Solar Pumps Are Empowering Female Farmers in India 

Babli Devi, a 35-year-old member of Shiv Ganga Samuha Sichai Samity SHG from the Bandra block of Muzaffarpur district, installed a solar irrigation pump and with increased income from farming and irrigation services, was able to purchase a sewing machine.

“With this new machine, I am able to stitch petticoats and blouses and take orders locally,” Babli Devi explains, “which enhances my additional income and reduces my dependence on my husband’s income.”  

Sunaina Devi, 50, another member, describes the group’s journey since 2013. First, they saved money through the Aga Khan Rural Support Program-India (AKRSP-I) and in 2016, they used their savings of INR 130,000 (about $1,562) to bore a well and install a solar irrigation pump to address their water issues. 

“After visiting several sites in Bihar where farmers had already installed solar pumps, we decided to set up our own,” Sunaini Devi says. “Now we have a reliable source of irrigation for agricultural activities, and we can supply water to over 100 farmers (at INR 100 per hour), which is a valuable source of supplementary income for us.” 

According to Sunaina Devi, the pump operates seven hours daily from January to June – peak summer – and three hours a day from October to December. The pump does not operate during monsoon season, from July to September. The SHG has a rotation system through which each member helps manage pump operation and pipe distribution. 

Solar-based technology challenges traditional gender norms and offers clean energy solutions for irrigation, fosters agricultural productivity, and secures additional income for smallholding women farmers.

Such responsibilities have traditionally been carried out by men. “AKRSP-I primarily worked with male farmers in group irrigation programmes,” explains AKRSP-I project leader Mukesh Chandra. 

“However, as women members expressed interest and eagerness to participate in group irrigation, (we) saw the potential to address the pressing need for irrigation on the ground.” 

Prem Vikas Samuha Sichai Samity, another SHG in Chandauli, 25 kilometres from Harpur, follows a similar model. According to member Anita Devi, 34, the group faced challenges doing this work within a male-dominated society, including discriminatory comments. She explains, however, that their leader, Indu Didi, led by example in pressing on despite discrimination. 

“She confronted and challenged gender norms and stereotypes that had previously prevented women from participating in roles typically considered male,” says Devi. “Indu Didi personally laid irrigation pipes and operating pumps.” 

No longer dependent on their spouses for expenses, these women can use the money they earn for their children’s education and other household expenses. Beyond the financial advantages, playing a more active role in agriculture and taking control of their economic well-being has made them more confident, self-reliant, and empowered. 

Out of Bihar’s 5.6 million hectares of net cultivable area, 60% is currently under irrigation, mainly using diesel and electric pumps.

Now, solar-powered irrigation is replacing expensive, polluting diesel pumps, making irrigation more accessible and affordable for smallholding farmers while reducing environmental impact.  

Going forward, solar power will be key as the country works to meet ambitious goals set out in its revised Nationally Determined Contribution.  

The Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (JEEViKA) is a government organisation focused on empowering women’s SHGs in the state. Seeing the potential for solar-operated pumps to improve livelihoods, it plans to scale this model with over a hundred SHGs across Bihar.  

Still, there are challenges when it comes to financing and promoting these technologies. Sujata Kumari, 46, a community mobiliser working for JEEViKA, says her group at first struggled to set up a solar irrigation pump. She is an active member of the Neer Samuha Sichai Samity SHG located in Chandauli village, which started in early 2022.  

Another woman farmer, 40-year-old Mamata Devi from Ragho Majholi village, part of the Bochaha block in Muzaffarpur district, installed a solar irrigation pump in June 2023, but says it took time to get the funds together. “It took six months to arrange the money,” she notes. “I received a partial loan from JEEViKA’s microfinance and the rest from relatives and neighbours.”  

However, because they are unable to get bank loans, many of them depend on high-interest informal loans from neighbours and relatives. 

The lack of local maintenance support also presents challenges. The women must travel to the city of Patna, 100 kilometres away, to address technical issues and repairs. This leads to extra costs and long delays, affecting their ability to provide irrigation water to the farmers who depend on them. 

Looking to the future, Parimita Mohanty, a researcher working at the United Nations Environment Programme in the Asia Pacific region, stresses the importance of adopting an integrated approach to women’s energy entrepreneurship programmes in response to the climate crisis, including working with a wide range of stakeholders, from financial institutions to different levels of government and practitioners on the ground.  

“Embracing more technology can transform agriculture and the livelihoods of smallholder women farmers. We need innovations where women play a key role,” says Sunaina Devi, member of the Shiv Ganga Samuha Sichai Samity SHG.

AKRSP-I and IWMI Tata Water Policy Program piloted this project with support from the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Water Land and Ecosystems (WLE). The story was produced as part of the CGIAR Gender Impact Platform training program for science communicators.