Solar irrigation: Harnessing sun to benefit Potohar farmers

Half of 900 dams silted up lowering crop yield; farmers to get 20 solar irrigation units.

RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has approved a PC-1 to install 20 Solar Energy Irrigation System (SEIS) across Rawalpindi Division in a bid to improve crop yield in the rain-fed region, The Express Tribune has learnt.

The Potohar region has a unique topography which offers perfect storage-and-fall terrain suitable for making small dams.

Realising the potential and making up for the absence of canal water, past governments have constructed over 900 dams in the division.



The region roughly falls in Rawalpindi Division and comprises four districts — Chakwal, Attock, Jhelum and Rawalpindi itself.

Unfortunately, as with most things in Pakistan, repair and upkeep is not up to the mark, with around 45 per cent of the mini dams having silted up, resulting in low yields.

“We have a total of 900 mini dams across the division. Of them, around 400 have silted up. We are constructing new dams to fill this gap,” said a senior Agency for Barani Areas Development (ABAD) official and project director Muhammad Azam Tarar.

Aiming to facilitate the farmers for yielding sufficient corps, ABAD has launched the SEIS project for lifting water from dams to fields. In the initial phase, some 20 solar power systems would be provided. Each farmer will get a 60 per cent subsidy, Tarar said.

The PC-1 of the project, sources said, has already been approved by the Punjab Planning and Development Department.

“The capacity of the solar panel and pump will be worked out according to site requirements and storage capacity of mini dams,” said ABAD Assistant Chief Abid Raza.

“Since we have to install only 20 solar systems, we will conduct a balloting among the applicants,” he added.

Financial viability of farms can only be ensured by alternating crops, he said adding that “the ABAD will motivate, train and provide financial assistance to farmers to shift to high-value crops and change crop patterns from time to time.”

To enhance viability of each site, a three-acre orchard would be established and the cost of plants will be borne by the government after verifying successful plantation, Raza said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2014.