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SoLAR
Solar Irrigation for Agricultural Resilience
Issue No. 14: Oct–Dec 2023 |
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International Water Management Institute (IWMI) had a strong participation at COP28, United Nations Climate Change Conference held from November 30 to December 12 at Expo City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A collaboration between IWMI and International Solar Alliance (ISA) led to a series of events that brought together diverse partners, global experts and leaders to share their thoughts. A session Accelerating Solar Irrigation for Agricultural Resilience: Lessons from South Asia was held at the ISA Pavilion where IWMI researchers, Alok Sikka, Darshini Ravindranath, Shilp Verma, Maha Al-Zu’bi, ISA, and partners from the SoLAR project shared findings and insights on opportunities and challenges for scaling Solar Irrigation Pumps (SIPs) across Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Using learnings from the SDC-SoLAR project, this session presented first of its kind insights on the effectiveness of solar irrigation as a strategy to sustainably manage water, energy, food and climate interlinkages in South Asia.
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Alok Sikka(Above) and Darshini Ravindranath (Below) speaking at the COP28, United Nations Climate Change Conference
(Photo: IWMI)
Following excellent opening remarks by Matthais Bachmann, Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) on the significance of this project for wider climate mitigation and adaptation goals, Darshini Ravindranath (IWMI), Program Lead for SoLAR shared emerging findings. She spoke about the impact of expansion on groundwater sustainability and the facilitation of equitable and gender-inclusive SIP access, and how governments in South Asia are using evidence from the field to develop and deploy ambitious policies and programs on SIPs to address NDC commitments while supporting climate-resilient, gender-equitable, and socially inclusive agrarian livelihoods. Shilp Verma presented learnings from different business models on scaling of on and off-grid SIPs. Read more >>
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India
Promoting Gender Equality and Social Inclusion: 2023 Annual CGIAR Gender Research Conference
Participants on the last day of the CGIAR Annual Gender Conference
(Photo: IWMI)
The 2023 Annual CGIAR gender research conference was held in New Delhi from October 9-12, 2023. The event was co-hosted by the CGIAR Gender Impact Platform and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and held at the ICAR Convention Center at the NASC Complex, New Delhi. The conference theme,
From research to impact: Towards just and resilient agri-food systems tackled the inequalities brought on by Covid-19, climate change, conflict, food crises and unequal gender dynamics that hinder response in agri-food systems. The conference focused on building capacity for gender-transformative change. It was attended by solar researchers and communications team. Read more>>
Nepal
Climate resilience and sustainable water management: IWMI Nepal’s active engagement at COP28
IWMI Nepal’s active involvement at COP 28, led by Manohara Khadka, Country Representative of IWMI Nepal, made significant contributions to the discourse on climate resilience and sustainable water management. The side events held on the 9th and 10th of December brought together experts, policymakers, and stakeholders to explore the intricate interplay of water, energy, food, and ecosystems in addressing the challenges posed by climate change in South Asia. As a panelist in another four side-events, Khadka shared IWMI’s research experience and knowledge about interconnected links between water and climate change, and the role of water in climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Read more>>
Pakistan
Research on Solar Pumping: A key focus at the Pakistan Water Week
IWMI-Pakistan hosted the international conference during the 3rd Pakistan Water Week 2023 from 4th to 6th December 2023 in Serena Hotel, Islamabad. This year’s Water Week served as a pivotal platform for the dissemination of knowledge and the stimulation of discourse aimed at addressing the challenges posed by climate change, water scarcity and food insecurity in Pakistan. It played a crucial role in enhancing public consciousness and fostering deliberations paving the way for viable solutions to these pressing issues. Read more>>
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Country Highlights :
From the Fields
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India
Interaction with farmers in Gujarat
Field visits to Anand and Botad districts of Gujarat took place from 28th November to 1st December 2023 and involved one-on-one interaction with female farmers, SKY, and non-SKY male farmers to get impact stories on the SKY scheme. A visit to the SKY training implementation partner Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI) in Gandhinagar was conducted to understand Read more>>
Kriti Sharma Interacting with female farmers in Ishnav feeder (Photo: IWMI)
Visit to Self Help Groups in Mandla
Focused group discussions with Self-Help-Groups (SHGs) were conducted in Mandla, Madhya Pradesh from 13-15 December 2023 to address challenges in the adoption of SIPs and mobilize its wider adoption through the Pay-Later Business Model. The model is planned to be implemented at the individual farmer-level and the SHG-level.
(Photo: IWMI) Read more>>
Discussions on pilot for KUSUM Mitra
The country lead for India, Deepak Varshney visited Jaipur, Rajasthan, on 8-9 November 2023, to discuss the pilot to be conducted for energy extension agents or ‘KUSUM Mitra’ with Umesh Gupta, Additional Chief Engineer, Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (JVVNL), Jaipur, Rajasthan and Danveer Singh, Deputy Director, Horticulture Department, Jaipur, Rajasthan. The meeting was held to facilitate wider adoption of SIPs. Read more>>
Nepal
Capacity building training for farmers in the SoLAR grid-connected SIP pilot in Parsa
The IWMI team of Amrita Rauniyar, Tikaram Adhikari and Rakesh Shrestha visited Parsa, Chhipharmai-2 from November 5-7 to conduct capacity building training for farmers. Six major categories of training were provided to capacitate the farmers – agriculture water management training, modern vegetable farming training, insect and pest management training, seedbed preparation & seed treatment training along with field visits and technical training on SIPs operation and maintenance. The training duration varied from 30 minutes to 90 minutes. There were 19 male and 27 female
Read more>>
Group photo with male and female farmers after the completion of capacity building training (Photo: IWMI)
Operations and Maintenance of SIP training in Kohalpur, Banke by IWMI and Quasar
Shisher Shrestha and Anuj Mishra from IWMI, Siddhartha Shrestha (Training Coordinator) and Kushal Gautam (Trainer) from Quasar Energy Solutions, Pratiksha K.C. and Kapil Pudasaini from Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) travelled to Kohalpur, Lumbini province to impart training on operations and maintenance of SIP on December 9-10, 2023. There was a total of 19 participants, 10 female and 9 males as well as Read more>>
Participants Visiting Field 1 On Day 2 Of The Training (Photo: IWMI)
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Tripti Agarwal is a project management professional having over 13 years of experience in the development sector. Prior to this, she has worked with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), Solidaridad Network and the International Maize.. Read bio>> |
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Angel Konthoujam is a gender and equity specialist with over five years of experience in designing gender and socially inclusive interventions and policies for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), immunization, and menstrual health management. Prior to joining IWMI, she worked as a gender specialist for central ministries.. Read bio>>
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What is your role in the project?
I have been actively engaged in the Pakistan component of the SDC’s SoLAR-SA initiative since July 2023 fulfilling the role of a Researcher-Economist. I have been involved in various aspects of the project, including conducting thorough field analysis to consulting with key stakeholders and producing comprehensive reports. Till date, I have gained extensive knowledge about the solar irrigation landscape in Pakistan, including a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities it entails, as this knowledge is crucial in developing Read full Interview >>
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Darshini Ravindranath
Research Group Leader, Climate Policies, Finance and Processes (CPFP) SoLAR project lead
IWMI-India
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What is your role in the project?
I am the regional project lead, responsible for spearheading implementation of the SDC-SoLAR project. As the project lead, with support from the four country leads and technical staff, I oversee all the research and development elements of the project, ensuring they align with the overall vision and goals of the project. I work closely with the donor, partner organizations and high-level government representatives to deliver targeted Read full Interview >>
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The puzzle of solar lift irrigation in Nepal’s mid-hills From CGIAR Initiative on NEXUS Gains
Shisher Shrestha, Nilhari Neupane, Ritavrat Joshi, and Manohara Khadka
Read here >> |
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Solarising Nepal’s irrigation canals Improving access to solar energy can transform irrigation, boosting Nepal’s commercial agriculture.
Shisher Shrestha & Nilhari Neupane
Read here >>
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Transforming Nepali women’s farming—one drop at a time
Shivani Chemjong
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Alam, Faiz Mohammad., Sikka, Alok., Pavelic, Paul., Krishnan, Sunderrajan., Dodiya, Meru., Bhadaliya, Pradeep., Joshi, Vishnu., (2023). Energy consumption as a proxy to estimate groundwater abstraction in irrigation. Published in Groundwater for Sustainable Development
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2023.101035
Mitra, Archisman., Buisson, Charlotte-Marie., Osmani, Zahid Abdullah., Mukherji, Aditi., (2023). Unleashing the potential of solar irrigation in Bangladesh: key lessons from different implementation models. Published in Environmental Research Letters, Volume 19, Number 1
DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/ad0eaf
Khadka, M., Uprety, L., Shrestha, G., Shakya, S., Mukherji, A. & Mitra, A. (2023). Do water-food-energy policies in support of solar irrigation consider gender, equality, and inclusion? Evidence from Bangladesh and Nepal? Frontiers for an special issue: Innovations in Gender Research for Sustainable Food Systems
https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1143546
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We thank
Alok Sikka, Archisman Mitra,
Azeem Ali Shah, Darshini Ravindranath, Deepak Varshney, Novaira Junaid, and Shisher Shrestha
for contributing to this newsletter. |
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We thank Aariz Raza and Shibani Chattopadhyay, IWMI India, for providing overall technical support in bringing this newsletter out.
For further information, please get in touch with our Communications Team, SoLAR Project, IWMI at iwmi-solar@cgiar.org
Images courtesy: IWMI -SDC-SoLAR Project
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