Impact of Solar-Powered Irrigation on Farm Economics in Haryana: A Comparative Analysis

The adoption of irrigation systems that use renewable energy sources has become a topical policy measure in India due to the constantly growing energy prices, unstable water supply, loss of groundwater reserves, and the growing need to establish climatic-resistant agricultural systems. The national programme schemes like PM-KUSUM have led to Solar Irrigation Pumps (SIPs), which are expected to reduce fossil fuel dependency, reduce production expenses, and increase the stability of irrigation, but organized micro-level studies of their economic effects are relatively rare, especially in states with a larger agrarian economy, like Haryana. This paper questions how solar-powered irrigation affects farm economics by contrasting between the beneficiary and non-beneficiary farmers in Haryana with greater focus being given to the cost of production of crop, crop productivity, cropping intensity, and income of the farmers. Primarily based on cross-sectional data using primary data collected on 240 farm households of 120 SIP beneficiaries and 120 non-beneficiaries, the sample of the analysis includes the major agricultural regions of the state. An explicit questionnaire was also used to obtain sufficient data on the socio-economic attributes, method of crop production, irrigation and the use of inputs, production incurred, production, and farm proceeds. To summarize the sample characteristics, descriptive statistics were employed and independent t tests were used to compare differences in the major indicators of the economy of the two groups. The findings prove that the introduction of solar irrigation significantly reduces irrigation spending and the overall cost of cultivation since it eliminates the frequent diesel and electricity spending. There is increased crop productivity and increased cropping intensity that is observed as a result of assured and timely irrigation as well as analysis also reveals statistically significant improvement in net farm income as a result of cost savings and increased crop production. Regardless of these good results, high costs of investments at the start-up level, limited access to institutional credit and inadequate maintenance and technical support facilities still hinder wider reach especially amongst small and marginal farmers.

VIKAS KUMAR1 and VIJAY KUMAR*2 Click here to download file

Research Article | Published online : 31-Dec-2023