Agriculture plays a pivotal role in India’s economy with more than 54% of the population engaged in agriculture and allied activities. In Assam, one of the most climate-vulnerable states in India, more than 70% of the population depends on farming and around 85% of the farmers have small and marginal landholdings. Climate change and weather variations, in addition to the structural barriers facing agri-food systems, are adversely affecting the livelihoods of farmers who rely on rain-fed farming.

The Unreliable Monsoon

Assam’s total irrigated area is only 21.54% of the total net sown area, as of 2022. This is significantly lesser than the national average of 49.92%. Over half the key crops in Assam face fluctuating yields due to seasonal changes and erratic rainfall patterns. There is also a growing reliance on monsoon rains for irrigation, especially for rice cultivation.

With increasing reports of droughts in Assam, there is a need to diversify sources of irrigation. During the dry seasons, it becomes particularly difficult as the water table level drops, and pumping water becomes expensive. Very few small and marginal farmers can afford diesel pumps for irrigation and require affordable alternatives.

Many of them also lack the resources and awareness about existing schemes and avenues, such as cultivating horticultural crops to supplement their income.

Fostering Partnerships for Sustainable Solutions

To address these challenges, Gramya Vikash Mancha (GVM), a grassroots organization working with marginalized groups in rural Assam, identified Khatarbari and Kalcheni villages in the Tamulpur district to implement a farm-based livelihoods enhancement project. GVM observed that most farmers cultivated rice during the Kharif season, limiting the scope for crop diversification or intensification. Existing irrigation options are largely hindered by lack of reliability, convenience and affordability. The communities in the two villages also underlined that they need reliable irrigation to expand their farming capacity and livelihoods.

GVM designed an initiative based on NABARD’s (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) 'Wadi' homestead model, which focuses on the promotion of horticultural orchards for crops like mango, guava and Assam lemons as a border crop. Financial assistance for this initiative was accessed from NABARD through its Tribal Development Fund (TDF) and GVM partnered with WRI India to design sustainable and affordable irrigation solutions. This partnership aimed to foster a collaboration between diverse organizations to create affordable and sustainable livelihood opportunities for farming communities.

As a knowledge partner, WRI India supported this initiative in conducting an energy needs assessment to identify suitable irrigation technologies tailored to farmers’ requirements. We conducted training sessions for selecting the most suitable renewable energy and irrigation technologies and decentralized renewable energy (DRE) service providers. The team also developed a framework for monitoring and evaluation to document the challenges and learnings from the initiative.

Implementation and Community Support

As part of this initiative, two units of 2 Horsepower (HP) submersible solar pumps and three units of 1 HP submersible solar pumps were successfully installed for about 48 acres. Additionally, three portable solar pumps were set up that included customized user-friendly trolleys. Since the portable pumps are heavy, trolleys were added and modified based on the inputs provided by the women farmers. These ergonomic portable pumps highlight the participation of the community, especially women farmers, in co-designing and contextualizing the solutions.

The portable pumps were also deployed so that farmers in the adjacent fields could draw water simultaneously, as the fixed solar pumps could only be used by one farmer at a time.

Measuring Success

This partnership aimed to build a systematic methodology to address knowledge gaps and identify the factors and challenges impacting the success of technological interventions in different contexts.

Effective strategies for monitoring were extensively explored to understand the performance of the installed pumps throughout their life cycle. This included the use of equipment like remote monitoring systems and flow meters. Information from the monitoring is fed back into the program design to address usage and performance challenges and further improve the effectiveness of the solar pumps.

A New Sunrise Over Tamulpur

This project has resulted in improved access to irrigation and a reliable income for about 50 farmers. The farmers have the option of diversifying their incomes and practicing horticulture along with traditional farming practices. Crops like mango, guava and Assam lemon are being cultivated in addition to inter-cropping potato, tomato, chilly, brinjal, soybean, papaya and leafy greens, within orchards.

The new pumps enable farmers to carry out irrigation activities perennially and affordably, allowing for cultivation during the dry seasons. During the monsoon, many farmers benefit by cultivating paddy in adjacent plots, maximizing land and resource use. A reliable source of irrigation also has the potential to reduce overall plant mortality in the fields, thereby minimizing losses for farmers. Furthermore, the portable solar pumps can also be rented to other farmers and offer an additional source of income.

The introduction of portable solar pumps is a significant boost for women farmers. It has reportedly reduced the burden of manual labor and exhibits the transformative power of including women in the decision-making process.

The solar pumps allow the farmers to access water without resorting to alternatives like diesel or grid electricity which would come at an additional cost. Solar pumps also ensure increased efficiency in irrigating the fields and have lower carbon emissions than diesel pumps. According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, in 2023, the total annual diesel consumption for pumps was 5.52 billion liters. This is equivalent to 15.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions.

NABARD and GVM intend to strengthen their partnership and promote local entrepreneurship through this project. Farmers have shown an interest in new productive use technologies such as cold storage and processing units to reduce post-harvest losses, which can further augment their incomes.

This experience in Assam highlights how meaningful partnerships, leveraging public financing instruments like the Tribal Development Fund, evidence-driven interventions, apt solutions and strong relationships with the community can drive sustainable and clean energy solutions. Such solutions are key to creating inclusive, sustainable and equitable development opportunities for low-income, marginalized farmers in rural areas.