Irrigation through solar energy has changed the lives of farmers of various villages of Matibhanga union under Nazirpur upazila in Pirojpur district.
They have been growing different rabi crops, including a local variety of lentil, wheat and sweet potato, for years.
Earlier, they used to rely on the mercy of nature to grow such crops and therefore were unable to earn much. They had no alternative as there was a scarcity of water in the fields during the dry season.
After getting some popular boro paddy from other parts of the upazila, farmers of Baniary village began to cultivate them on a small scale on plots where it was easy to get water, for example, from canals. But it would cost them a lot to irrigate their fields.
Now, solar energy is being used to cultivate boro paddy at lower costs. A solar panel has been installed in West Baniary village of Pirojpur district for the first time to draw water from a nearby canal with the help of solar power. The water is carried to the field through an underground pipe known.
“Using solar energy is like a dream to us,” said Md Modasser Ali Mollah, a farmer of West Baniary village under Nazirpur upazila.
He also said that they had never thought of cultivating boro paddy on their land as it was difficult for them to draw water to their fields from distant canals. But now, the irrigation system does not cost the farmers anything except a fixed yearly amount for the water pump, he added.
Another farmer, Rezaul Karim, said: “Initially, local farmers had no idea about solar-powered irrigation. Only some of them became interested in boro cultivation.”
But after the project began, farmers from the village became keen on growing boro paddy, he added.
Karim expressed hope that the number of boro cultivators would increase next year.
Under the solar-powered irrigation system, around 25 acres of land have come under boro cultivation, said Bijan Krishna Hawlader, sub-assistant agriculture officer of the Nazirpur agriculture extension office. Farmers could use the irrigation system round the year to grow any crop on their lands, he added.
Mehedi Hasan, project supervisor of Rahim Afroj Renewable Energy, said a motor installed with a solar panel could draw water from 8am to 5pm every day. But its operation would be slightly hampered if the weather was bad, he added.
The panel contained 50 solar plates, each with a capacity of generating 300 watts. It can work for at least 20 years without any maintenance and the motor has a life of at least 10 years.
Jagannath Biswas, assistant engineer of the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) in Pirojpur, said the BADC began two solar energy-run projects in Nazirpur and Mathbaria upazilas under the Barisal Division Minor Irrigation Development project. Both projects have begun started and water is being carried to the fields through buried pipes without damaging the land or wasting water, he added.