The white paper ‘From Rooftops to Farmtops: Augmenting India’s Distributed Solar Goals through net-metered solar pumps’ jointly prepared by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI)-TATA Water Policy Programme and Gujarat Energy Research and Management Institute (GERMI) states that if solar pumps are to replace traditional water pumps in farms across the country, India could surpass its solar target of 100 GW by 2022.
The analysis was released at a roundtable conference hosted by Greenpeace India, GERMI, and IWMI-Tata Program to discuss steps necessary for the successful implementation of KUSUM (Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahaabhiyan) – a Central government scheme promoting solar irrigation pumps.
Currently, while the 60 GW target assigned for large-scale solar power is on track, the 40 GW target for rooftop solar power is still to gather momentum, with only 2.4 GW of total rooftop capacity installed as of March 2018.
Population pressure and increasing water competition in a changing climate require us to take stock of the availability and use of water across scales. Water availability not only influences farmers’ commercial prospects but also irrigation-related enterprises and agri-businesses. Greater water scarcity could jeopardize irrigation and agricultural markets while excessive water use can lead to declining ecosystems, water quality and soil health. IWMI advises development partners and the public and private sectors on all aspects of water resource availability and use through a variety of advanced modeling and remote-sensing products and tools, including 
The ability of farmers to engage in or expand irrigation depends on the prevailing socioeconomic, ecological and political contexts, which are often complex, non-linear and changeable. Overcoming systemic barriers to farmer-led irrigation development while taking advantage of existing opportunities 
A lack of affordable credit, particularly for women and resource-poor farmers, is one of the main barriers to expanding farmer-led irrigation in low- and middle-income countries. But 
Scaling farmer-led irrigation requires strengthening human capacity and knowledge exchange among all actors and stakeholders involved. IWMI takes an action research approach, working with national and international research institutions, governments, extension agents and public and private organizations to co-develop the scaling ecosystem and strengthen capacity to drive scaling networks and collective action. We support theÂ