Green Energy Driven Irrigation System: A Game Changer in Irrigation Productivity of Assam

Agriculture and allied sectors of Assam (India) contribute 21% of the State’s GSDP with over 60% of the population engaging in agriculture. As per the Agriculture census 2015-20, approximately 27.42 lakh households depend on agriculture in Assam. Around 50% of the total geographical area of Assam is cropped. Assam’s unique geographical position in the Eastern Himalaya is blessed with its rich bio-diversity and its diverse climate makes the state precious and vulnerable. The state faces recurrent damages to its ecological assets due to adverse effects of climate change and environmental degradation. With the mounting effects of climate change, the availability, accessibility and distribution of water is increasingly stressed and therefore, the interventions in the form of developing robust irrigation system, preventing erosion and building embankments are crucial to managing water resources in the state. With an estimated 4.75 lakh hectares of land chronically flood prone and about 0.94 lakh hectares of land being drought prone, addressing of the key climate risks and building holistic climate smart measures in agriculture and allied sectors is crucial in the current climate change context of Assam. Addressing the climate goals, adopting green technologies in crop practices and implementing sustainable measures is the key to achieve a Green Assam. Recognizing this, emphasis has been given for creating climate resilient structures under the Green Budget initiatives. In Irrigation Sector also, the Green Budget tagging has led to the development of more environment friendly policies and projects, encouraging innovation in sustainable practices, primarily in tapping the Green Solar Energy for lifting the Ground and Surface Water. This paper highlights the prospects of Solar Energy driven irrigation projects in Irrigation Sector of Assam and also analyses few case studies on low cost innovative Irrigation practices applying the Solar Power.