Irrigation: it gets even better with micro-irrigation

India's irrigation of area under foodgrains has crossed 54% and is moving higher with each passing year. Link

Area under irrigation has increased steadily from 18.1% in 1951, to 32.6% in 1987, and 54.3% in 2019. Total cropped area had risen considerably from 97.3m ha in 1951, to 127.2m ha in 1987. It has not changed much since.

Foodgrain production has increased by 50% from 2000-01, from 196.8m MT to 308.7m MT in 2020-21.

Yield rather than area increase is the reason for such an impressive growth in production. As irrigation is a major contributor for the change, expect productivity to keep growing year on year.

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Maharashtra has the worst irrigation coverage of all major producing states (@18.1%). Its foodgrain yields are also the worst. A similar trend is seen for Rajasthan & Karnataka at the lower end, and Punjab & Haryana at the upper end.

Whilst Maha governments have done very poorly on the irrigation front, large numbers of its farmers are taking up micro-irrigation to turn around their fortunes.¶ Micro-irrigation is promoted by Centre's scheme of more crop per drop (PMKSY).

¶ Maharashtra has 1.9263m ha covered under MI, which is 2nd highest after Rajasthan, or @14.3% of total on 31/3/2021. →

One study in Maharashtra finds that benefits under PMKSY micro-irrigation scheme are both large and manifold. Micro-irrigation conserves water and will benefit multiple number of farmers. As such, micro-irrigation should be taken up expeditiously across the country where it can help raise India's low productivity levels towards global standards.

A study was done in Maharashtra to gauge the impact of Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) component of PMSKY Link ➖ What would be the reduction in inputs like water, fertilizer, power, pesticides and labour? ➖ What happens to productivity, quality, farmers' incomes, employment generation, etc ➖ What are the advantages, disadvantages, co-factors, etc.

Maharashtra state has been a leading adopter of MI since 1980s. Till 2019/20, 25.3 lakh ha (or 42.5% of gross irrigated area) is under drip irrigation. PDMC scheme has contributed 6.42 lakh ha or 25.4% from 2015/6 to 2019/20. Drip irrigation is the preferred method, as new installations are overwhelmingly for drip irrigation (91-96%) rather than sprinkler system. The main source of irrigation water is well & tubewell (79%) and 12% is lift irrigation from rivers. [PDMC has brought large area of Maha (specific crops) under drip irrigation, in a very short period of 5 years.]

Cotton crop has highest share at 24%, sugarcane is 11.8% and the rest is mainly fruit crops like bananas, citrus, pomegranate and grapes. Increasingly, MI is being put in areas under horticultural crops like sundry vegetables, chilli, onions, etc. Even wheat, a rabi crop is part of the increase. [MI is not used in foodgrain production, only for high value items.]. Cotton is the dominant kharif crop. Preference for DI is at 91%. Sugarcane is a perennial crop with DI at 97%. Banana is also a perennial crop with DI at 93%.

➖ Labour mandays and labour costs in drip irrigation reduced by 37% and 40% respectively. Manpower is used to put in drip laterals at time of sowing and for removing drip laterals after harvest. ➖ Almost all farmers were using water-soluble fertilisers through fertigation, which reduces labour costs and improves yield. As cost of fertigation is higher, so overall fertilizer cost is ~ 8% higher under DI. Similarly, small increase (~11-12%) is seen for weedicides and seeds. ➖ Weed growth was negligible as surrounding areas are dry. Labour cost of weeding, weedicides and intercultural operations is minimal. ➖ For sugarcane, water consumption and irrigation costs were much lower. Water charges were down by 72%. Electicity cost for irrigation was down 20%. Irrigation hours were reduced by 57%, as hours per irrigation were just 42% of those of floor irrigation. ➖ For sugarcane, a 36% increase of yield per hectare was seen under DI. It was 1446 quintals under DI (or 144.6 tonnes per ha) vs 1067 quintals without DI. Price received was higher (higher sugar yield?). Profit per hectare increased by 200% (from Rs 81k to Rs 246k). ETC

MAJOR POINTS

■ Cotton: "Despite being a major crop for Maha, and ranking 1st by area in India, Maha suffers from very low yields. The main reason for low yields is that the cotton crop is mainly rainfed and failure of monsoons leads to crop failure. Our sample indicated that DI increases yields by almost 80%, which will give a big boost to the agri economy, allied manufacturing and rural services."

■ Sugar: "Maha is a water-stressed state. Yet, it is a major producer of a water-guzzling crop like sugarcane. Only 3 lakh ha (25.7%) of area under sugarcane is covered by DI. This indicates a huge potential for adopting DI, increasing yield and saving water. All means including extension services are required to make that switchover happen." [Edit: Konkan (coastal) region of Maha receives a lot of surface water run-off from the Deccan plateau. There is enough water but major irrigation projects in DP or Kn are not adequate to capture this water, and store it after monsoon. More inter-seasonal storage and MI in Kn will help to significantly expand the area under sugarcane and other high value crops. Deccan plateau eg. Marathwada, a draught-prone region, needs check dams, ponds, irrigation tanks, lift irrigation and basin water transfer to retain water at high altitudes. MI & irrigation tanks in DP will increase yields of cotton and/or prevent crop failure in low monsoon years.]

■ Horticulture: "Maha is known as a horticultural state. Significant increase in productivity and production of horticultural crops is possible by micro-irrigation. Farmers can reap benefits of existing marketing infrastructure."

■ Practical issues: "Subsidy of costs needs to continue. Maintenance is costly and wear-and-tear to plastic tubes is quite likely. Mice and stray aminals can physically damage drips. Specific measures are required. Grid electricity comes to farms mainly at night, and erratic grid electricity supply creates risk of malfunction or fires. So solar power is desired and this needs subsidy. Awareness and education of the benefits of MI is necessary for non-adopters."