GRA Energy Agriculture Division

GRA ENERGY (PVT) LIMITED

Mission Statement of CEO

To Improve productivity of irrigation water by efficient conveyance and its effective farm level use by adopting Resource Conservation Agricultural Technologies

To Enhance institutional capacity building of researchers, Agriculture Service Providers, Young Agriculture Graduates and famers in transferring Modern Water Conservation technologies

GRA ENERGY AGRICULTURE DIVISION

Agriculture is the single largest sector of Pakistan that not only employees 44 percent of country’s work force but 67.5 percent of population living in rural areas is directly or indirectly linked with agriculture for its livelihood. The survival of life on this sphere depends on the availability of quality natural resources such as land, water and air, which are degrading and relatively dwindling with the passage of time because of their over-exploitation and contamination opportunities because of human activities. Conservation of natural resources will not only assure the availability of these resources for future generations, but also will bring a change in our current thinking that the best practices on sustainable use of water and land resources are the only way for preserving our present and future civilization on this planet. Therefore, there is an urgent need to adopt Resource Conservation Technologies (RCTs) so that optimum crop yields can be obtained for ensuring country’s food security against increasing population and further improving soil and water quality. Resource development strategies at macro level are costly and time taking, and unavoidable, while their conservation measures at micro level are relatively inexpensive, feasible and workable. Micro resource conservation involves water saving in the irrigation systems reducing farm irrigation application losses and improved irrigation practices for its efficient use for producing more crop per drop. Pakistan's economy, food security and income are vigorously dependent on agricultural farming; yet these variables are more vulnerable by the impact of adverse climate change conditions i.e. natural disasters and accidental events. crop production is essential that can be achieved through adoption of RCT technologies for making efficient use of available natural resources.

COLLOBORATIONS

ON AFRM WATER MANAGEMENT PUNJAB

· UNIVERSITY OF PUNJAB, LAHORE

· TASHKENT INSTITUTE OF IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT

· MODERN FARIMNG(PVT)LIMITED

· FARM LAND TRADING (PVT) LIMITED

GRA ENERGY OBJECTIVES

· Promote water conservation technologies for crop production and develop linkages between Agriculture service providers and the farming community

· Strengthen private sector service delivery capacity and sustainability for supporting irrigated agriculture.

· To establish linkage with national and international organizations

· capacity building of stakeholders in integrated cop resource management of irrigation water for achieving higher crop yields with less production costs

• Disseminate modern agriculture interventions among farmers by arranging training programs, seminars, field days, and demonstrations.

• reduce rural poverty, improve farmers’ livelihood through integrated crop and resource management.

GRA Energy Activities/Programs

Resource Conservation Technology Package (RCT)

Resource Conservation Technology (RCTs) aims at saving the natural resources to prevent their degradation and loss as well as getting optimum benefits from the resources in such a way that their productivity is not vulnerable with time relatively it is improved for promoting sustainability of the entire eco-system. RCTs include several techniques to conserve land and water resources and proved successful in Pakistan include watercourse/water channels improvement, LASER land leveling, Bed planting bed planting, zero tillage for wheat, High efficiency pressurized irrigation systems, Parachute Rice Transplantation, Direct seeding of Rice, Crop residue management, etc. Effective linkages, however, should be established for accelerating the pace of transfer of these innovations to the user community.

The Pre-Cast Concrete Parabolic Segments (PCPS) for Watercourse Improvement

GRA Energy has been registered as SSC with Government of the Punjab, Agriculture Department, On Farm Water Management Punjab for provision of PCPS segments for construction of water courses/water channels being implemented with financial assistance of world bank projects “Punjab Irrigated-Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project (PIPIP) and National Program For Improvement Of Watercourses in Pakistan (NPIW-Phase-II). The standard lining performed under preceding and enduring OFWM projects has been a rectangular shaped channel constructed by using double brickwork walls and a brick masonry floor plastered inside and on top of the walls. Due to incessant rise in demand for bricks, little price control, non-availability during rainy seasons, day by day declining quality of bricks and theft of bricks during construction of water course there was dire need to adopt lining substitutes to overcome the multifarious problems being faced in the field. The Pre-Cast Concrete Parabolic Segments (PCPS) lining has, accordingly, been approved under the Punjab Irrigated-Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project (PIPIP) World Bank Assisted being more efficient, durable, quick in installation, and relatively more economical. GRA Energy has established Precast parabolic segments (PCPS)/manufacturing Yard/ unit in the District Okara, Nankana sahib and Gujranwala. The PCPS segments being manufactured under the supervision of Nespak engineer as per standard and specifications. The PCPS segments is alternative of brick lining. PCPS segments easy to installed in the water channels and take less time to complete the water course comparatively brick lining. Water delivery efficiency is 40% more as compared to brick lining.

Training Programs/Capacity building of Students and farmers

GRA Energy has established Training and Research Centre at Okara for organizing training programs for farmers and for students on internship basis. Geo has established linkage with pubic private partnership in collaboration with national and international organizations, NGO and with Universities for training of farmers, Agriculture Service Providers (ASP) , students and researcher on Resource Conservation Agriculture Technologies (RCT) Water course improvement, High Efficiency irrigation system, Laser land leveling, Moisture meter. GRA Energy has organized training programs for the jobless Agri graduates on laser land leveling trouble shooting, repairing and maintenance of the HEIS equipment.

Water channels Improvement

Tertiary irrigation conveyance network in Pakistan is called watercourses. These are community channels off-taking from government controlled irrigation system. The watercourses are operated and maintained by the shareholders receiving water through these channels.

Improvement of the watercourse consists of complete demolishing of community channel and its rebuilding/re-aligning according to the engineering design with clean compacted soil. Parts of reconstructed channel are lined and necessary water control structures are installed to improve conveyance of irrigation water.

LASER Land Leveling

laser land levelling (LLL) is a technology that has the primary benefit of reduction in the loss of irrigation water occurring due to highly undulating land with achieving the desired level of accuracy through laser equipped drag buckets. It also facilitates uniformity in the placement of seeds or seedlings and promotes better crop stands, which eventually contributes to higher crop yields. A uniform field improves irrigation efficiency through better control of water distribution and reduces the potential for nutrient loss through improved runoff control, leading to greater efficiency of fertilizer use and higher yields.

The major benefits of the technology

i) Reduces the time of irrigation and amount of water required by upto 50 percent.

ii) Results in uniform seed germination, even distribution of soil moisture, and better fertilizer uptake by the crops.

iii) Curtails the number and length of field borders and ditches and can, accordingly, increase the irrigated area by about 2 percent and reduce watercourse length upto 60 percent.

iv) Increases crop yields as much as 25 percent.

v) Saving in irrigation time from 25.1 to 32.1 percent.

vi) Increase in irrigated area by 34.5 to 42.0 percent.

vii) Improvement in crop yields from 10.7 to 12.9 percent.

viii) Reduction in farm culture able waste land by 2.10 percent

Zero Tillage Technology

Zero tillage system is based on the use of crop residues or mulch as a surface cover, and the improvement of the natural cycles in the soil. Zero tillage technology is a distinctive method of growing crops without tillage and seedbed preparations. The tool used for this purpose is known as Zero tillage seed drill, which is capable of seeding through the residue cover and provides a stable seed-soil contact. Zero tillage play significant role in sustainability and well being of land, water, and rural human resources, leading to enhanced crop production and reduced poverty.

Advantages

· Reduce tillage operation cost

· Saving of diesel energy cost

· Saving of irrigation water

· Reduce labour cost

· Reduce repair and maintenance of machinery

· Reduce hard pan of soil compaction

· Improve fertilizer use efficiency

· Decrease air pollution

· Enhances crop yield

High Efficiency Irrigation System(HEIS)

Drip Irrigation is the method of applying uniform and precise amount of water directly to the root zone of the plants as per requirement, through emitters at frequent internals over a long period of time via a low pressure pipe network comprising of main, sub-mains and laterals. In this system water is applied drop by drop or by micro-jet, on the soil surface or below (sub surface) at a rate lower than the infiltration rate of the soil.

Water is applied

Ø At a low rate to maintain optimum air-water balance within the root zone

Ø Over a long period of time drop by drop

Ø Daily at frequent intervals as per the requirement of plants

Ø Via a low pressure piping system

Ø To the plants and not to the entire field

Ø The soil moisture content is always maintained at ‘ Field Capacity’ of the soil

Ø The crops grow at a faster rate consistently and uniformly.

The Enviro Scan Soil Moisture Sensor Equipment

The Enviro SCAN is high tech technology that provides soil-water-content profiles for irrigation scheduling or other water movement systems. The measurement range is oven dry to saturation. The probes measure soil moisture at multiple depths and are easy to install. Tools offered by Campbell Scientific allow the probes to be installed with minimal soil disturbance. EnviroSCAN is recommended for higher accuracy research measurements, measurements deeper than 80 cm, or stony soils. It is customizable by adding sensors at user-specified depths.

Automated/Auto Pilot Tractor Steering System

Automatic steering makes agricultural work easy, and the driver hardly has to do anything to get the tractor to do the job with great precision. It is a programmed machine that does the job precisely as expected, avoiding human errors. Auto steering tractor GPS guidance system has been widely used in precision agriculture equipped with GNSS and RTK technology, it provides 2.5cm accuracy precise guidance for tractors. The high accuracy of tractor auto steer makes farming easier and more efficient. Automated, hands-free, steering system installs directly into the hydraulic system, delivers highest-accuracy steering in any field type. The automated steering system automatically steers tractor on line with maximum precision. When tractor gets offline, Autopilot signals it to adjust its position to follow the correct path, no matter the field pattern or terrain type.

These are among the best-known technologies in precision agriculture. These systems can increase efficiency and productivity .FJD tractor auto steer kit is a high accuracy guidance and auto steering system, equipped with GNSS+RTK. Move from point A to point B with very high straight accuracy, thus saving time and fuel. Allows farmers to plant crops in a more efficient way. Remote control of the tractor for agricultural operations, making agricultural production easier!

Solar Energy Irrigation

Nature has blessed Pakistan with abundance of renewable energy resources, which have not been coupled appropriately. Replacing or supplementing the conventional fuels for operating irrigation system with solar energy seems workable option as sunlight is available for more than 300 days a year in Pakistan/ Punjab with about 8 hours effective daylight period. Most parts of the Punjab receive adequate solar radiation intensities over 5 Kw/m2 /day. Its seasonal variations are also within acceptable limits.

The arid/semi-arid climate of the Punjab, therefore, provides ideal conditions for adoption of solar energy for operating irrigation water pumps. Although solar is one of the renewable energy sources for pumping water. Use of solar energy for pumping water offers many advantages as compared to traditional paraphernalia such as a diesel engine or electricity operated tubewells/pumps.

Advantages Solar water pumping system.

Ø No fuel/Gas requirement for operation

Ø Long panel life about 20-30 years

Ø Cost saving

Ø Reduction in CO2 emissions

Ø Reduction in irrigation cost as compared to conventional (diesel & electricity)

Ø Foreign exchange savings (reduction in diesel imports)

Ø Water productivity increase

Ø Environment friendly

Ø Less repairing and maintenance cost

Ø No attention of load shedding

Ø Sustainable Development Goal

Ø Clean Energy and Climate Change

GRA ENERGY (PVT) LIMITED