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Experts emphasised scaling solar energy solutions to enhance agricultural productivity, reduce costs, and integrate food and energy security at India Energy Week 2025 at a session titled "Solar-Based Farm Mechanisation for Transforming Agriculture Across the Global South."
The panel featured insights from Ajay Mathur, Director General, International Solar Alliance; Swati Agarwal, Programme Officer, OAK Foundation; Uwe Gehlen, Head of German Development Cooperation in India and Minister, German Embassy, New Delhi; Subhodeep Basu, ICRIER; Harish Hande, Founder & CEO, SELCO Foundation; and Siraj Hussain, Advisor, Food Processing, FICCI. Ajay Mathur highlighted the growing demand for cereals and the need for innovative, cost-effective solutions. He outlined key solar-based technologies, including solar pumps, solar cold storage, agri-PV systems (a method of using land for both agriculture and solar power generation), and electric tractors. He stressed that while the technology exists, financing models must evolve, and called for asset-based financing and guarantee mechanisms to attract global investors. Harish Hande proposed a long-term asset-based financing model, advocating for reducing reliance on operational expenditure financing. He pointed to Meghalaya's capital loan model for women turmeric farmers as a replicable financial innovation. Representing FICCI, Siraj Hussain discussed India's progress in solar-powered farm mechanisation, citing the distribution of 400,000 solar pumps under the KUSUM scheme and government-approved subsidies for solar cold storage under MIDH. Swati Agarwal emphasised the need for policy frameworks that support the local workforce and balance capacity building with crop selection. She stressed aligning existing crop patterns with solar energy to build farmer confidence before introducing new crops, and integrating food and energy security. She also highlighted Agri-PV's potential and the need for greater awareness and training. Subhodeep Basu emphasised the need for better stakeholder consultation. He identified two key challenges: the lack of a farmer-centric approach, with current models being private or academic-driven, and limited research on the impact of solar energy on crop productivity. While institutions like KASRI in Jodhpur have made some progress, further studies are needed. He called for learning from global examples, citing Japan's soil norms and land use standards, along with best practices from China and the U.S. to develop India-specific Agri-PV policies. (ANI)
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