Two-day design training on solar water pumps

Organizers: Department of Energy, Royal Government of Bhutan, ICIMOD, Bhutan Ecological Society, IDRC

Agenda

Context

Bhutan’s irrigation sector is vital for its largely agrarian population, with over 56% employed in the agriculture sector. However, irrigation development faces several challenges, including rugged terrain, limited arable land, and vulnerability to climate change. Traditional irrigation systems suffer from poor maintenance, water losses, and limited reach, especially during dry seasons. Additionally, rural-urban migration is reducing the labour force needed to manage these systems. Yet, there are significant opportunities for modernisation. Bhutan’s abundant water resources offer potential for expanding and upgrading irrigation infrastructure. Integration of climate-resilient technologies, such as solar-powered pumps, can enhance water efficiency. Strengthening community-based water management initiatives can ensure sustainable, inclusive development in the sector.

Bhutan’s irrigation sector is severely hindered by a shortage of skilled professionals, where engineering capacity is lacking at all administrative levels, undermining feasibility studies, design, construction oversight, and maintenance. This deficit in trained resources (engineers, technicians and operators) limits modernisation, smart irrigation uptake, and long-term system resilience.

Objective

Bhutan Ecological Society and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) are organising a two-day training on designing a solar-powered lift irrigation system. The training is targeted at the engineer level.

The objective of the training is to impart knowledge on the fundamentals of solar lift irrigation systems, working principles and sizing of the major system components.