Introduction

Yeoda, is a village in Dariyapur block of Amravati district, Maharashtra. it is one of the largest villages of the Amravati district with a population of around 12000 (acc  to 2009 census). Agriculture is the main occupation of this village.  Education, water for irrigation and household purposes, roads and electricity are the main concerns . The village still lacks proper medical and health services. It is one of those Indian villages waiting for  technological developments to take place in order to progress. If government institutions provide support to the villagers, it will will see the real development. 

Problems

One of the biggest problem farmers face here is lack of water and grid electricity. It’s a known fact that Maharashtra observe very frequent droughts and Amrawati is one of the worst drought affected districts. Along with droughts, low level of ground water make the matter even worse. Most of the farmers are dependent on diesel for irrigation and only cultivate one crop a year. It’s not economically viable for the farmers to produce more than one crop and irrigate it with diesel pumps.  Extensive use of diesel not only pollute the environment, it eats a major share of their profits. This is the reason why in-spite of owning large share of lands to cultivate, the economic condition of the farmers doesn’t paint a very happy picture. 

Solution

Switching over to solar pumps reduces the magnitude of the problem of irrigation pumps to a large extent. Claro energy installed solar pump in the village some time back and a significant transformation was noticed in the lives of the farmers. The solar pumps reduced the maintenance cost for the farmers and also contributed in the production of healthier crops and also they are now able to produce multiple crops because of the uninterrupted availability of water.

Challenges Faced

Many hurdles were faced during the installation process. Driving was not possible in this area as the black soil used to stick with the tyres of the vehicles. Lack of quality infrastructure made it difficult to commute to the fields. Material was taken from one place to another on bullock carts and on the carts attached to the backs of Donkeys and Ponies. 

Mr. Purushottam Gawande, a farmer of Yeoda village said that earlier he was living under the fear of crop failure due to lack of water for irrigation. He was able to cultivate only dry crops. Dependency on expensive diesel took away a major share of the profits. Droughts, irregular rainfall added more wooes.  He like many other farmers were stuck in the circle where investments were high and returns were lower. 

He finally switched to solar pump for irrigation and soon he was witnessing the benefits of switching to a sustainable source.  Solar pumps empowered him with access to water for round the year irrigation. With enough availability of water he started cultivating multiple crops and within a span of 2 seasons he witnessed 30-40% rise in his produce.

Mr. Gawande  is really thrilled and happy with the outcomes and on a road to create awareness in whole of the village as well as in adjoining areas about solar pumping and the latest economical and environment friendly technologies.