Raman Parmar, 48, a farmer of Thamna village Gujarat’s Anand district had become the country’s first solar power farmer. By connecting a solar powered irrigation pump to an electricity grid, Raman had received the first payment for his ‘solar crop’ in the form of a cheque of Rs 7,500 from the International Water Management Institute (IWMI).
Changes to farming systems require managing trade-offs—many of which have not yet been considered, according to IWMI/WLE senior researcher Soumya Balasubramanya in the new Economist report Fixing food 2018: best practices towards the sustainable development goals.
The 2017 CGIAR annual report features some success stories from WLE, including the establishment of a new Sri Lankan sanitation policy that turns septic waste into a resource, and the work of the Groundwater Solutions Initiative for Policy and Practice (GRIPP) in promoting sustainable groundwater use. The WLE publication, Global Sequestration Potential of Increased Organic Carbon in Cropland Soils, was also featured.
With over 6.5 million shallow tube wells in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, the Ganga basin is one of the most densely plumbed aquifer systems in the world. More than 80% of farmers depend on these wells. But affordable electricity or solar pumps could wean farmers from canal irrigation, leaving more water to flow in Ganga and its tributaries, without adversely affecting hydropower.
In Today.AgriLife.org, the International Water Management Institute's partner Texas A&M receives funding for Feed the Future Innovation Laboratory for Small Scale Irrigation project.
A special ‘Synthesis’ issue that collates research outputs from participating CGIAR centers was one of the key action points discussed at a workshop on Land and Water Solutions (LWS) – Flagship 2 of the CGIAR Research Program Water, Land and Ecosystems.
Against a backdrop of worsening vulnerability to climate-related risks in India’s agriculture, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) is launching a mobile app, called AgRISE, in support of a new national agricultural insurance scheme.
NDDB with assistance of the Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited (REIL) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) have helped these farmers to create their own micro grid which enables them to sell the surplus solar energy produced in their fields to the state-owned power distribution company – the Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited (MGVCL).
“As PM will inaugurate our project, we will start selling surplus energy to the grid and become first grid connected farmers’ SPICE,” said Labhubhai Patel, secretary of the mandali which has started using solar energy since December last year.
NDDB with assistance of the Rajasthan Electronics and Instruments Limited (REIL) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) have helped these farmers to create their own micro grid which enables them to sell the surplus solar energy produced in their fields to the state-owned power distribution company – the Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited (MGVCL).
The collapse of a dam in southeastern Laos triggered massive flooding that killed dozens and displaced thousands of people, bringing a renewed focus on hydroelectric dams in mainland Southeast Asia. In an email interview, Diana Suhardiman, a senior researcher at the International Water Management Institute, discusses the trade-offs associated with large-scale dam projects.
A hydropower dam failure in Southern Laos has destroyed villages and left many homeless or dead. WLE and IWMI researchers are offering assistance to the flood relief efforts.
Advancing the agenda of land restoration in Africa’s Sahel region, let alone globally, is no small feat. But it is essential to underpinning fragile livelihoods and achieving the SDG’s.
