Studies on Off-Grid Solar Photovoltaic-Powered Micro-Irrigation System in Aerobic Rice Cultivation for Sustainable Agriculture and Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emission

摘要

Aerobic rice cultivation is nowadays gaining importance due to the constraints in the availability of required amount of water for traditional rice growing system. An attempt has therefore been made to develop a portable solar photovoltaic-powered (off-grid) drip irrigation system for aerobic rice cultivation, which is a water-saving and less-water-consuming rice production system without any compromise with decline in yield. It is suitable mostly in the water-deficient, non-irrigated, and off-grid areas. There may be the saving of 40-45% of water for irrigation purpose compared to the conventional method, mitigation of 0.55 million tons of CO_2 with the replacement of existing diesel and electric pump sets and 0.2 million tons of CH4 from 4.0 million hectares of rice fields in the state of Odisha, India, through the system, developed by adopting aerobic rice cultivation. The pay- back period of the setup is estimated to be 4 years and total annual saving of Rs. 675 crores due to reduction in the use of electrical energy and petroleum fuels through the existing pump sets in Odisha. Monthly income of Rs. 4000/- throughout the year was achieved by adopting aerobic rice cultivation in 1 acre (0.4 ha) of land.