igidr-ifpri- expanding irrigation for higher productivity, b.r. sharma iwmi
DESCRIPTION
Indira Gandhi Institute for Development Studies(IGIDR), and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on ‘Harnessing Opportunities to Improve Agri-Food Systems’ on July 24-25 , 2014 in New Delhi. The two day conference aims to discuss the agricultural priority of the government and develop a road map to realise these priorities for improved agri food systems.TRANSCRIPT
Ph
oto
: Kan
nan
Aru
nas
alam
/ IW
MI
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A water-secure world
IGIDR-IFPRI Conference
“Harnessing Opportunities to Improve Agri-Food Systems”
July 24-25, 2014; New Delhi, India
Expanding Irrigation for Higher Productivity
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Water for a food-secure world
India has the largest irrigated area and
is food secure- this is commendable!!
At the same time: - India is home to one-third of world’s extreme poor and
largest number of impoverished people. (UNMDG-2014)
- India loses 2-3% of GDP primarily because of poor nutrition. (World Bank)
- India ranks 63rd among 78 countries in Global Hunger Index (IFPRI)
Where have we faltered and what can be done, now?
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36
42
0
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1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Net
irrigate
d a
rea
(mill
ion h
a)
Expenditure
(bill
ion U
S$,
in 2
000 p
rices)
Trends of public expenditure in major and medium irrigation and net irrigated area under different sources in India
Expenditure Tanks Canals Groundwater
Investment
Canal command
Groundwater
After US $ 35 billion invested in canal irrigation since 1991, India has 3 m ha less under canal irrigation.
India is the world’s largest userof groundwater in agriculture in the world.
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50
100
150
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1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
cu
bic
km
/year
US W.Europe SpainMexico China IndiaPakistan Bangladesh Sri LankaVietnam Ghana South AfricaTunisia
India has over 20 million irrigation wells. Until 2000, it added 0.8 million/year.
Every fourth cultivator owns an irrigation well; non-owners depend on groundwater markets.
Increasing irrigation in canal and tank commands is with Pumped water
India
During the past decade, groundwater beneath the northern Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan has decreased by more than 88 million acre-feet. Now at risk of experiencing severe shortages of this vital resource are the 120 million inhabitants of those regions. Areas in red had slightly less mass due to a net loss of groundwater and therefore exhibited a weaker gravitational pull on the orbiting satellites. Areas in blue had greater mass and a stronger gravitational pull due to a net gain.
• Large areas are under water stress
• Groundwater CWU > natural recharge
• Substantial food production with unsustainable groundwater use
Food-water-energy nexus in India
The Evolution of India’s E-I nexus
1970’s 1980’s 1990’s 2000’s2010’s
# of electric tubewells
BCM of groundwater use in irrigation
Agri. Production
Electricity subsidy
Producing Surplus by Scavenging the Last Drop
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IMPACT OF DECLINE IN WATER TABLES ON DEMAND
FOR ELECTRICITY AND LOSS IN GVOUP IF THAT
ADDITIONAL ELECTRICITY WAS NOT SUPPLIED
Scenario description and
results
Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3
1 m fall in water
level
5 m fall in water
level
10 m fall in
water level
Increased demand for
electricity to irrigate same
amount of groundwater
irrigated land as in 2010 (in
MU) 339.2 1696.0 3392.0
Loss in GVOUP if that
additional amount of
electricity is not supplied to
agriculture (in Rs. Crores)* 168.3 841.3 1682.6
Water for a food-secure worldWater for a food-secure world
1.4 ObjectivesYield gap of food grains in rainfed dominated districts, India
Distribution of districts
according to percentage
gap between maximum
and prevailing yield of
food grains in rainfed
districts of India
Yield
gap, %
Number of
districts, and
(%)
>75 25 (16)
50-75 86 (57)
25-50 30 (20)
<25 10 (7)
Total 151
Source: Amarasinghe et al., IWMI
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The lack of inputs , in particular WATER and nutrients is considered to be the conspicuous explanation for the continuing large yield gaps.
For Indian agricultural production,
the single most effective supply side
constraint is that irrigation coverage
still extends to only about 44 per cent
of net sown area. Almost 80 million ha
or 56 % of net sown area are
dependent on rainfall.
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Water for a food-secure world
So, How can India Expand Irrigation and Where?
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Water for a food-secure world
National River Linking Project (NRLP)
• Transfer water from
northern and eastern
basins to water scarce
south and west
• Mitigate floods in the east
• Generate hydropower
• Navigation etc.
• Transfer about 178 Bm3
of water Largest inter-
basin water
transfer
planned to
date
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Some contentious issues on NRLP
1. Do donor basins have surplus water?
2. How large is India’s food/irrigation/water demand?
3. How cost effective is water transfers for canal irrigation?
4. Have alternative water management options received
adequate attention?
5. What conditions will make India to have NRLP like inter-
basin water transfer, sooner than later?
New approaches to rehabilitate and adapt
• For example, encourage
distributed storage to improve
system flexibility and reliability
e.g. Rajasthan: farm-storages;
Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh: village tanks
replenished by canal water
• Modernize irrigation systems
e.g. pressurized systems
• Transition from ‘development’
to ‘management.’
Improved Groundwater Management –two contrasting cases from Indian states
1. Gujarat - ‘free’ electricity encouraged groundwater overuse
2. West Bengal– barriers to access
Jyotigram in Gujarat – separate feeders
• Pragmatic solution - separation of electricity supply to villages and pumps
• Outcome - reduced electricity use, less groundwater use, improved power supply to domestic users
Tushaar Shah, IWMI
West Bengal – easing regulatory and pricing barriers
• Agricultural growth in West Bengal had slumped by more than half
• Research identified that a major obstacle to agricultural productivity was getting access to groundwater
• New policies recommended by IWMI were adopted to reduce ‘red-tape’ and improve groundwater access for smallholder farmers.
• The policy change could benefit more than 5.6 million smallholders
Ganges Aquifer Management for Environmental and
Social outcomes (GAMES)
Salient features of the Ganges
• Large surface runoff ( ~525 km3)
80-85% during the monsoon
• Low surface water storage potential (~115 km3) 55 Km3 (~10%) is built by now
• Recurrent floods and droughts
• Large agriculturally dependent livelihoods 655 million total population
~75% are in rural areas
• And increasing water demand50% of the demand from GW
Will increase by 50 km3 by 2025
• Low flows in the dry season and severe water quality issues
Solution
• Manage the vast Ganges aquifer with an extent of one Million km2
• Increase GW potential of about 170 km3
GAMES-3S (2 year project 2014-2015)
Objective
• Augment dry season water supply for irrigation and other uses
• Increasing river flows in the dry season
• Mitigate severe floods/impacts in the
downstream
Project Strategy
• Create sub-surface storage by pumping
additional groundwater before
monsoon from suitable locations
• Fill the sub-surface storage using
normal or artificially distributed
recharge mechanisms during the
monsoon
Pumping
Water table
Recharge Recharge
Recharge
Riv
er
leak
age
Unconfined
Confined
Un
con
fin
ed a
qu
ifer
Induced recharge
InfiltrationInfiltration
Well dischargeWell discharge
Static water levelStatic water level
Underground Taming of Floods for Irrigation (UTFI)Source: Pavelic 2012
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A water-secure world
Solarise Off-grid Pump Irrigation: This is now affordable with the
available subsidies and has made a good headway in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and to a lesser extent in Bihar
Each 3,000 wp system saves its owner Rs 45-65,000 worth of diesel, besides increasing land and water productivityand crop quality. It also helps to diversify.
Most owners were veryhappy with their PV pumps.
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Water for a food-secure world
Enhancing Irrigation in Rainfed agriculture
• Rainfed area
– 60% of the total area
– contribute to 40% of the total
production
• Supplementary irrigation can help 25
Million ha of rain fed lands
• They have 114 Bm3 of surface runoff
• Water harvest a fraction of it for
supplementary irrigation
• Reduce the effect of midseason and
terminal droughts in rainfed areas
• These alone can double the yield in
those areas
Spatial distribution of surplus runoff (ha-m)
across dominant rainfed districts and river
basins of India.
Crop Area, M Ha Surplus
runoff, BM3
Rice 6.3 41.2
Coarse
Cereals
7.5 20.6
Cotton 3.2 7.6
Oilseeds 6.3 24.2
Pulses 5.3 20.44
G Total 28.6 114.0
Net benefits from WH and supplemental irrigation
Crop Annul cost, B Rs. Net benefits, B Rs.
Rice 11.71 8.52
C. Cereals 13.88 3.66
Cotton 5.88 8.27
Oilseeds 10.52 24.44
Pulses 8.93 49.51
Grand total 50.91 94.40
The proposition makes a good economic sense to invest
in rainwater harvesting- to start with in the
dominant rainfed districts.
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Water for a food-secure world
Successful regional models include:
Sardar Patel Participatory Water Conservation Project: Drought-proofed 320,000 ha, enhanced recharge by 300 Mm3, augment farm income by 30 percent and played big part in agrarian resurgence.
Rewa Sagar Bhagirth Farmers Movement: More than 4,000 water tanks to conserve monsoon water, non-rainy season cultivated area increased from 23 to 95 percent, milk production increased by 34 per cent-real increase in both crop yields and incomes.
In most cities in sub-Saharan Africa, S. Asia and SE Asia, population growth has outpaced the development of sanitation infrastructure, making the management of urban waste, human excreta and wastewater ineffective. Investment in treatment will not catch up for decades.
Waste – converting challenge to opportunity
0
5
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Diluted
wastewater
or polluted
water
Untreated
wastewater
Groundwater Treated
wastewater
River Other
surface
water bodies
Rainfed Irrigation
canal
Open
drainage
Nu
mb
er
of
cit
ies
Source: IWMI, RR 127
Global survey of irrigation source in urban and peri-urban areas:In and around three of four cities in the developing world, farmers use
polluted irrigation water for the production of high-value crops
Waste to fertilizer – closing the nutrient loop
Co-composting
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In Summary….
• Shift India’s rice-wheat system eastward.
• Use MAR; and solar energy to reduce energy footprint of groundwater irrigation.
• Improve ‘management’ of public irrigation systems.
• Innovative agwater solutions for rainfed systems.
• Use RRR for cleaner cities and rivers and to close the nutrient loop.
• Enable “Small Farmers Smart Farmers”.
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Thanks for your kind attention