Harnessing Solar Energy for Sustainable Agriculture among Farmers in Haryana

Description

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20483533

Subhash Chander and Bas Kaur (Department of Sociology, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana)

The present study examined the historical growth, adoption and socio-economic impact of solar energy technologies among farmers in Haryana. Historically, Haryana agriculture largely depended on diesel and electricity-operated irrigation systems, leading to rising production costs and environmental degradation. With the introduction of renewable energy policies and subsidy schemes such as PM-KUSUM, solar technology emerged as a sustainable alternative in agriculture. The study was conducted on 240 farmers selected from Sirsa, Fatehabad and Hisar districts through multistage random sampling. The findings revealed that majority of the farmers possessed high knowledge (43.75%) and high adoption (35.00%) regarding solar energy systems. Solar energy significantly reduced dependence on conventional electricity (75.83%), lowered diesel and irrigation costs, improved farm income and enhanced household assets and quality of life. Education, landholding, income, mass media exposure and socio-economic status were significantly associated with adoption and knowledge levels. However, lack of trained technicians, procedural delays in subsidy schemes and inadequate service support were major constraints faced by farmers. The study concluded that solar energy has positively transformed the socio-economic conditions of farming families and promoted sustainable agricultural development in Haryana. The study suggests strengthening extension services, simplifying subsidy procedures, improving technical guidance and increasing awareness programmes to encourage wider adoption of solar technologies in rural areas.