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Water Resources as an Engine of Agricultural Growth in India

Water Resources as an Engine of Agricultural Growth in India. Bharat Sharma International Water Management Institute (IWMI) 9 th Knowledge Millennium Summit 2011: AIM@8%: Agricultural Innovations and Marketing Hotel ITC Maurya , November 8-9, 2011; New Delhi, India.

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Water Resources as an Engine of Agricultural Growth in India

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  1. Water Resources as an Engine of Agricultural Growth in India Bharat Sharma International Water Management Institute (IWMI) 9th Knowledge Millennium Summit 2011: AIM@8%: Agricultural Innovations and Marketing Hotel ITC Maurya, November 8-9, 2011; New Delhi, India

  2. The Fact of the Matter is: • Agriculture Sector generating less than 20 per cent of national GDP but still supporting 60 percent of its population, about half of which is rural poor, needs urgent and innovative strategies. • Poverty in India continues to be a rural phenomenon- smallholders and wage-earners in particular- and can be addressed mainly through accelerated growth (AIM @ 8% ) of Indian agriculture. • It is impossible to have Good Agriculture with Bad or No Access and • Control of the Water Resources at all levels: • Field- Farm-Command- Region- State- Nation-

  3. It makes sound corporate and business sense in improving , innovating and investing in agriculture and the water resources in India. BUT ?

  4. Indian Food Security: Imminent Challenges?? Indian Food Security is Precariously Hinged on Very High Productivity from Relatively Small and Water Stressed Regions. Vast Areas have Low Land and Water Productivity. Groundwater is Now the Dominant Means of Indian Irrigation- But is Presently Ungoverned, Under-financed, Challenged by Energy-Irrigation Nexus and under Severe Stress. Rainfed Agriculture has an Extremely Low, Variable and Vulnerable Productivity and Cries for an Immediate Small-Water-Based Turn-Around. Climate Change may have Serious Impact on Water Resources, Water Related Hazards and thus on both Rainfed and Irrigated Agriculture Productivity.

  5. Our planning is preoccupied with food grains; Indian farmer is diversifying in a hurry. Much diversification is Occurring outside command areas (IFPRI). Much diversification requires small dozes of year-round, on-demand Irrigation. Value added farming will expand with waste-water irrigation and groundwater. Presently, the three groups have very comparable values.

  6. Additional Water Demand: Industry and Domestic Sectors shall be major players (large business opportunities) India’s Water Futures Scenarios

  7. Rs 100 000 crores spent since 1991, but no additional benefits. There has been no addition to Canal Irrigated areas for 14 years Source: 1. CWC annual year books, various years. 2. Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural statistics, various years 3. Website of Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, http://agricoop.nic.in/Agristatistics.htm

  8. National River Linking Project of India • National Water Grid: • 30 links for 36 rivers • 3000 reservoirs • 12500 km of link canals • 178 km3 of water/year; • 35 m ha of irrigation • 35 GW of hydropower • Completion-2050 • Damage? US $ 120 b @ • 2002 prices

  9. India will need to invest Rs 5-10 trillion in water infrastructure by 2050. Urban Demand? Environment Does food grain Security justify NRLP? Power Diversified, Value-added Agriculture? Industrial growth All things Considered, Can NRLP be the best Response to GW depletion? Livelihoods? employment

  10. “Diggies” can mitigate unreliability at the farm level !!!! What is a Diggi? • A small intermediate water storage structure • Located in a corner of the land holdings in canal command areas in Indira Gandhi Nehar Pariyojana (IGNP) project • Average size: • Area = 902 m2 ( 0.09 ha) . • Size = 3,160 m3

  11. Rice Water Productivity in the Indus-Gangetic Basin Rice productivity (kg/m3) Where do we grow our most food ?

  12. Water Demand, Availability and Deficit in Punjab, India

  13. Livelihood-supporting GwSEs have high population pressure on land, large agricultural population, semi-arid monsoon climate. India is a typical case. 1970-80 India’s Groundwater Juggernaut is still Accelerating!! Post-1990 1980-90 Tube well density follows population density Pre- 1970 One in four farming households in India owns an irrigation well; and the rest use purchased pump irrigation. 10% of India’s GDP, 70% of its irrigated areas, 70-80% of its rural population, 60-70% of its farm output and incomes are linked to groundwater.

  14. 1.4 Objectives Water footprints (Consumptive water use) Rice: 1,380 m3/ton • Wheat: 554 m3/ton • Milk- 940 m3/ton • Contribution from external water footprints to milk production is 37%

  15. How to reduce groundwater footprints 1.4 Objectives • Reduce rice production and intensify milk production, because • Milk- wheat has the best returns in terms of water use • Milk only has the best returns in terms land use

  16. Rural Gujarat Rewired under JyotirgramYojana (JGY) Electricity Network Before Electricity Network After

  17. Jyotirgram Scheme’s impact on farm power subsidies Power supply to agriculture fell from 13 b units in 2000/1 to 9 b units in 2005/6 Groundwater draft fell by 20-30%

  18. So…what might work in governing India’s Colossal Gw Anarchy…? • Banning private wells is futile; crowd them out by improving public water supply • Regulating final users is impossible; facilitate mediating agencies to emerge, and regulate them. • Pricing agricultural groundwater use is infeasible; instead, use energy pricing and supply to manage agricultural groundwater draft. • No alternative to improved supply side management: better rain-water capture and recharge, imported surface water in lieu of groundwater pumping. • Grow the economy, take pressure off land, formalize the water sector.

  19. The “Eastern Syndrome”: Conundrum of Hydrology & Socio-Ecology Water Availability, Cost of Water Population Poverty Resource Use Holding Size Energy Productivity

  20. Over 90% of India’s electric pumps are In western and peninsular India; here, an invidious nexus between energy subsidies and gw over-draft Is the major challenge IWMI research Is contributing To some way out

  21. Irrigation economy – diesel driven~higher costs; reduced returns • 53% of villages electrified; 84% all-India • Diesel/kerosene drives irrigation • Almost 97% of the farmers use diesel pump for irrigation (WB 2007) • Vibrant water markets: • IWMI survey in 4 districts shows almost 70% buy water • Rentals go as high as Rs 70/hour • Farmers heavily economize on irrigation • Diesel subsidy has limited impact • Prices are low; public procurement only 10% for rice

  22. Irrigation cost relative to rice and wheat prices Most location-partners have noted that many marginal farmers and Share croppers are moving out of irrigation farming.. But there are many who can not and are coping with the energy squeeze..

  23. Ideas to relieve stress on small-holder irrigation in IGB • Diesel efficient pumps; promote Chinese/ small pumps • Pumps in the hands of the poor • Subsidized diesel-as for fisher-folk in Gujarat? • Kerosene ration for farmers? As in Kerala. • Give small farmers LPG ration? • Treadle pump? Return to gravity flow irrigation? • Political strategy: Increase power supply. • Increase the supply of electric connections and do a Jyotirgram • Target electric tubewell connections to the poor • Co-operative electric tubewells? • Promote professional sellers of pump irrigation service.

  24. PARADIGM SHIFT We have been trying to convert East to the Grain and Capital Intensive Model of Northwest: It is not working and is less likely to Work!! The more suitable model appears to convert EAST to Natural Resource, People, Diversification, High Value and Micro-holding based model of the SOUTHEAST: Time is now ripe to give it a chance!!!

  25. Yield gap in Rainfed dominated districts 1.4 Objectives

  26. Multiple Water-Use Systems for the Upper Catchments Improving crop and water productivity and livelihoods in the mid-Himalayas

  27. Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources and Need for Adaptations for Agriculture

  28. From pixels….to information….to simple action messages For each field: weekly predictions: Smart Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for Weather and Water Information and Advice to Smallholders

  29. From pixels….to information….to simple action messages

  30. “Humankind in the 21st century will need to bring about a Blue Revolution to complement the Asian Green Revolution of the 20th century… New science and technology must lead the way”. - Norman Borlaug, Nobel Peace Laureate Thank You for being a wonderful audience!! Bharat Sharma, IWMI-New Delhi b.sharma@cgiar.org

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