India is facing the twin challenge of water scarcity and population explosion. The ongoing water crisis has affected nearly 600 million people and is expected to only worsen: The country’s population is touted to increase to 1.6 billion by 2050.

The agriculture sector is the largest consumer of water in India. It accounts for approximately 90 per cent of 761,000 billion litres of annual freshwater withdrawals in the country. Per capita consumption of water in agriculture sector ranges from 4,913 to 5,800 kilolitre per capita per year.

This is where micro-irrigation assumes significance.

What is Micro-irrigation?

• Micro-irrigation is considered as a prudent Irrigation technology promoted nationally and Internationally to achieve higher cropping Intensity and irrigation Intensity through more focused application of water to crops.
• Different types of systems are drip irrigation, sprinkler Irrigation, micro-sprinkler, porous pipe system, rain gun etc., where drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation dominate among all these systems.
• The major crops cultivated under drip irrigation are sugarcane, banana, cotton, lemon, grapes, oranges, mangoes and wide variety of vegetables. Sprinkler irrigation is mainly used for groundnut, wheat, millet, sorghum, mustard etc.

Benefits of Micro Irrigation

• Increase in water use efficiency: Micro irrigation helps in significant reduction of water conveyance losses, runoff, evaporation losses, and seepage & deep  percolation losses. This ensures higher water use efficiency up to 50-90%.
• Energy Efficiency: Micro irrigation requires minimum pressure and low flow rate only. Hence, this ensures energy consumption saving up to 30.5%. Even small wells and tanks can also be used as a source of water. Since this system requires very low pressure, off-grid farmers can use solar pumps or diesel pumps.
• Fertilizer Use Efficiency: Proper mixing of fertilizers and water, control of optimum dosage and direct application of fertilizers to the root zone result in the saving in fertilizer consumption up to 28.5%.
• Productivity increase: The crop yield (quantity and quality) is increased and the enhancement of productivity is estimated for fruits I crops up to 42.4 % and for vegetables up to 52.7%. This ensures good economic return for the better yields.
• Irrigation cost saving: This technology reduces the overall cost of irrigation due to decrease in labour requirement for irrigation, weeding and fertilizer application. Irrigation cost saving is up to
  31.9%.
• New crop introduction: Farmers can judiciously add more new crops due to improved water scenario and it was estimated that as many as 30.4% farmers have done it. Some of the farmers have tried intercropping and crop rotation also.
• Increase in farmers’ income: The average income of all beneficiaries in all 13 districts was found to be increased up to
  42%. More focussed and judicious use of water and nutrients result in good quality produce and increase in farmers’ income. Moreover, the reduction in spacing between the plants can accommodate more number of plants
• Fertigation: fertigation, which comprises combining water and fertiliser application through irrigation. Fertigation results in balanced nutrient application, reduced fertiliser requirement of around 7 to 42 per cent (thus, saving expenditure cost incurred by farmer), higher nutrient uptake and nutrient use efficiency.
• Brings degraded land under cultivation:It is quite apparent that in the present scenario, vertical expansion of agricultural lands is not possible. Therefore, in order to increase the yield and productivity, we have to focus on degraded and waste lands.Micro-irrigation provides this opportunity. A national-level survey undertaken for the Union government showed that farmers were able to bring 519.43 hectares of degraded land under cultivation through the technique.

Government initiative

• Government has initiated micro irrigation in the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007). Since then, keen initiatives are being taken by Central Government, State Governments, some NGOs and some business firms to promote and propagate this new technology.
• Micro-irrigation has been given special importance in Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) with the aim of extending irrigation cover (‘Har Khet Ko Pani’) and improving water use efficiency (‘Per Drop More Crop’) to improve various water development and management activities.
• Under the programme, financial assistance of up to 55 per cent is available for small and marginal farmers and 45 per cent for other farmers for adoption of micro-irrigation systems

Challenges being faced by micro irrigation programmes

• Energy crisis due to power outages and unscheduled interruptions across rural and urban India: This problem may be solved by integrated drip irrigation with solar panel system which is considered as the best option for off-grid farmers. In one of the banana fields in Gujarat, it was estimated that the pressure requirement was only 1-1.5 kgIcm2 for in line dripper. A solar pump system in this field consists of 12 solar panels each of capacity 250 Watt, can operate a pump of 3 Horse Power (HP) capacity,
• Expensive micro irrigation: Most of the adopters are wealthier farmers and poor farmers cannot afford it. This problem is resolved by inventing low cost systems by different agencies. International Development Enterprises (IDE), an NGO is actively working in Maharashtra and Gujarat innovate low cost micro irrigation systems and create awareness among poor farmers.

Conclusion

• It is quite evident that importance of micro-irrigation to achieve sustainability in Indian agriculture cannot be neglected.
• But it’s a long way ahead and requires extensive demonstrations, training and awareness programmes to bring Indian farming community abreast with micro-irrigation practices.
• The farmers are one of the most distressed communities of our society.
• We have to work with the community and show them the practical and achievable benefits of the technique.

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