To gain insights on decarbonization of agriculture in the South Asian context, researchers from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the partner organizations discuss some key findings from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) funded SoLAR (Solar Irrigation for Agricultural Resilience) project across Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan.
Bangladesh
2nd SoLAR National Forum, Bangladesh
“Webinar on co-benefits, equity and financial viability for upscaling solar irrigation in Bangladesh”
As part of year 2 (2021-2022) of the SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation) funded SoLAR (Solar Irrigation for Agricultural Resilience) project in Bangladesh, the second SoLAR National Forum will be organised.
Date: Thursday, 10 February 2022
Time: 11:00-13:00 BST (120 minutes)
The two-hour session will have participation from a host of dignitaries representing various government institutions in the country. Irrigation in Bangladesh is primarily dependent on imported diesel which hinders economic and environmental outcomes at the National and farmers’ level. Solar irrigation provides an opportunity to replace diesel pumps in off-grid areas with a cleaner energy alternative. To date, more than 2000 solar irrigation pumps have been set up in Bangladesh with different government and private organisations involved in popularizing this technology across the country. Most of them have ambitious targets for scaling up SIPs in the coming decade. At this critical juncture, it becomes imperative to understand the benefits as well as co-benefits from solar irrigation in Bangladesh, the equity in terms of groundwater access, it provides through different models and the financial viability envisioned. How the different models for SIP promotion in the country are currently working and what should be the way forward? This webinar will welcome experts and diverse stakeholders who will shed light on the different aspects of the solar irrigation sector in Bangladesh and aim to foster co-learning and move forward towards the upscaling of solar irrigation in the country.
This forum will include rich presentations and panel discussion on various themes.
Theme 1: Not just mitigation – co-benefits from solar irrigation
Topic and speaker:
Climate adaptation co-benefits of solar irrigation in Bangladesh – Dr Syed Mahbubur Rahman, Associate Professor, BRAC University
Theme 2: Delivering solar irrigation services to the poor
Topics and speakers:
- Achieving equitable SIP access in Bangladesh: lessons from the field– Dr Marie-Charlotte Buisson, Senior Researcher, IWMI
- Findings from SIP experience in India, Nepal and Pakistan – Dr Aditi Mukherji, Principal Researcher, IWMI
Theme 3: Asset utilization of SIPs for financial viability – case studies from BD
Topics and speakers:
- Presentation from IDCOL on proposed grid integration of SIPs
- Case study from IDCOL sponsors on integrating complementary activities/services with SIPs
Theme 4: Solarizing irrigation sector in BD: Many paths to success
(Panel discussion on alternative models of promoting solar irrigation in Bangladesh)
Panelists:
- Tanuja Bhattacharjee, Energy Specialist, World Bank
- Nazirul Islam, Executive Engineer, BMDA
- Mohammad Ayub Hossain, Principal Scientific Officer, BARI
- A B M Zahid Hossain, Senior Scientific Officer, BRRI
Moderator: Mr Archisman Mitra, Country Lead- Bangladesh, SoLAR Project, IWMI
Please find the attached agenda here.
This is a regional event, and our researchers will promote this event on Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook.
Speakers and panelists profiles
Dr. Syed M Rahman has been working as an Associate Professor at BRAC Business School, BRAC University. He studied and served as a faculty member and researcher in various universities and institutions in the Far East, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Middle East, and Europe. With a multidisciplinary academic background, his research interest lies with adaptation to climate change, climate finance, energy and environment policy, health, and sustainable development. His scholarly works are available in journals like Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Energy Policy, and Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews.
Dr. Aditi Mukherji is a Principal Researcher and was the Regional Project Leader for the SDC supported SoLAR project. She works on climate change adaptation and water-energy-food nexus. She has published over 60 peer reviewed research papers. In 2012, she was awarded the Inaugural Norman Borlaug Field Award, endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation and given by the World Food Prize Foundation, USA. She is currently a coordinating lead author of water chapter in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment.
Mr. Monjur Uddin Ahmed is the Managing Director at KHM Power Limited. He has been involved in planning the organisational activities and developing the business strategy of KHM Limited as a solar irrigation sponsor under IDCOL model.
Dr. A. B. M. Zahid Hossain is currently working as Senior Scientific Officer in Irrigation and Water Management Division, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI). Dr Hossain obtained his PhD in Irrigation and Water Management in 2013 from Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh and has published numerous articles in various scientific journals at home and abroad. His major fields of research interest include solute-transport modelling, wastewater management, irrigation scheduling, groundwater modelling, water quality and renewable energy. He is the life fellow of Institute of Engineers’ Bangladesh (IEB), life member of Krishibid Institute Bangladesh (KIB), Bangladesh Society of Agricultural Engineering (BSAE).
Md. Nazirul Islam has been serving as a Superintending Engineer at Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) under Ministry of Agriculture since 2021. He obtained his Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering (major in Irrigation &Water Management) from Bangladesh Agricultural University in 1992. He has wide experience in terms of installation and operation of Deep Tube Wells. He also experienced in supervising and monitoring of construction works of submerged weir, irrigation management, drinking water supply distribution system as well as re-excavation of canal & ponds, tree plantation etc. He is a member of Krishibid Institution of Bangladesh (KIB), Bangladesh Society of Agriculture Engineers (BSAE) and a Fellow at Institute of Engineers of Bangladesh (IEB).
Dr. Marie-Charlotte Buisson leads the impact assessment component of the SoLAR project in Bangladesh. She is a Researcher at the International Water Management Institute, based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She conducts research in Development Economics and Agricultural Economics with a specialization in impact evaluation. Her work is anchored on more than ten years of extensive field research in Africa, South-East Asia, and Central Asia. She obtained her PhD from the CERDI in France in 2012.
Mr. Raquib Ul Mesbah has completed his B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology in 2015. Currently, he is working as Assistant Manager in the Technical Unit of Renewable Energy Department of IDCOL. He joined IDCOL in August 2019. Since then, he has been closely working with the technical appraisal of solar irrigation projects under Solar Irrigation Program (SIP) of IDCOL. He has been involved with the grid integration process of solar irrigation pumps since the very first grid integration pilot project financed by IDCOL in Mirpur upzilla of Kushtia District. Prior to joining IDCOL, he worked with Unilever Bangladesh Ltd and BanglaCAT.
Mr. Md. Faridul Haque has been working at Sun Home Energy Limited (SHEL) as a Program Director since April-2016 with full responsibilities of SHEL activities. He earned his Diploma in Civil Engineering on 1984 and went onto complete his Graduation of Social Science from NU and as well as MBA, major in HRM. Mr. Faridul has wide experience with community mobilization and development through various development work of NGO activities for the rural poor & ultra-poor community.
Dr. Md Ayub Hossain is the Chief Scientific Officer of Farm Machinery and Postharvest Process Engineering Division of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Gazipur. Dr Hossain was awarded PhD in Farm Power and Machinery from BAU in 1984 and he has published 82 scientific articles in various scientific journals at home and abroad. He joined BARI in 1990 as a Scientific Officer in the discipline of Agricultural Engineering and had continued working in different responsibilities and positions in BARI, including leadership in about a dozen of contact research projects. The major fields of his research are farm machinery and mechanization, conservation agriculture, solar irrigation, renewable energy especially solar drying. He is the life fellow of Institute of Engineers’ Bangladesh (IEB), life member of Krishibid Institute Bangladesh (KIB), Bangladesh Society of Agricultural Engineering (BSAE), Bangladesh Solar Energy Society (BSES) and Bangladesh Association of Advancement of Sciences (BAAS).
Tanuja Bhattacharjee has been working as an Energy specialist in World Bank’s EEX unit from 2017. Since then, she has been primarily engaged in projects as well as analytical and advisory works on Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency, Rural Electrification and Energy Service for Refugee communities. In her previous appointments, she was extensively engaged in capacity building initiatives for different stakeholders on eco industrial development and GHG mitigation strategies. She has worked in a couple of organizations including GIZ (German Development Corporation), leading renewable energy company in Bangladesh and as a faculty member in universities. She has worked in biomass combustion and energy conversion research at Dalhousie University in Canada. Tanuja completed her M. Engineering in Energy from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand; and B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology (BUET). She also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Disaster Management from Dhaka University.
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