Can domestic schemes such as PM-KUSUM serve as exportable models for South–South cooperation? Critically analyse with reference to Agri-PV.

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is adapting India's PM-KUSUM, which brings solar power to farm pumps and farmland, into an Agri-PV model for partner countries [1]. Whether it can work as a South–South template depends less on copying the scheme than on carrying over what India has learned from it.

Strengths: why PM-KUSUM can be exported

• Farmer-centred design: solar pumping cuts irrigation costs. Agri-PV makes farmers both producers and users of energy [1].
• Two uses for one piece of land: agrivoltaics grows crops and generates power on the same land. It reduces heat stress on crops and adds income. The Estimates Committee asked for it to be studied further [2].
• Fits Africa's access gap: about 560 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa had no electricity in 2024 [3]. Distributed solar reaches off-grid farms faster than extending the grid.
• Institutional support: ISA's Africa Solar Facility (USD 200 million), its STAR Centres and its pooled solar demand for small island states (starting with Mauritius) provide channels for finance and skills [1].

Limitations: why caution is needed

• Weak record at home: only 641 MW of the 10,000 MW target for decentralised plants was installed by July 2025. For solarising grid-connected pumps, 60,828 pumps were sanctioned against a target of 1.5 lakh [2].
• Affordability: where states add no subsidy, farmers pay about 70% of the cost [2]. Poorer African farmers can afford even less.
• Design mismatch: solarising grid-connected pumps and selling surplus power to discoms both assume a grid exists, but the target villages are off-grid. The cost of converting farmland for solar plants also put Indian farmers off [2].
• Financing risk: developers face currency volatility and little finance in local currency [3]. A USD 200 million fund can only act as seed money.
• Supply chain: India is still building its own wafer capacity. The approved-manufacturer list (ALMM) applies to wafers only from June 2028 [4]. Exporting Agri-PV therefore may not mean exporting Indian hardware.

PM-KUSUM can serve as a model, but mainly as a set of lessons rather than a ready-made template. The way forward has three parts. First, keep the farmer's upfront cost close to zero. Second, channel ISA funds into pooled platforms such as the World Bank's DRE Africa Platform, which ISA helped develop [3]. Third, improve results at home before promoting the scheme abroad. Done this way, Agri-PV can advance SDG 7 and SDG 2 and live up to ISA's vision of "Power to Empower" [1].