A capacity building workshop was held in Jashore, Bangladesh for the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) personnel on scaling solar irrigation. DAE’s own agriculture engineers and its project director (Solar) led the technical sessions. They covered solar panel and pump types, system selection and installation, operation and maintenance, irrigation system design, water-saving technologies such as alternate wetting and drying (AWD), and inclusive solar irrigation. Participants worked in six groups to identify local obstacles to scaling up, such as access to finance, technician availability and farmer awareness. They also visited two operating solar irrigation sites, at Churamonkati in Jashore Sadar and at Tularampur in Narail Sadar, and talked with farmers, landowners and pump operators. Evaluations before and after the training measured what participants learned.
The report finds that classroom sessions combined with field learning, group problem analysis and DAE’s own trainers improved practical understanding and gave DAE ownership of the training. The group findings will be compiled into an issue brief for DAE to inform future plans for putting solar irrigation in place.
