MICRO
IRRIGATION IN INDIA – GEOGRAPHY
News:
Drip irrigation needs
further push
What's
in the news?
●
A staggering 94.8% of India's minor
irrigation (MI) schemes, out of a total of 23.14 million, rely on groundwater
(GW), while the remaining 5.2% are surface water (SW) schemes, according to the
latest census data released by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water
Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation.
Micro
Irrigation:
Significance
of Micro Irrigation:
1.
Water saving:
●
Micro-irrigation (MI) is proved to be an
efficient method in saving water and increasing water use efficiency as
compared to the conventional surface method of irrigation, where water use
efficiency is only about 35-40%.
2.
Increased irrigation efficiency:
●
The on-farm irrigation efficiency of
properly designed and managed drip irrigation systems is estimated to be about
90%.
●
Farmers using a pumping system to irrigate
their fields should ensure that the pump and pipe size are fitting with their needs,
thus avoiding water and energy overuse and consequent leakages.
3.
Higher yields:
●
The yields are higher than traditional
flood irrigation.
●
Productivity gains due to use of
micro-irrigation is estimated to be in the range of 20 to 90% for different
crops. Yields of crops increase up to 45% in wheat, 20% in grams and 40% in
soybean.
4.
Less water loss:
●
There is also less loss of water due to
reduction in loss of water in conveyance and also reduction in loss of water
through evaporation, run off, and by deep percolation.
5.
Energy efficient:
●
The reduction in water consumption in
micro-irrigation also reduces the energy use (electricity) that is required to
lift water from irrigation wells.
6.
Lower consumption of fertilizers:
●
An efficient drip irrigation system
reduces consumption of fertilizer through fertigation.
7.
Weed and disease reduction:
●
It helps in inhibiting growth of weeds as
it keeps limited wet areas. Under this condition the incidence of disease is
also reduced.
8.
Cost savings:
●
There are substantial reductions in
irrigation costs and savings on electricity and fertilisers.
9.
Precision farming:
●
Emerging computerised GPS-based precision
irrigation technologies for self-propelled sprinklers and micro-irrigation
systems will enable growers to apply water and agrochemicals more precisely and
site specifically to match soil and plant status and needs as provided by
wireless sensor networks.
Challenges
of Micro Irrigation:
1.
Electricity:
●
Uninterrupted availability of electric
power is required.
●
The electricity unavailability in India
affects the timing and supply of water to crops because the crop water
requirement in farms neither coincides nor follows India’s timing of power availability
or unscheduled power outages.
2.
Expensive:
●
The second impediment to micro-irrigation
in India is the expense of the system itself. The adoption of this technology
has high initial costs.
3.
Declining landholdings and farm income:
●
The data on India’s operational
landholdings shows that the average size of landholdings have halved since the
1960s.
●
The meagre farm income from declining
landholdings challenges the sustainability of expensive micro-irrigation on
Indian farms.
4.
Maintenance:
●
Micro-irrigation systems normally have
greater maintenance requirements. Soil particles, algae, or mineral
precipitates can clog the emission devices.
5.
Water availability:
●
Though the average water availability in
India remains more or less fixed according to the natural hydraulic cycle, per
capita availability is reducing progressively owing to the increasing
population.
Government of India has
also accorded high priority to water conservation and its management. Pradhan
Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) has been formulated with the vision of
extending the coverage of irrigation ‘Har Khet Ko Pani’ and improving water use
efficiency ‘More crop per drop’ in focused manner using sprinkler & drip method
of irrigation. This irrigation method has several advantages over furrow
systems, including reduced water use.