Reaching saturation
Solar technology adoption in South West Afghanistan
For many years farmers in the deserts of South West Afghanistan have irrigated their land using water pumps fueled by diesel. But recently they have embraced solar on a massive scale.
Over the last four years the vast majority of these households have adopted solar technology and the creation of household water reservoirs to significantly reduce diesel input costs. From less than 200 in 2014 to over 50,000 reservoirs in 2018, it is this phenomenon that has supported the recent rise in illicit opium cultivation.
As a result, agricultural production in this area is both expanding and diversifying, driving increases in the areas of opium poppy cultivation, along with other crops, in these previously unproductive areas.
The image below shows varying numbers of solar panels and associated sizes of reservoirs, where the vast majority of the crop being cultivated is opium poppy.
The adoption rate of this technology is now on average over 80% for the households in these areas.
The map below shows a research area that Alcis has been monitoring for over ten years. The vast majority of households have now adopted this technology and constructed water reservoirs.
What is less clear are the associated consequences of the adoption of this green technology. In many cases this adoption is consolidating the presence of households on land that is viewed by many as still owned by the Government.
The greatest unknown impact however is on the subterranean aquifer upon which these communities depend and for how long it can sustain this level of extraction.
The Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) have recently released a report, written by David Mansfield with support from OSDR and Alcis, which deepens the understanding of this phenomenon.
More information can as well be found in this report by Alcis, David Mansfield and OSDR.
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