Water Management in Agriculture: Issues and Strategies in India

International Journal of Economics and Management Studies

© 2020 by SSRG - IJEMS Journal

Volume 7 Issue 5

Year of Publication : 2020

Authors : Dr.Sangappa V. Mamanshetty

10.14445/23939125/IJEMS-V7I5P107

How to Cite?

Dr.Sangappa V. Mamanshetty, "Water Management in Agriculture: Issues and Strategies in India," SSRG International Journal of Economics and Management Studies, vol. 7,  no. 5, pp. 40-45, 2020. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23939125/IJEMS-V7I5P107

Abstract:

India has 16% of the world's population and only 4% of the world's water resources, which are depleting rapidly. The demand for water is expected to grow from 40 billion cubic meters (bcm) currently to around 220 bcm in 2025. Water is one of the most important inputs essential for crops. Both its shortage and excess affect the growth and development of the plants, yields, and quality of produce. There are numerous methods to reduce such losses and to improve soil moisture. These are mulching, cropping, planting of trees, utilization of fog or dew by net-surfacing traps or polythene sheets, contour farming, transfer of water from surplus areas to deficit areas by inter-linking water systems through canals, desalination technologies such as distillation, electro-dialysis, and reverse osmosis, use of efficient watering systems such as drip irrigation, and sprinklers will reduce the water consumption by plants. The most important step in the direction of finding solutions to issues of water and environmental conservation is to change people's attitudes and habits; this includes each one of us. Water, the critical resource of agriculture, has not been well managed in India, despite the country being an agricultural powerhouse. It has some 195 MH of land under cultivation, of which some 62 percent is rain-fed and 37 percent irrigated. Agriculture uses 85 percent of the water resources with low efficiency. The rain-fed area is the critical area of cultivation with the largest concentration of rural poverty spanning several agro-ecological regions. Water management is related to three important challenges in the agricultural front today, namely raising productivity per unit of land, reducing poverty, and responding to food security needs. In the light of the new call to achieve “more crop per drop”, this paper discusses pertinent issues related to irrigation in India and the strategies and arrangements to address water scarcity for irrigation. The study finds that problems are largely institutional, structural, and administrative. Overcoming them is crucial for agricultural development in general and water management in particular. 

Keywords:

Water Agriculture; India; Management; PaniPanchayats.

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