Pakistan does not have a specific solar irrigation policy. In 2015, the federal government of Pakistan announced a scheme for subsidizing small farmers (> 12.5 acres of land) for buying solar irrigation pumps. The government has set a target of 30,000 SIPs installed on a budget of USD 93.2 million over 5 years. In 2016, the provincial government of Punjab launched a similar scheme in collaboration with Asian Development Bank that provided an 80% subsidy for installing solar irrigation pumps.
There are a number of ongoing development investments in solar technology for groundwater pumping in agriculture. The largest investment is the Punjab Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Improvement Program Project, which seeks to stimulate the use of drip irrigation technology through capital cost subsidies. The World Bank is heading another initiative in the Sindh to introduce drip irrigation systems coupled with solar technology. A number of pilots have also been undertaken by the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) and the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) – our partners in the SoLAR project.
Currently, groundwater utilization in Pakistan meets 60% (or 68 billion m3) of the total irrigation water requirements of the country. Across the country, there are ~1.3 million tube wells of which 83% are diesel-powered; most of these tube wells are installed at shallow depths, between 12-18 meters. The average farm size where diesel-powered tube wells are installed is less than 5 ha and these constitute approximately 5% of the total farms. Solar-powered irrigation systems provide a promising alternative to diesel-powered tube wells but adopting this technology at scale has several challenges.
Partners :
Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC)
Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) is the apex national organization working in close collaboration with other federal and provincial institutions in the country to provide science based solutions to agriculture of Pakistan through its statutory functions.
Its primary functions include:
- Undertake, aid, promote and coordinate agricultural research
- Arrange expeditious utilization of research results
- Establish research establishments to fill in the gaps in existing agricultural research
- Arrange the training of high-level scientific manpower
- Generate, acquire, and disseminate information
- Establish and maintain a reference and research library
Federal Water Management Cell (FWMC), Pakistan
The Federal Water Management Cell (FWMC) is hosted by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFS&R), which is also the host Ministry for IWMI in Pakistan.
MNFS&R is primarily responsible for policy formulation and economic coordination and planning for food grains and agriculture. It is also responsible for procuring fertilizer and food grains, stabilizing import prices for agricultural produce, and liaising internationally with other countries and institutions for framing agricultural policies. There are multiple organizations with MNFS&R that perform other functions in support of this overarching mission and they will be key implementing partners in the proposed project. FWMC was established in 1979 and it provides strategic support to MNRS&R for formulating policies at the federal level in consultation with the respective provinces.
