Sustainable Agriculture Water Management Project (SAWMP)

Introduction

The project aims to increase farm productivity, raise farmers' income and improve the lives of rural farmer families living in the dry zones of Sri Lanka. The project was launched in year 2005 and 10,000 Solar-powered drip irrigation units (SDIU) have been provided to small scale farmers through 2 phases. Beneficiaries were small-scale farmers of which 2862 are samurdhi beneficiary farmers.

Five thousand units of Solar-powered Drip Irrigations systems were distributed among the farmers of the following districts in Phase-I during the period from 2005 to 2007.

Another 5000 systems were provided to dry zone farmers of following districts in phase-II in 2008.

Objectives

Popularization of low cost solar powered drip irrigation technology for efficient and sustainable management of water, soil and plant nutrients in water deficit areas (Dry zone and Intermediate zone).

Major Activities of the project

BP Solar, Australia supplied the Drip irrigation systems through its its local agent, Solar Solutions (pvt) Ltd. Installation and maintenance were done by Solar Solutions (pvt) Ltd. Technical team of the company provided demonstration and training to farmers on operation and maintenance of the system.

Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with Solar Solutions (pvt) Ltd provides training to District Officers, Agriculture Instructors (AI) and farmers on operations and maintenance of drip irrigation systems and improved agriculture technology.

Benefits to Farmers

Farmers who effectively use and maintain the Solar-powered drip irrigations system will gain following benefits.

• Increase yield by 2-3 fold
• Water saving (nearly 50%)
• Reduce inputs and labour cost (fertilizer, fuel and weeding)
• Reduce price fluctuation of vegetables and other field crops by introducing off season cultivation
• Saves time used for application of water, fertilizer and weeding

If a farmer wishes to obtain a Solar-powered drip irrigation system he/she should meet the following basic requirements.

• be a dry zone farmer
• owns more than 0.5 acres of land
• has a well that could provide 6,000 - 7,000 liters of water per day
• favorable relationship and good credibility with banks
• be an innovative farmer

Bp Solar is responsible for the technical and management aspects of the project, handling the design, manufacture, supply & installation of the Solar-powered drip irrigation systems. All maintenance activities were done by Solar Solutions (Pvt) Ltd within first 03 years after installation. Warranty period of the Solar Panel is 25 years.

Payment Procedure

Farmers those who are willing to know about this project further please contact; Agriculture extension officers, Samurdhi bank manager, Samurdhi development officer, Agriculture instructors of your area or District Co-ordination officers of Agriculture, Divisional officers of the closer Agrarian Services Centre, Agriculture Research & Development Assistants in the area and Natural Resource Management unit (011- 2888929) in the Ministry of Agriculture