Nandapur: A women-led farmers’ producer organisation (FPO) in Koraput is turning 13 acres of farmland into a dual-purpose agricultural and solar power project, with 1,735 solar panels expected to generate 1 megawatt of electricity while farming continues on the same land. The project, located in Kulabir village near the Jolaput reservoir in Nandapur block, has brought together 513 women farmers from eight panchayats — Golur, Khinvar, Bilaput, Kulabir, Padua, Kularsingh, Panthalung and Chatua under the Alekh Mahima FPO.
The women have pooled 13 acres of land belonging to five landowners in Kulabir village. They cultivate ginger, turmeric, potatoes, onions, little millet, finger millet, pointed gourd, spiny gourd, ivy gourd, grapes and apples during the kharif and rabi seasons. The produce is marketed to meet consumer and market demand, with the income benefiting FPO members. The solar panels installed on the same farmland are expected to generate 1 MW of electricity. Tata Power will purchase the electricity and pay the FPO at least `50 lakh annually. The project is scheduled to be inaugurated in the second half of September.
Officials said it would be the first community-based agricultural solar power project in Odisha under the PM-KUSUM Yojana. The initiative is expected to provide the women farmers with an additional source of income while allowing them to continue agricultural production. Santosh Sarangi, project officer of Heifer International and Passing Gift, described solar power as a “third crop” for the farmers.
“Like agricultural crops, solar power will provide an additional source of income and effectively become a ‘third crop’,” he said. The project aims to generate annual earnings of Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh for each woman, Sarangi said. Padma Pelmal, director of the Alekh Mahima FPO, said the women had come together to improve agricultural production, meet market demand and increase their earnings. “We are learning how to use technology in traditional agriculture to increase production, harvest crops at the right time, meet market and consumer demand, and earn more,” she said. A team of women from the FPO visited Uttar Pradesh to study similar projects and gain knowledge that could be applied to the Kulabir initiative, she said. S. Satya Narayan, CEO of the Alekh Mahima FPO, said the women were initially apprehensive about the project but gained confidence through technical training, guidance and supervision from Heifer International Trust, Passing Gift and the district and block agriculture and horticulture departments. Koraput Collector Manoj Satyawan Mahajan said the FPO would generate 1 MW of electricity while continuing agricultural production on the same farmland.
“The initiative is expected to create a distinct identity for the farmers in both food production and energy generation,” Mahajan said. He said the project could become a model for integrated agriculture and solar power in Odisha and congratulated the women farmers, landowners, FPO directors and organisations involved in the initiative. Heifer International Trust provided Rs 5.50 crore for innovative, community-oriented projects, while Passing Gift also supported the initiative.