The Hindu Business Line : Drought-proof agriculture

Among the many daunting challenges Indian agriculture faces today, one of the biggest is fragmented pattern of landholding. The average farm size of a vast majority of farmers is rather small. Close to 80 per cent of farmers own just about 1.5 hectares.

The small size denies growers the ‘power of scale’ and, thereby, the advantage of mechanisation. Small size can, of course, be turned into an advantage as it makes precision farming possible. However, other enabling conditions for the success of precision farming are absent.

Rainfed AGriculture

Farming in India is unlike that in developed economies such as the US and the European Union where farm size of 200 hectares is considered modest. Large farms measure several thousand hectares. The size brings to growers ‘economies of scale’. Mechanisation helps reduce costs. Use of technology is another advantage.

Cultivation of crops largely under rainfall conditions is another salient feature of Indian agriculture. According to latest government statistics, just about 33 per cent of total agricultural land is irrigated. In other words, a major part of agricultural operations is still dependent on rainfall. Spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall is critical for the success of rain-fed agriculture.

Monsoon forecasts

Since 1988, the India Meteorological Department has been coming out with forecasts for the south-west monsoon (June to September). However, this forecast is confined to aggregate rainfall during the four-month rainy season and hence of limited practical utility. Month-wise and region-wise forecast would help farmers plan their operations better.

According to the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, food grains (rice, wheat, coarse cereals, pulses) are grown under irrigated conditions in about 52.5 million hectares, representing only about 42 per cent of the total area under food grains.

Even within this, there is wide variation. Out of a total of 26-27 ml ha under wheat, close to 90 per cent is irrigated. In the case of rice, 50 per cent is irrigated. Coarse grains and pulses are largely grown on unirrigated marginal lands. Less than 4 ml ha each of coarse cereals and pulses are irrigated as compared with total acreage of about 30 ml ha for coarse grains and 24 ml ha for pulses.

Sugarcane, a water-intensive crop, enjoys the highest area under irrigation — over 90 per cent of the 5 ml ha is cultivated under assured water conditions.

Low, uncertain yields

Limited irrigation facilities should partly explain the existing low and uncertain yields in many crops. Water is the most critical input for agriculture. There is enough research evidence that scientific water management alone leads to higher crop yields. Despite rainfall in the range of 800-900 mm a year across the country, there are regions that regularly suffer water shortage.

Water conservation measures are conspicuous by their absence even as the precious natural resource and farm input is either wasted or not harnessed to advantage. Water use efficiency can be enhanced through measures such as micro-irrigation.

Irrigation projects

Irrigation is one of the six components for development of rural infrastructure under Bharat Nirman. The irrigation component of Bharat Nirman aims to create an irrigation potential of 10 million hectares by 2008-09 mainly through completion of ongoing major and medium irrigation projects.

Experts have warned of a serious water shortage that may overtake India in the next few years. Agriculture, in general, will face the challenge of overcoming the problem of water shortage or moisture stress. Crops such as sugarcane and paddy that guzzle large quantities of water may be the worst hit.

There are a large number of small and medium irrigation projects that await completion. Many are what are called ‘last mile’ projects that have suffered cost and time overruns and need some additional funding for completion.

A new dimension has now been added to the threat of water shortage in the form of global warming and climate change.

Experts predict a steady rise in global temperatures and frequent occurrence of floods and drought. Although climate change is a long-term phenomenon, its effect would be continually creeping imperceptibly.

An agrarian economy such as ours should do all that it takes to ‘drought-proof’ itself soon.

The next salient feature we look at is low level of input usage in India.

More Stories on : Agriculture | Natural Calamities | Young Investor

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page