Kusum scheme registration and funding has stopped as only 4000 farmers all over Karnataka have availed it since 2014.
Due to high installation and maintenance cost, farmers in Karnataka prefer using diesel and grid power pumps over solar pumps. The Kusum scheme has stopped registration from lack of funds, as Karnataka sees few takers for it.
Shiv Shankar, Technical officer of Solar off grid from the Department of Renewable Energy, added that the scheme is in place since 2014 but until 2022 only 4000 pump sets have been sold due to affordability, as a lot of farmers cannot afford to pay their share and also due to lack of awareness among the farmers.
The technical officer also said that they have stopped registration for the PM KUSUM Scheme since two months as they have limited funds and will start installation for the existing number of registration they have already received from the farmers.
Raghunath Reddy, a watermelon and chili farmer from Gadag said that the installation cost of the battery, the most essential component of the solar pump, is high. Apart from that, it comes with a risk of getting stolen and even attacked by animals. “Anybody can take away or damage it easily; and once damaged, it will require a lot of capital to repair,” he added.
He also said that the solar pump will function only when there is sun, whereas the normal pumps that run on electricity can be used throughout the day and is feasible as electricity is free. “Not many farmers in my village use solar pumps,” he added.
However, Shiv Shankar, said that the cost of the solar pump is not very high as compared to the grid or diesel pumps. Also, under the PM Kusum Yojana scheme, the beneficiaries belonging to the general category can avail the pumps by paying 40 percent of the total cost and SC/St will have to bear 20 percent and the rest 60 percent will be covered by the central and the state government.
He said that the pump sets can function all throughout the day when there is sun. In case of grid pumps, it will stop working when there is no power connection, so the solar pump sets are more reliable. The price of the pump sets he said ranges from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh depending on the capacity, and is similar to what a diesel pump costs.
An article states that out of 30 million ground water pumps used in the country for agriculture, only 3.8 million are powered by solar energy.
Raghunath said that even if sometimes the farmers buy the solar pumps using the PM Kusum subsidy, they sell it at higher prices to others due to the maintenance cost.
Dr. Shivanna B an Agriculture Professor from the college of agriculture GKVK said that solar pumps can be of great help to farmers as an alternative to the electric pumps, especially in the rural areas when the power supply is not continuous. He said, “Solar power is really useful in tropical countries like India.”
However, he added that most farmers are not aware of using the benefits of the solar powered pumps, and also the scheme provided by the government. He also said that once these solar pumps are damaged, is very difficult to repair them, as in rural areas there are very less centers where the pump sets can be repaired, “This is one of the reasons the farmers avoid using solar pumps even if they are aware of it.”
Professor Shivanna further said that government should take initiative make the farmers aware about the scheme and increase the subsidy so that more farmers can afford it.
