Why Pakistans farming powered by solar energy is fuelling water crisis
Pakistani farmers are rapidly adopting solar tube wells for irrigation, reducing reliance on costly diesel and unreliable grid power. This solar farming boom, however, is causing alarming groundwater depletion in Punjab, with critical drops reported across the province. While offering farmer independence, the unforeseen environmental impact poses significant long-term challenges for water security and sustainable agriculture.
New Delhi: More and more farmers in Pakistan's Punjab are embracing solar power to irrigate their fields. They are increasingly replacing diesel and grid electricity with solar-powered tube wells, Reuters reported. This is helping many farmers in the region water their crops regularly and have it much more convenient. It frees them from relying on the unreliable electricity grid and expensive diesel to run the pumps.
Groundwater levels plummet to 60 feet
However, this solar surge and self-dependence has posed another big challenge: fast depletion of water tables in Pakistan's most populous province as per previously unreported Punjab water authority documents, the report said. Even though the documents did not specify a cause, it has been observed that the water table has reportedly gone down below 60 feet across 6.6% of Punjab as of 2024. That shows an increase of about 25% between 2020 and 2024. Water levels beyond 80 feet down have doubled in size during the same period.
Karamat Ali, a 61-year-old farmer, told Reuters that he sold off dozen of his cows and buffalos earlier this year and bought solar panels. He now uses these panels to power a tube well, which consists of a water well and a motorised groundwater pump. He is able to save, doesn't have to depend on erratic electricity supply and can keep his water supply running, thanks to the cheap Chinese-made solar panels.
He is not alone. Farmers like Ali are opting for sun-powered tube wells as they move over diesel and grid power. They are able to grow more water-intensive rice crops than in previous years. US Department of Agriculture data show the size of rice fields in Pakistan have seen a sharp spike of 30% between 2023 and 2025, the Reuters report added. Meanwhile, the area of land used for cultivating the less water-intensive maize plunged by 10%.
Around 650,000 solar-powered tube wells
Data indicates that around 400,000 tube wells that once depended on grid electricity are now solar-powered. Farmers using solar panels may have bought an extra 250,000 tube wells since 2023, an energy economist reportedly estimated. This means that the solar energy now powers around 650,000 such tube wells across the country.
Solar revolution is changing the agricultural landscape in Pakistan, but does the harm far outweigh benefits? Isn’t the threat to groundwater far too great to be left unacknowledged?
Pakistan power minister Awais Leghari reportedly said in June that it was a "misconception that solar tube wells are depleting groundwater". He pointed out: "The land under cultivation hasn’t increased. They’re just replacing expensive diesel with solar."
Punjab irrigation minister Muhammad Kazim Pirzada agreed that solar power is "good for the environment because it's clean energy. But at the same time, it is also impacting our water table."
As his department carries out studies to understand the relationship between tube wells and groundwater depletion, most farmers are upbeat about the freedom and ease that the solar-powered farming provides. They are apparently unaware of its ultimate impact on the food security of the country.