Portable solar pump becomes boon to Kurigram char farmers

KURIGRAM, Aug 28 (UNB): In an effort to reshape the destiny of Kurigram char farmers, the Rural Development Academy (RDA) introduced a portable solar pump for irrigation that has brought much-needed relief to them.
With the support of the government funded portable solar pump, around 1500 farmers of Bajradiyar-Khata village of Chilmari upazila now can irrigate their lands and produce crops at a significantly reduced cost.
The farmers in this region have long been grappling with the challenges posed by both floods and droughts, and had to rely on conventional shallow irrigation pumps for a long time.
The rise in diesel fuel prices for operating the conventional shallow machines, coupled with mechanical issues, has been a serious concern for a long time. The char area farmers are now rejoicing as the mobile solar pump offers them a cost-effective solution.
The advent of the solar pump has proven to be a dependable alternative, and ushering in positive changes.
Md. Harun Rashid, a farmer from Bajradiyar-Khata village, expressed his delight at the newfound ability to cultivate crops at a lower cost using the solar pump.
"The cost of using a shallow engine irrigation pump used to reach around Tk 8000-9000 for one bigha of paddy field. Now, we can achieve the same water management for our crops at a cost of Tk 4500. Our worries about water scarcity in the fields have been eliminated," he lamented. Another farmer, Md. Abu Bakkar, jubilantly talked about the transformative impact of the mobile solar pump on their farming practices. "The days of scrambling for water in the fields are over for our community. We no longer have to race against time to secure water for irrigation. By contracting the services of solar pumps, we ensure consistent water supply for our paddy fields," he said.