(AFP Photo)
Muhammad Abd al-Mansaf
The Ministry of Water and Mineral Resources’ Irrigation Development Centre recently sent a report to its minister, Mohammed Abdul Muttalib, which discussed the possibility of operating irrigation pumps with solar panels as opposed to traditional forms of electricity.
The report stated that the use of solar panels would improve the performance of irrigation pumps which currently rely on petroleum.
The market has recently been suffering from shortages of such resources, causing crises for farmers seeking to irrigate their land.
Abdul Muttalib has issued directives to begin implementing the new method along the Al-Halafi Canal, located in the region of Meet Yazid, in the governorate of Kafr Al-Sheikh, on 39 hectares of land. The project is expected to be completed within four months, to be paid for by the Ministry, at no cost to farmers.
Pumps operating on solar panels reportedly last upwards of 20 years, requiring only periodic basic repairs. The introduction of such panels would help remove some of the burden on the country’s electrical grid, which often suffers from blackouts.
Abdul Muttalib stated that the project was in its testing stages at the moment, and its progress would be followed and monitored to look for any possible negative effects before the idea is executed in the rest of the market.
