SOLARIZED AGRICULTURAL TUBE WELLS AS A CATALYST FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN DISTRICT KARAK, KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Reliable irrigation and affordable pumping energy are vital constraints to agricultural production in the semi-arid areas of Pakistan. This study evaluated perceived efficacy of solarized agricultural tube wells in two villages, Atti Khel and Painda-Khel of Takht-e-Nasrati Tehsil, District Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. A cross-sectional household survey was conducted among 57 respondents selected from the total of 80 households through proportional allocations after employing purposive selection of the study sites. Primary data were gathered through a semi-structured questionnaire and face-to-face conversations. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s chi-square test were performed to examine respondents’ characteristics, irrigation related perceptions, and association between usage of solar tube-well and perceived changes in level of agricultural production, respectively. About two-thirds (66.7%) of the respondents reported using solar tube wells in the area. Electric load shedding (40.4%) was the leading cause for switching over to solar pumping followed by high cost of diesel/electricity (29.8%). In general, 73.7% of the respondents reported an increase in crop production, 80.7% said irrigation cost was decreased significantly and 54.4% cultivated both wheat and maize. Solar tube-well use was strongly associated with reported improvement in productivity (χ² = 40.714, p < .001). These results suggest substantial economic and production benefits from solar irrigation technology in the study area. Since the study was cross-sectional, based on a small purposively selected sample size and partially depended on self-reported outcomes, recommendations for wider adoption of the technology should be carefully considered. Expansion of solar irrigation should be coupled with affordable finance, technical assistance, high-efficiency irrigation and groundwater monitoring.