How Micro Solar Pumps Are Changing the Lives of Women on Indian Farms
On a sunny winter afternoon, Bahuri Devi gingerly makes her way to her vegetable farm. The sound of dried leaves crushing under her feet fills the air while she tends to newly planted buds of garlic, brinjal, among other vegetables. Devi then switches on the micro solar pump to irrigate the crops.
“Ye bahut acha hai, isko lagana aur lejana asaan hai. Bijli ya tel ke baare mei sochna nehi padhta (This is very good, it is easy to use and carry. I don’t have to worry about electricity or diesel),” she tells us.
Devi, 36, is a smallholder tribal farmer from Gumla, Jharkhand, who owns 0.63-acre of farmland. Earlier, she practised farming only for self-sustenance but when a neurological illness rendered her husband immobile in August 2020, she began farming to supplement her family income.
Like Bahuri Devi, about 55 per cent of Indian farmers are marginal, cultivating less than 1 hectare of land. Currently, Devi is the sole breadwinner for the family and financially supports her husband, mother-in-law, son, and daughter. With solar-powered pumps increasing her productivity, Devi has now experienced an annual income increase of 20 per cent from increased yield. Further, she saves about INR 12,000 every year due to the reduced use of diesel.