-friendly irrigation scheme, said Raghubir Singh, adding that the villagers were proud that the first such scheme using renewable energy was set up in their village.