Nadia, West Bengal

It has a relatively small proportion of its net sown area unirrigated, indicating poor irrigation demand. In the district, horticulture crops occupy a relatively high proportion of gross cropped area, raising the economic viability of solar pumps here. For average crop revenue per holding, the district appears among the top 25 percentile of districts, implying higher investment capacity of the farmers here. The district has a relatively high proportion of small and marginal farmers.

Deployment Approaches

Approaches	Feasibility
Individually owned off-grid solar pumps	Limited Suitability
Solar based water as a service	Not Suitable
Promote 1 HP and sub-HP pumps	Limited Suitability

Individually owned off-grid solar pumps

Limited Suitability

The district has a comparatively high concentration of diesel pump users, high crop revenue per holding, and a relatively high disbursement of institutional credit. However, groundwater availability is below the safe limit. Water conservation and efficient irrigation practices (such as drip irrigation) should be promoted to improve the viability of solar pumps.

Parameter	Value	Percentile
Number of cultivators reporting use of diesel pumps	317,416	97
Water Availability Index	0.69	55
Crop revenue per holding (INR)	337,862	93
Medium and long term institutional credit disbursed in a year (in INR Crore)	46.5	57

Solar based water as a service

Not Suitable

The concentration of small and marginal farmers is rather high in the district, but groundwater availability is below the safe limit. In addition, a relatively low proportion of unirrigated area makes it very difficult to promote solar-based irrigation through the water-as-a-service model here, unless it undercuts the price of water from existing sources, and improves water utilisation through promotion of micro-irrigation.

Parameter	Value	Percentile
Water Availability Index	0.69	55
Proportion of small and marginal cultivators	97%	89
Unirrigated net sown area as a share of total net sown area	7%	11

Promote 1 HP and sub-HP pumps

Limited Suitability

The district has a relatively high proportion of gross cropped area under horticulture crops, a high concentration of marginal farmers and a comparatively high disbursement of institutional credit to marginal farmers, but groundwater availability is below the safe limit. Water conservation and efficient irrigation practices (such as drip irrigation) should be promoted to improve the viability of small capacity pumps.

Parameter	Value	Percentile
Area under horticulture crops as a share of gross cropped area	19%	77
Water Availability Index	0.69	55
Proportion of marginal cultivators	80%	76
Medium and long term institutional credit disbursed in a year (in INR Crore)	46.5	57

Leveraging Solar Pumps to Promote Policy Objectives

If you are deploying solar pumps in this district then you can further these policy objectives.

Doubling Farmers’ Income – Capital Investment

Given the high concentration of small and marginal farmers, and their relatively better access to institutional credit, the district is suitable for doubling farmers’ income through capital investment. Solar pumps could be one of the farm technologies to invest in for farmers, especially 1 HP or sub-HP pumps for marginal farmers.

Parameter	Value	Percentile
Proportion of small and marginal cultivators	97%	89
Medium and long-term institutional credit disbursed in a year to small and marginal cultivators (in INR Crore)	46.5	57

Per Drop More Crop

In the district, crops suitable for drip and sprinkler irrigation occupy a relatively high proportion of gross cropped area, making it easy to adopt such high precision irrigation methods. Solar pumps, along with other efficient and precise water application devices, could be deployed under Per Drop More Crop to promote efficient irrigation.