Crops, drops and climate challenge: using energy efficiency to configure the perfect sustainability storm

Water availability, at the right time and in appropriate quantity is at the heart of agricultural practices worldwide; and the availability of water is largely dependent on the use of energy to pump it. Energy use also drives many other farm operations – tilling, sowing, harvesting and the manufacture of chemical fertilisers. We have, over the years, tended to overuse both water and energy in agricultural operations; practices that are now at odds with the challenges due to the emerging changes in hydrology and the increasing global concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs). It has been argued that water-use efficiency and energy efficiency in agriculture are self-regulating phenomena, largely driven by water and energy prices. This is only partially correct now. Climate change requires us to effectively decarbonise our economies by the third quarter of this century. This implies that agricultural operations will need to become fossil-fuel free in the next two decades. We believe that this requires three parallel interventions: (i) enhance water-use efficiency and energy-use efficiency in agricultural operations; (ii) convert agricultural operations to use electricity instead of fossil fuels; and (iii) decarbonise the electricity supply by converting to renewable sources, instead of fossil fuels, as energy sources for electricity generation. All the three interventions require policies, incentives, and regulations for their initial acceptance, commercial model development, and large-scale replication. However, the first two interventions require actions mainly by farmer-entrepreneurs, while the third intervention requires action both by the farmer-entrepreneurs (through generating their own solar electricity) as well as by electricity generation companies. What would these interventions look like? An example that covers all the three interventions is the promotion of energy-efficient solar pumps for irrigation accompanied by micro-irrigation facilities, with the excess electricity being bought by the electricity distribution company. The micro-irrigation facilities and the energy-efficient pump reduce the requirement for water pumping, and consequently the electricity needed to pump it, thus reducing the cost of the expensive solar panels. At the same time, the purchase, by others, of the excess electricity provides a revenue stream for farmer-entrepreneurs, which enables them to invest in the solar panels, energy-efficient pump and micro-irrigation facilities, as well as minimise fertiliser and water use. Another example is the promotion of energy-efficient electric tillers, harvesters and other farm equipment. These avoid greenhouse gas emissions, at the user level, and provide the potential to contribute to zero-GHG agriculture with the decarbonisation of the electricity grid. Energy-efficient solar pumps with micro-irrigation facilities are already less expensive, on a lifetime cost basis, as compared to flood irrigation by inefficient diesel or electric pumps. Similarly, electric machinery is cheaper than diesel-run machinery, though the capital cost is higher for electricitydriven machinery, such as electric tractors which require onboard storage of electricity in batteries. The major challenge that these interventions face is the creation of demand for the zero-GHG energy-efficient options (so that economies of scale can drive down prices); and the availability of capital (loans) for farmer-entrepreneurs to invest in these options. These are challenges that have been successfully overcome in the past – in enabling the Green Revolution, and more recently in building the market demand for energy-efficient refrigerators and air conditioners, buildings, etc. Drops for crops are essential; energy efficiency provides us with the entry point to enable a perfect storm for change – which addresses the wellbeing of the farmer-entrepreneurs and local water availability, as well as global climate concerns.