The Hindu Business Line : Naidu to head task force on micro irrigation

THE Ministry of Agriculture has set up a bi-partisan task force, headed by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Chandrababu Naidu, and a Minister of Agriculture from another State, to promote micro irrigation in the country.

The terms of reference of the task force are to suggest strategies to expand coverage of area under micro irrigation in the country; to suggest institutional mechanism needed for promoting micro irrigation including quality assurance, regionally differentiated technologies and interventions; to suggest technological support for regions and crop specific interventions on micro irrigation and to suggest measures so that the intended benefits reach the target group.

The decision to set up a task force on micro irrigation stemmed from the need for conserving water resources. "A number of initiatives have already been taken to conserve land and water resources. States are also encouraged to promote drip and sprinkler irrigation through supply of equipment at subsidised rates. But these efforts have to be intensified," the Ministry's Web site said.

It has been estimated that total cropped area suitable for micro irrigation in the country is to the tune of 27 million hectares.

Efforts made to develop irrigation potential during different plan periods have enabled India to emerge as the country having largest irrigated area in the world, accounting for nearly one-sixth of the world's irrigated acreage.

However, management of irrigation water has not received adequate attention. Conventional methods of irrigation are less efficient which lead to excessive percolation and other losses thereby resulting in water logging, soil salinity and even drought like conditions in tail ends of the system.

Protective irrigation is essential to improve the yield potential of crops.

The share of efficient methods of irrigation such as micro and sprinkler irrigation has been comparatively low. However, promotion of micro irrigation has resulted in bringing three lakh hectares of land under it. Maximum coverage has been in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, accounting for 80 per cent of area under drip irrigation.

Over the years, there has been increased demand for water from all the consuming sectors, of which, the agriculture sector consume the most.

Since demand for water from non-agricultural sectors such as household and industry sectors has been growing at almost double the rate at which it is growing in the agriculture sector, the competition for water between agricultural and the non-agricultural sectors has become intense.

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