Solar revolution in agriculture: plan beyond present

Muhammad Arif WattoUpdated Jul 13 2020

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Majority of these tube-wells are energy inefficient and a burden on the national exchequer. —
Photo by Arif Watto
PAKISTAN heavily depends on groundwater to sustain its agricultural production and to
ensure food security. However, it is feared that the on-going unsustainable groundwater
abstractions might have serious repercussions to the sustainability of the agrarian economy
of Pakistan.

After the green revolution of the 1960s, groundwater use in irrigation has been increasing
steadily in Pakistan. Between 1960 and 2010, the overall groundwater share to irrigation water
supplies increased from nearly 8 per cent to more than 60pc.

The massive increase in groundwater use over the past few decades has been a result of open
access to groundwater through large scale tube-well development. The outset of tube-well
technology in Pakistan was largely facilitated by the government’s aid and support policies but
without exercising any regulatory mechanisms to date.

Consequently, the number of tube-wells has gone over 1.3 million in the country and we have yet
to develop an overall coherent groundwater regulatory mechanism and consistent policy to
manage and use our groundwater resources. Our current water policy is lopsided, generic and
without a clearly defined timeline to achieve any objectives related to groundwater management
set in the water policy.

Pakistan’s irrigation water demand is predicted to go beyond 110km3 by 2025 under the
business-as-usual scenario which is expected to be met mainly through groundwater abstraction.
Currently, groundwater contributes about 65km3 to the overall irrigation water requirements.

Converting electricity-operated tube wells to solar-powered

ones can help save at least Rs100bn as well as 4,000MWs of
electricity
For this purpose, farmers mostly rely on diesel or electricity operated tube-wells with typical
capacities ranging from 5 to 25 horsepower. Currently, there are 1.06m diesel operated tube-
wells whereas 0.325m are connected to the national power grid which require an operational
total load of 4,097 megawatts of electricity. This is roughly 17pc of the overall electricity
consumption in Pakistan. Majority of these tube-wells are energy inefficient and a burden on the
national exchequer.

On one hand, the government pays billions in terms of subsidies for these tube-wells, but on the
other hand, the rate of recovery from these tube-wells remains very poor. For example, during
May 2019, the Pakistan Electric Power Company reported only 34pc recovery by receiving
Rs3.2bn out of a total assessment of Rs9.4bn for the month.

Converting electricity operated tube-wells to solar-powered tube-wells can help save at least
Rs100bn which the government spends each year in terms of giving subsidies while saving more
than 4,000MWs of electricity. Quite recently, the federal government has allocated Rs90m for
undertaking a consultancy for assessing the feasibility of replacing the 30,000 electricity tube-
wells by solar-powered tube-wells in Balochistan. Similarly, the government is also mulling over
installing more solar-powered tube-wells in different areas of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and
Sindh.

Besides various policies and strategies to harness power from renewable resources, different
feasibilities have been undertaken on the prospects of exploiting and promoting renewable
energy (particularly solar energy) in the agriculture sector. Different packages, policies and plans
have been introduced by the government, which include duty-free import of solar photovoltaic
modules and attractive financing mechanisms for borrowers with the help of the State Bank of
Pakistan.

According to the Agricultural Credit and Microfinance Department of the State Bank of
Pakistan, the banks lent some Rs131.2m for installation of tube-wells, including solar-powered
ones. The Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited disbursed Rs25.65m over 2015-2017 to support solar-
powered tube-wells mainly in Balochistan.

Pakistan is at the threshold of a revolution in the field of Solar Powered Irrigation Systems which
have the potential to unleash the typical energy-groundwater nexus in Pakistan. As indicated in
the National Water Policy 2017, the government is committed to exploiting this potential. Over
the past few years, the number of solar-powered pumps will have grown steadily as well-off
farmers have started installing them without any support from the government.

However, in the wake of groundwater scarcity, it is imperative to consider that solar-powered

tube-wells, if not adequately managed and regulated, may lead to unsustainable groundwater use.
Groundwater governance is a complex phenomenon which requires multidimensional
approaches and actions that integrate institutions, policies, tools and technologies.

The complexity of groundwater governance is not only associated with solar-powered

groundwater pumping but is also associated with conventional groundwater pumping systems
and practices. Regardless, whether it is a conventional groundwater irrigation system or a solar-
powered tube-well, a holistic groundwater governance approach includes consistent groundwater
monitoring, education and awareness.

Nevertheless, evidence indicates that solar-powered tube-wells bear a relatively higher risk of
fostering groundwater over-exploitation as there is no recurring input cost involved rather there
is an incentive to intensify and expand the scale of operation through more and more pumping. It
is, therefore, more important to complement solar-powered tube-well expansion with sustainable
groundwater use policies.

The recommendations for the installation of different types of tube-wells promised to be

formulated in the National Water Policy 2018 can be an important policy intervention towards
groundwater management if formulated and enforced. These recommendations could include
area-specific groundwater licensing rules along with a set of complementary groundwater
monitoring and sanctioning policies