Oonnati Solar Irrigation / Sustainable Agriculture

Oorja is addressing the irrigation and agrarian crises in rural India by providing an affordable low-carbon alternative to diesel pumps used on farms. It finances and installs pay-as-you-go community solar water pumps with embedded water flowmetering technology. Each pump provides 15-20 marginal farmers with water as a service called “Oonnati”, saving customers 20% on irrigation costs. Oorja hires pump operators locally to deliver this service, creating 1 job for every 3 pumps deployed. Oonnati enables the most deprived farmers to transition from diesel to solar without any upfront cost, potentially saving 4 billion litres diesel per year.