Description of the study area
The Punjab Government introduced a solar-operated lift irrigation project in the Kandi area of the Hoshiarpur district to promote micro-irrigation. The Kandi region, encompassing 10% of Punjab State's land, relies primarily on rainfall for irrigation. This area faces severe water scarcity for agricultural purposes and drinking water, leading to challenging socioeconomic conditions for farmers. The region's undulating topography and steep slopes result in soil erosion and the loss of productive soil. The most critical issue in this area is the erosion of fertile soils during the monsoon season, further exacerbating the challenges farmers face owing to the lack of reliable irrigation sources and soil degradation. Additionally, the area is characterized by rocky soil, poor agricultural practices, and limited livestock resources. Compounded by its mountainous and remote location, the region suffers from unreliable electricity supply. In response to these specific challenges, the Soil and Water Conservation Department devised the "Integrated Solar Powered Community Lift-Micro Irrigation Project" in Talwara. The Punjab Government granted this project permission to address the area's issues. The project objectives include irrigating agricultural lands, improving crop intensities, enhancing efficiency through judicious use of canal water and fertilizers, increasing yields and productivity with better-quality horticulture and non-horticulture produce, reducing water losses due to evaporation, preserving farmland, and improving the socioeconomic status of farmers. The project started in January 2015 and was completed and commissioned in August 2017. It is the largest standalone solar-operated community-based lift-cum-micro-irrigation project. The total gross area is 734 ha, while the cultural command area under the project is 664 ha, comprising 14 villages. The project was entirely automated. The permissible discharge of water from the canal for irrigation purposes is 15.7 cusecs through siphon systems to sumps, which are well equipped with sensors to monitor the water level both in the canal and sump. Furthermore, nine booster stations constructed at various elevations distribute water from sump wells to fields. Three thousand seven hundred ninety-eight solar photovoltaic panels generate 1.1 megawatts of electricity, and 46 pump sets of 18 to 23 hp capacities have been placed at base and booster stations (Figures 2 and 3).
Adoption and working of the system
For proper operation, the project has been subdivided into 378 minor sections, having 1.5 hectares of area each associated through distribution lines, where each line is outfitted with Remote Terminal Units (RTU) for transfer of signal to the base station to run and manage the water supply to that line, with pre-programmed time-based sensors, allowing every section to receive a devoted volume of water for irrigation. Control valves with a 2 mm/day duty are installed in the farmer's field and controlled by the central server room. Water User Associations have been formed among farmers to distribute water. The system is also capable of manual overriding if any technical problems occur. The system operates independently using solar power and does not rely on electricity from the grid. Its functionality depends on the intensity of the solar radiation. Considering the peak sunshine hours, approximately eight hours per day, an equitable irrigation distribution schedule was developed using Python programming. This schedule consisted of four two-hour slots, resulting in eight hours of daily irrigation. The schedule is followed six days a week, ensuring that farmers receive weekly irrigation. Micro-irrigation systems were implemented, with sprinklers requiring irrigation every sixth day and drip irrigation systems requiring irrigation every second day. Provisions have been made for backlog or missed irrigation if farmers cannot irrigate their fields for technical or other reasons. An irrigation schedule was created for the five schemes, further divided into zones or lines. Provisions have been made for backlog or missed irrigation in case farmers cannot irrigate their fields for technical or other reasons. An irrigation schedule has been created for the five schemes, further divided into zones or lines. The weekly program covered all farmers within a particular zone of any scheme. The Jupyter Notebook application runs the program, displaying the timing and irrigation slots for a specified day. Users can select a date to view the irrigation schedule for a particular day. The application provides necessary information for users to plan irrigation days and times for schemes and zones (Figure 4). As all five schemes are managed and interconnected via Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), this Python software has been integrated with the SCADA system. Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) monitor the flow and pressure valves and can communicate with Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) via radio, Ethernet, GSM, RS485, or GPRS. The field valve is connected to the PLCs, which control the valve opening based on a predefined operational schedule derived from the distribution schedule and total operational hours. This program allows users to create or modify the irrigation schedule according to the specific needs of their fields, thus providing flexibility in scheduling. The application was designed to be user-friendly, enabling anyone to access, review, and modify the schedule as required.
To ensure the equitable distribution, operation, and maintenance of the project among all farmers, it was crucial to establish an effective communication system that could provide training and support. Therefore, a communication network was implemented to engage stakeholders, enabling farmers to stay informed about the project's operation and distribution schedule and plan their activities accordingly. To facilitate this communication, an Android-based application was developed. Android is a comprehensive open-source platform specifically designed for mobile devices. It is backed by Google and owned by the Open Handset Alliance, which aims to drive innovation in mobile computing and provide consumers with an enhanced, cost-effective, and superior mobile experience (O’Reilly, 2022). Built on a Linux operating system, Android offers a complete software stack for mobile devices. It provides a rich set of system services through intuitive class files known as Android APIs. These APIs grant easy access to features such as location services, web connectivity, telephony, Wi-Fi, media handling, and camera functionality. Android development tools, frameworks, and software necessary for creating mobile applications are freely available (Mixon, 2022). An Android application is portable software designed explicitly for devices powered by Google's Android platform. It can be written in multiple programming languages (GitBook 2022). The communication application developed for the beneficiaries of the SCMIP project was written in Java and leveraged a vast array of native libraries written in C++.
Android application User Interface
The mobile device application's user interface has been designed to focus on usability and convenience, catering specifically to farmers utilizing the application. Various UI components have been incorporated to serve specific purposes in different activities. The home screen, or Home Page Activity, encompasses three fragments (tabs), an action bar (menu bar), and several menu items. The visual structure of the application is presented through different layout views, including a linear layout, relative layout, and list view. User interaction with an application is facilitated through various control and input methods. Control methods encompass buttons and a spinner, whereas input methods primarily consist of text fields. Additionally, users can navigate through different activities using menu items, such as irrigation maintenance and contact.
Account Creation and Login
Farmers associated with SPCMIP can quickly register an account on the application by providing details including their name, father/husband's name, mobile number, scheme number, and line number. After entering the required information, they can proceed by clicking on the "Register" button, which initiates obtaining a one-time password (OTP). The farmers were prompted to enter their registered mobile number to receive the OTP on the login page. By clicking the "Get OTP" button, a four-digit OTP is generated and sent to the farmer via a messaging service. The farmer then enters the received OTP to log into the application. To ensure user-friendliness for farmers, the application's user interface was developed in English and Punjabi. This approach allows farmers from different language backgrounds to easily read, comprehend, and utilize the application. Suppose a farmer encounters difficulties in creating an account through an application. In this case, an alternative provision is available, where a technical person or administrator can assist in the registration process through the server (Figure 5).
The main homepage of the Android application provides users with essential information related to their profile. Additionally, users can conveniently check the status of the canal water. This feature is especially beneficial for farmers located at a significant distance from the canal, as it offers a quick and accessible means of monitoring water availability. The canal water status displayed in the application was regularly updated and regulated by the administration. At the bottom of the main page, there are three tabs: maintenance, irrigation, and contact. Selecting the "Contact Us" tab opens a new section where users can access information about the committee responsible for their scheme. This feature assists users in obtaining scheme and line number details, facilitating the scheduling of meetings or managing other schemes or line-related tasks (Figure 6).
The irrigation tab within the application enables users to submit irrigation requests. These requests are transmitted to the administration via the server and subsequent messages are sent to the user to convey the acceptance or rejection of the request. In the event of an approved irrigation request, details such as the scheduled date, time, and assigned personnel responsible for assisting with the irrigation will be displayed. However, if an irrigation request is rejected, the reason for the rejection is communicated to the user through this page. In addition, users can access their historical irrigation requests for reference. Similarly, users can initiate maintenance requests through the designated feature. Furthermore, a "tap-to-speak" functionality is provided within the maintenance request, allowing farmers to communicate their specific maintenance needs verbally. All irrigation and maintenance requests from farmers are securely stored on the server and can be accessed at any time via the Internet. This approach provides transparency in the operational processes of the project while offering convenience to the farmers, who are more engaged with the project through this Android application (Figure 7).
The application's homepage provides a comprehensive overview of user details, including relevant personal information. It also offers various options such as assigning personnel responsible for irrigation, submitting irrigation and maintenance requests, accessing records, and engaging in messaging functionalities. Additionally, the homepage provides the capability to update the canal water status, enabling real-time communication of water availability (Figure 8).
User Details
In this section, users can update their details. This feature is particularly useful for adding users who cannot access the application through their mobile devices (Figure 9). Additionally, the administrator has the authority to add a water guard, which is crucial in assisting irrigation operations.
Irrigation and Maintenance Schedule
This section lists every irrigation request submitted by the farmers. The administrator can approve the irrigation request by providing the irrigation date and time, irrigation length, and any other information. A WaterGuard (a supporting staff) will be on hand to perform irrigation on his land. If the administrator denies the farmer's request, he must provide the administrator with a written explanation of his decision (Figure 10). Similarly, the maintenance tab lists every maintenance request submitted by the farmer. The Waterguard performing the requested maintenance must be in his area at the specified time and day for the administrator to approve the request. If the administrator denies the farmer's request, he must justify it.
Past Irrigation and Maintenance Records
Access to past irrigation and maintenance records is facilitated by entering specific parameters, such as the user's name, mobile number, scheme, or line number. Upon submission of these details, the application displays comprehensive records associated with the specified entry. This functionality is valuable for effectively scheduling irrigation activities, coordinating meetings, and monitoring farmers’ actions. Furthermore, the administrator can utilize these records to identify and evaluate sensitive regions that have undergone multiple maintenance procedures, allowing prompt and appropriate actions to be taken as required (Figure 11).
Short Message Service Communication
The administrator can simultaneously use the platform's messaging domain to communicate with all farmers associated with a particular scheme and line number. The administrator can deliver messages to the entire group efficiently and effectively by inputting the respective scheme and line number. This feature is instrumental in coordinating farmer meetings, fostering collaborative decision-making processes, and facilitating broader participation when individual perspectives are required.
Analysis Factors
A random sample of 300 farmers was selected, and a benchmark survey was conducted as part of the analysis (Figure 12). The yield (in metric tons per hectare) of the selected farmers was recorded for the years preceding the implementation of the project (Singh & Vatta, 2013) for the year 2015-16, as well as for the years 2018–19, 2019–20, and 2020–21. Gross income (in Indian rupees) was calculated based on the minimum support price corresponding to the yield obtained in each respective year (source: https://farmer.gov.in/mspstatements.aspx). Subsequently, net income was determined by deducting the cost of cultivation from gross income. To evaluate the significant differences in the gross and net incomes of the farmers between the pre-project and post-project years, the gross incomes of the post-project years were calculated using the minimum support price of the pre-project year (i.e., the base year). The socio-economic impact on the farmers was assessed by analyzing the difference between their socio-economic status before the project's commencement and their post-project phase, specifically in yield and income augmentation. Data for 2018-19 represents the post-project year, but before the implementation of the irrigation schedule. A communication application was developed and implemented for the interaction between the farmers and the management, and data from to 2019-20 and 2020-21 represent the post-project years after the implementation of ICT in the project.