How solar pumps are changing irrigation for farmers in UP's Saharanpur

Farmers in Saharanpur are using PM-KUSUM solar pumps to irrigate fields during the day. The shift is reducing dependence on diesel, erratic power and unreliable canal water.

In Short

• Farmers avoid night waits for erratic electricity supply
• Solar irrigation reduces diesel use and water stress
• Timely watering boosts crop confidence and variety

For farmers in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur, the daily wait for electricity to irrigate their fields is slowly becoming a thing of the past.

Solar pumps installed under the PM-KUSUM scheme are giving farmers access to water during the day, reducing their dependence on erratic electricity supply and helping them manage irrigation more easily. Farmers say timely watering has reduced the risk of crops drying out and given them greater confidence in cultivation.

The shift is particularly significant for farmers who earlier relied on diesel engines, borewells or power connections to irrigate their fields.

NO MORE WAITING FOR ELECTRICITY AT NIGHT

Farmer Rishi Pal Singh recalls how difficult irrigation used to be.

He earlier depended on an engine and boring to supply water to his fields. As diesel became expensive, he switched to an electricity connection. But that brought a different problem — an uncertain power supply.

Sometimes electricity would come and sometimes it would go. Farmers often had to spend the night waiting for the power supply to return. When electricity finally came, they would rush from home to the fields, only to sometimes find the supply had disappeared again by the time they arrived.

Last year, Singh learnt about the PM-KUSUM scheme and applied for a solar pump. After the government subsidy, a 7.5-kilowatt solar pump was installed on his farm.

He now operates the pump roughly from 8 am until 5 or 5.30 pm, depending on sunlight.

The change has meant that irrigation can be completed during the day, eliminating the need to visit the fields at night simply to wait for electricity.

Singh owns around 15-16 bighas of land, where he grows sugarcane, wheat, paddy and vegetables. He also runs a poplar nursery.

He says timely irrigation has made it possible to consider crops that require more water, while reducing the risk of crop damage caused by delayed watering.

SOLAR POWER BRINGS DOWN IRRIGATION WORRIES

Another farmer, Amit Kumar, had faced severe water shortages during summer.

He says the problem had become so acute that he stopped growing sugarcane, while using tractors to arrange water had become expensive. Water supply through the canal was also unreliable during the summer.

A solar pump changed that.

Kumar says his farm can now irrigate around 40 bighas in a week, with roughly five bighas being irrigated in a day.

Instead of waiting for electricity at night, he comes to the fields in the morning and completes the irrigation during the day.

For farmers, the benefit is not simply access to water but greater control over when they irrigate.

‘THERE WAS NO ELECTRICITY LINE, BUT WATER REACHED THE FIELDS’

The benefits of solar irrigation are even more visible in areas where electricity infrastructure is limited.

Gaurav Dhyaya, a farmer from Sawanpur Nawada village, says his family installed solar panels around 2021. The land and solar panels are in the name of his father, Arvind Kumar Dhyaya.

In their area, electricity lines were not available over long stretches, making a conventional power connection difficult.

Water from the canal was also unreliable, with the Rajbaha sometimes remaining dry for months. This had affected crop production.

With the solar pump, the family can now get around 8 to 10 hours of water supply, allowing them to grow paddy as well — a crop that was previously difficult to cultivate because of inadequate water availability.

Another farmer, Mahesh Dhyaya, says solar pumps have reduced dependence on the electricity network and allow farmers to irrigate their fields according to their own requirements.

Pipeline connections also make it easier to move water from the pump to different parts of the field.

He points to another advantage during extreme weather. Electricity lines can be damaged by storms, falling trees or transformer failures, sometimes leaving villages without power for several days. Solar pumps, he says, reduce exposure to such disruptions.

He believes more farmers should be brought under the scheme.

WHAT PM-KUSUM MEANS FOR FARMERS

The experiences of these farmers show how solar irrigation can address a problem that has long affected agriculture: the availability of water at the right time.

Under the PM-KUSUM scheme, farmers in Saharanpur have been able to install solar pumps with government support, allowing them to generate power for irrigation without depending entirely on conventional electricity supply.

For farmers, the immediate benefit is greater control over irrigation. Instead of waiting for electricity or canal water, they can use their pumps during daylight hours and plan irrigation around their crops.

That can be particularly important for crops that require timely watering.

The farmers’ experiences also suggest another potential benefit: lower dependence on diesel and reduced exposure to power disruptions. With irrigation becoming more predictable, farmers can consider expanding or diversifying cultivation depending on water availability.

FROM ELECTRICITY SUBSTITUTE TO FARMING TOOL

The solar panels installed in Saharanpur’s fields are therefore doing more than replacing electricity.

For farmers who earlier had to wait through the night for power, solar pumps have shifted irrigation into the daytime. For those without reliable electricity infrastructure, they have provided an alternative route to accessing water.

Farmers say timely irrigation has reduced the risk of crop losses and improved their confidence in cultivation.

Their demand now is for wider access to the scheme.

As solar pumps reach more farms, the experience in Saharanpur suggests that the technology could play a larger role in reducing farmers’ dependence on diesel, erratic electricity supply and uncertain canal water — while making irrigation more predictable and manageable.

- Ends