| Sumario: | Gender Equality and Social Inclusion in Focus presents evidence from the Solar Irrigation for Agricultural Resilience (SoLAR) project (2020–2025), implemented across India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan, to examine how inclusive approaches can advance equitable and climate-resilient agricultural development in South Asia. The report situates its analysis within persistent structural barriers faced by rural women and marginalized communities, including limited land ownership, constrained access to finance, and exclusion from water and energy governance.
The study documents how Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) was systematically embedded across project design, implementation, and monitoring, aligning solar irrigation technology deployment with social empowerment outcomes. Key interventions included targeted capacity-building, inclusive financing and subsidy mechanisms, partnerships with women’s collectives, Self-Help Groups, and cooperatives, and sustained policy engagement to integrate GESI into solar energy and irrigation planning.
Findings indicate that these approaches enhanced access to irrigation services, strengthened technical and financial capabilities, and increased participation of women and marginalized farmers in local water–energy markets. The report concludes that integrating GESI into renewable energy and irrigation initiatives is critical for ensuring just transitions and delivering inclusive, climate-resilient livelihoods.
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