Kathmandu : Three-day Global Science-Policy Forum on Socially Inclusive Irrigation Systems is being organised by International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and
its partners International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD),
International Solar Alliance (ISA), Alternative Energy Promotion Centre ( AEPC), as a part of Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) funded project titled Solar Irrigation for Agricultural Resilience in South Asia (SoLAR- SA).
The conference is taking place at Hotel Himalaya, Kathmandu.
This forum has brought around 150 key stakeholders from across the world to discuss the
growing body of work and evidence in South Asia on solar applications in agriculture,
particularly bringing together key experiences, insights and promotion of south-south
collaboration and scaling up of global ambitions around effective and sustainable use of solar
energy in agriculture.
The Global forum was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Minister Mr. Shakti Bahadur Basnet,
Ministry of Energy, Water Resource and Irrigation, Nepal. “Pressing challenge of climate
change calls for a need for climate mitigation awareness to end our dependence on fossil
fuels and move towards clean and renewable energy. There is a need for low carbon methods
like solar irrigation. Also, the 2023 National Policy aims for economic prosperity climate
adaptive irrigation including solar irrigation,” said the Hon’ble Minister.
“Co-creation of knowledge with local governments and local stakeholders to promote
inclusivity of solar irrigation projects. This will bridge the gap between science and policy.
Women and socio-economically disadvantaged farmers must be at the centre of planning,”
Mr Keshab Kumar Sharma, Secretary, Water and Energy Commission Secretariat, Nepal.
Dr. Manohara Khadka, Country Representative, IWMI Nepal, highlighted the benefits of Solar
Irrigation for women farmers, “Solar irrigation can support women farmer’s climate
resilience capacity and must be inclusive and sustainable.”
“Out of 449 billion cubic metre groundwater resource, 242 billion cubic metre is extracted
annually which is 59% of the resource in India” stated Dr. Sunil Kumar Ambast, Chairman,
Central Ground Water Board, Government of India. “Hence, progressive interventions need
to ensure livelihood stability and sustainability.”
Her Excellency Dr. Danielle Meuwly, Ambassador of Switzerland to Nepal, Embassy of
Switzerland, highlighed “Innovative technology is the solution to the challenges we face.
Research to policy should be the aim of the global forum, hence this south-south knowledge
exchange will raise important policy questions.”
“Solarization in addition to Hydropower development in Pakistan is of utmost importance to
have the capacity to compete with the rest of the world’s economy “, stated Engr. Asghar Ali
Halepoto, Chief, Water Resource Section, Ministry of Planning, Development & Special
Initiatives, Government of Pakistan. Ms. Munira Sultana, Chairman, SREDA, Govt. Of Bangladesh, highlighted the importance of Solar Irrigation for South Asia, says “Grid
connected Solar Irrigation Pumps ( SIPs) will create electricity surplus relieving the
Government’s pressure to provide electricity. Solar irrigation is very important for the South
Asia.”
Dr. Darshini Ravindranath, Project Lead-SoLAR, IWMI, stated“Needs and preferences of small
marginalised and women farmers need to be considered for better project outcomes. This
forum will highlight findings of our work and share south-south collaborative ideas to
develop a roadmap for SIP policy and implementation.”
Dr. Pema Gyamtsho, Director General, ICIMOD highlighted the importance of strategic
interventions and investment inflow to pilot successful initiatives and enhance agricultural
productivity. He says, “ICIMOD emphasizes the urgent need for modernizing agriculture and
implementing solar water systems to ensure food security in the face of climate change
challenges.”
The Global forum explored various plenary and parallel sessions with presentations and
diverse panels under four key thematic areas such as groundwater sustainability, adaptation
and mitigation, business models of SIPs and scaling up of solar irrigation, the role of
communities: capacity building and gender, equity and social inclusion and designing
effective and inclusive policies for solar energy transitions.
It presented unique insights on the effectiveness of solar irrigation as a strategy to
sustainably manage water, energy, food, and climate (mitigation and adaptation)
interlinkages. It highlighted how governments are using evidence from the field to develop
and deploy ambitious policies and programs on solar irrigation to address nationally
determined contributions (NDC) commitments while supporting climate-resilient, gender-
equitable, and socially inclusive agrarian livelihoods.