Unnao, Uttar Pradesh

It has a relatively small proportion of its net sown area unirrigated, indicating poor irrigation demand. Overall, water availability for irrigation in the district (based on ground water development and long-term trends of water level decline) is within the safe limit, enhancing long-term sustainability of solar pumps. The average monthly per capita expenditure of rural agricultural households is relatively low for the district, suggesting poor purchasing capacity of the farmers here. It has a relatively low penetration of banks in rural and semi-rural areas, impeding access to institutional credit for farmers. There is a comparatively high level of farm mechanization in the district, implying a positive outlook towards progressive technologies amongst the farmers. The district has a relatively high proportion of small and marginal farmers.

Deployment Approaches

Approaches	Feasibility
Individually owned off-grid solar pumps	Limited Suitability
Solarisation of feeders	Limited Suitability
Solar based water as a service	Limited Suitability
Promote 1 HP and sub-HP pumps	Suitable

Individually owned off-grid solar pumps

Limited Suitability

The district has ground water available within the safe limit, a comparatively high concentration of diesel pump users, and a relatively high disbursement of institutional credit, but low crop revenue per holding. Greater support, either through subsidies or credit, would be required to enable farmers to adopt solar pumps.

Parameter	Value	Percentile
Number of cultivators reporting use of diesel pumps	105,486	87
Water Availability Index	1	100
Crop revenue per holding (INR)	49,060	33
Medium and long term institutional credit disbursed in a year (in INR Crore)	49.8	58

Solarisation of feeders

Limited Suitability

The district has a relatively high penetration of electric pumps, and its DISCOM has a rather high bulk power purchase rate, but the district has a comparatively low extent of feeder segregation. Solarisation of the feeders will only be possible once the district separates agricultural feeders from the rest.

Parameter	Value	Percentile
Power purchase rate for DISCOM (INR/kWh)	4.33	76
Extent of feeder segregation	0%	0
Proportion of cultivators reporting use of electric pumps	2%	29

Solar based water as a service

Limited Suitability

Groundwater availability in the district is within safe limit and the concentration of small and marginal farmers is comparatively high, but the proportion of unirrigated area is relatively low. A solar-based water service will have to compete with existing sources of irrigation.

Parameter	Value	Percentile
Water Availability Index	1	100
Proportion of small and marginal cultivators	95%	80
Unirrigated net sown area as a share of total net sown area	8%	11

Promote 1 HP and sub-HP pumps

Suitable

1 HP and sub-HP pumps could help marginal farmers meet their needs in this district. A relatively high proportion of horticulture crops under gross cropped area, a rather high concentration of marginal farmers, a comparatively high disbursement of institutional credit to marginal farmers, and the availability of groundwater within the safe limit would drive the success of such small-sized pumps in the district. Such small pumps could also be put to use for lift irrigation, provided there is access to surface water.

Parameter	Value	Percentile
Area under horticulture crops as a share of gross cropped area	8%	58
Water Availability Index	1	100
Proportion of marginal cultivators	83%	82
Medium and long term institutional credit disbursed in a year (in INR Crore)	49.8	58