Solar pump irrigation system for green agriculture

Ever increasing fuel cost and doubtful availability of electricity hampers the irrigated crop production. Solar pump may be an alternative for irrigation for crop production especially in the off-grid areas. This paper presents the technical and economic suitability of solar pump irrigations of rice and no-rice crops in Bangladesh. Four submersible solar pumps (1050 Wp) were installed in different locations for irrigating rice, wheat and vegetables. The solar pump was used for drip irrigation and furrow irrigation for cultivation of brinjal and tomato during the winter seasons of 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. There were no significant differences of yields of brinjal between drip and furrow irrigations in the year 2010-11 in Gazipur and during 2011-12 in Jamalpur. But in 2012-13, significantly higher yield of brinjal was obtained from drip irrigated plots (43.86 t/ha) than furrow irrigated plots (38.60 t/ha). There were no significant differences of yields of tomato between drip and furrow irrigation methods in Jamalpur. Significantly higher yields of tomato were found in Gazipur from drip irrigated plots than those of furrow irrigated plots in both the year 2011-12 and 2012-13. Water savings by drip irrigation over furrow irrigation for brinjal and tomato were 53.25% and 56.16%, respectively. The yield of summer tomato had been found 33.73 t/ha in drip irrigated plot and 31.86 t/ha in furrow irrigated plot during the period of 2011-12. Waters required by drip and furrow irrigation methods were 225 mm and 429 mm, respectively. For cultivation of wheat about 430 mm water was required and the yield was 3.00 t/ha. Boro rice was cultivated in Magura and Barisal during 2011-12 and 2012-13. During the cropping season total water requirement for boro rice cultivation in Magura was 1024 mm and in Barisal it was 1481 mm. Cultivations of solar irrigated wheat (BCR 2.31), tomato (BCR 2.22) and brinjal (BCR 2.34) were economically profitable but cultivation of boro rice with solar pump was not economically profitable (BCR 0.31). Solar is an environmentally sound and green irrigation technology

Design and Implementation of Lab Scale Automated Solar Powered Irrigation and Fertigation System

In Brunei, natural oil and gas contributes to about 99% in the generation of electricity and about 88% to the country revenue. Since Brunei is heavily dependent on a non-renewable energy, potential exhaustion of oil and gas reserves pose a challenge to the country, especially with continuous increase of energy consumption in order to meet the population demand. Additionally, Brunei has ambition to improve its agriculture sector. Implementations of PV systems in local agricultural sectors can also help improving the country revenue by increasing yield and reducing costs from electricity consumption. In this paper, we present design and practical implementation of fully automated solar powered irrigation and fertigation system. Ultrasonic sensors and moisture sensors are used to detect the state of the tank and the soil. The whole system is controlled with a microcontroller and a wireless monitoring system with mobile application is designed. The operation of the system was tested and the performance was acceptable

Water-Energy-Food nexus interactions assessment: Renewable energy sources to support water access and quality in West Africa

The present Technical Report examines the potential synergies between energy, water and agricultural production in Africa. It aims to highlight strategies that address important challenges in an integrated manner. In this regard, the deployment of clean energy sources through the utilization of indigenous African renewable sources aims to provide the required energy to extract, process and convey water resources that will eventually support agricultural activities and food production.JRC.C.2-Energy Efficiency and Renewable

The environmental mitigation potential of photovoltaic-powered irrigation in the production of South African maize

Agriculture is under pressure to reduce its environmental impact. The use of renewable energy sources has potential to decrease these impacts. Maize is one of the most significant crops in South Africa and approximately 241,000 hectares are irrigated. This irrigation is most commonly powered by grid electricity generated using coal. However, South Africa has high solar irradiation, which could be used to generate photovoltaic electricity. The aim of this study was to determine the environmental mitigation potential of replacing grid-powered irrigation in South African maize production with photovoltaic irrigation systems using Life Cycle Assessment. The study included the value chain of maize production from cultivation to storage. Replacing grid electricity with photovoltaic-generated electricity leads to a 34% reduction in the global warming potential of maize produced under irrigation, and – applied at a national level – could potentially reduce South Africa’s greenhouse gas emissions by 536,000 t CO2-eq. per year. Non-renewable energy demand, freshwater eutrophication, acidification, and particulate matter emissions are also significantly lowered. Replacing grid electricity with renewable energy in irrigation has been shown to be an effective means of reducing the environmental impacts associated with South African maize production

Solar or Diesel: A Comparison of Costs for Groundwater‐Fed Irrigation in Sub‐Saharan Africa Under Two Energy Solutions

Sub-Saharan Africa has long been beset with food insecurity and energy poverty. Expanding irrigated agriculture can help boost food production in the region, but this requires energy for accessing water, especially in groundwater-fed irrigation. This paper compared economic performance of groundwater pumping for irrigation under two energy solutions: solar photovoltaic (PV) and diesel fuel. We estimated the life-cycle costs of the power units of two pumping systems for a range of crop and irrigation method scenarios and mapped their relative cost-effectiveness over cropland in sub-Saharan Africa. As a renewable and clean energy source, solar energy has attracted much attention and there is keen interest in investing in solar PV to support the development of irrigated agriculture. Results of this study provide insights into the prospects of promoting solar irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa

Smart water solutions : examples of innovative, low-cost technologies for wells, pumps, storage, irrigation and water treatment

Low-cost water technologies can help poor rural families double or even triple their annual income. Inspirational examples included in this booklet include how to use sunlight to purify water, effective low-cost water filters, low-cost drip irrigation and locally produced hand pumps that are five times cheaper than imported pumps

Sustainable energy for emerging nations development: a case study on Togo renewable energy.

This paper explores the need for an appropriate energy delivery, placing emphasis on the role of the indigenous people in developing their future needs. The case study is based on Togo renewable energy sustainability and employs qualitative and quantitative research to achieve the result. The study stems from the fact that Togo like most African countries has a lot of natural resources such as solar, wind and hydro-electric power required to implement a nationwide sustainable energy system. Yet only 27% of Togolese have access to electricity. The research incorporates critical elements such as the identification of local energy needs, the use of low-cost, effective, and locally made appropriate technologies, and the encouragement of capacity building. The study results show the strong will to develop renewable energy technologies however key barriers are due to inadequate framework regulations that governs the energy sector; lack of policies and strategies that encourages the use of feasible technologies and the lack of capacity development. The results findings will be discussed in details and conclusions drawn in this work presentation

Fisheries and aquaculture

Consumption of fish has increased rapidly over the past decades, particularly in Africa, and is likely to continue into the future (World Bank 2013). With a potential global shortfall in fish supply for direct human consumption of around 62 million metric tonnes by 2030, increasing attention is focused on the capacity of the global fish food system to meet demand (Hall and Schaffer 2015). Options for increasing the production of fish include wild capture fisheries and aquaculture production. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment report predicts that the geographic ranges of many global marine species will change, that marine biodiversity will reduce in sensitive regions, and that this will affect fisheries productivity. Small-scale fisheries in coastal and inland waterways may similarly decline in the face of a changing climate, and land-use change (Welcomme et al. 2010). In particular, it is believed that aquaculture, in view of its resilience and adaptability and diversity of species cultured, will emerge as an alternative source of livelihoods for many