Is Indian Agri staring at Desertification?
Water crisis in India is a major concern and day-by-day this issue is getting bigger and more severe. There are multiple reasons such as increasing population, contamination of water bodies due to industrial and domestic waste, increasing industrialisation that can be attributed to the water crisis. Farmers must be made aware of the issue of deleting groundwater tables and educate them on conservation of rainwater which will not help them in cultivation but will also reduce their cost of production.
As per the recent survey report by National Geophysical Research Institute, India holds the top most position in the world when it comes to utilising underground water with north India using the maximum particularly Delhi which is the epicentre. India being an agro economy, water crisis poses a very serious challenge to the agriculture sector of the country which is already under a great pressure of increasing its production every year to feed the country's ever increasing population.
India’s agriculture sector contributes around 17 per cent to the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but it still works with the irrigation systems that are centuries old. There is over-dependence on the monsoon. The irrigation infrastructure such as canals, groundwater, wellbased systems, tanks and rainwater harvesting has seen substantial expansion over the years, but is clearly not enough. The demand for water in India mainly comes from the agriculture sector (80 per cent), the industrial sector (15 per cent) and the domestic sector (4-6 per cent). However, with many companies joining hands with the government to enhance the irrigation system of the country, the future is looking a bit brighter now. In order to further strengthen the irrigation system of India, on March 22, 2021 Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a campaign called ‘Catch the Rain’ under the Centre’s flagship ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan’. Launched on the World Water Day with a tagline “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls”, this campaign nudges the states and stake-holders to create appropriate Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS) suitable to the climatic conditions and subsoil strata before monsoon.
The ‘Catch the Rain’ campaign drives to make
check dams, water harvesting pits, rooftop RWHS etc., removal of encroachments and desilting of tanks to increase their storage capacity. Removal of obstructions in the channels which bring water to them from the catchment areas etc.; repairs to step-wells and using defunct bore-wells and unused wells, to replenish aquifers, etc. are to be taken up with the active participation of people. To facilitate these activities, states have been requested to open 'Rain Centers' in every district- in Collectorates/municipalities or Gram Panchayat offices. During this period, these ‘Rain Centres’ will be assigned a dedicated mobile phone number and will be manned by an engineer or a person well-trained in RWHS. This centre will act as a technical guidance focal point to all in the district as to how to catch the rain, as it falls, where it falls.
“Certainly the ‘Catch the Rain’ campaign is a game changer not only for the agro sector but to the entire nation. If we do some basic calculation then we will reach a conclusion that India loses around 100 trillion tonnes of rainwater that falls on its land. If we can store this water it would be more than sufficient for agriculture as well as for human usage. This campaign by the National Water Mission (NWM) is a sign to states and stakeholders to create appropriate RWHS suitable to the climatic conditions and subsoil strata before monsoon,” said Rajendra Shende, Chairman, TERRE Policy Centre.
Sharing similar views, Saumya, Co-founder, Kheyti, said, “There are two things that we need to look for. First is the launch period of the campaign which is perfectly timed, just before the monsoon. Second, it is launched both in rural as well as urban areas hence covering the length and breadth of the country. The campaign aims to take water conservation at grassroots level
through people's participation.”
Transforming irrigation systems
Many state governments have taken up this challenge of replacing the old irrigation system with the new one and for this transformation they have launched various productive schemes and policies. Telangana state had launched ‘Mission Kakatiya’ in 2014 with the sole purpose of enhancing the development of minor irrigation infrastructure, strengthening community based irrigation management in a decentralised manner and to adopt a comprehensive programme for restoration of tanks and sources of water to
effectively utilise 265 TMC of water allocated for minor irrigation sector under Godavari and Krishna river basins. ‘Mission Kakatiya’ is a flagship programme undertaken by the Telangana government, aimed at restoring minor irrigation sources of water like ponds and tanks.
After its launch, ‘Mission Kakatiya’ has enabled the state to increase the storage capacity of tanks and other water bodies. It has helped in making water available and accessible to small and medium farmers, in particular, and has also benefited other farmers as well. The intervention has helped in increasing the water retention capacity of the sources and also helped
in improving the on-farm moisture retention capacity. The intervention bridged the 63 per cent ayacut gap (the area served by an irrigation project such as a canal, dam or a tank) and also helped in the stabilisation of ayacut under minor irrigation. (Data shared by NITI Aayog)
Similarly, the state of Andhra Pradesh has launched a project called ‘Har Khet Ko Paani’ that entailed Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of all components in the chain of tanks through extensive training of newly formed 610 Water Users Associations (WUAS) and 1383 Community Based Organisations (CBOS). The state programme, ‘Neeru Pragathi' was also implemented and beneficial outcomes were seen during the course. ‘Under More Crop per Drop’, advanced technologies were adopted and borewell mapping was done.
As a result of these campaigns, the irrigation potential was increased by 5,023 ha, with an increase in coverage under micro-irrigation by 28, 324 ha. Approximately 45,000 water harvesting structures have been created across the whole area in the district. These practices also led to a remarkable rise in the water table at some points which was estimated as 32.37m to 10.15m. The increase in area under mulching with drip irrigation was 6000 ha and resulted in
60 per cent water saving over the conventional method that was being followed. The concept of loop irrigation was also introduced in that area. (Data shared by NITI Aayog)
Groundwater menace
Over dependence on groundwater is the major alarming factor for India’s agricultural sector. As per the data shared by the National Water Mission, the country uses around 64 per cent of groundwater for irrigation purposes. The remaining required water comes from canals, tanks and other sources. India’s north-western region, which is also the erstwhile epicentre of the green revolution, relies heavily on bore wells for their agro activities. As a result of this massive extraction, the country has witnessed a 61 per cent decline in water level in wells in India, as per the report shared by The Ministry of Water Resources.
However, now, with the depletion of the groundwater level, farmers are left with two options either to deepen their bore well or to look for some other water resource. The first option may look feasible but it will add more burden on farmers’ pocket as he has to invest more on buying and maintaining a high power pump to extract water.
In order to curb the excessive use of groundwater the ambitious National Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme (NAQUIM) was launched in 2012, with Central Groundwater Board (CGWB) as the executing body. This crucial step was undertaken on the basis of the recommendations of the 12th Plan Working Group on Sustainable Groundwater Management of the erstwhile Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog).
The programme envisages mapping of aquifers (water-bearing formations), their characterisation and development of Aquifer Management Plans to facilitate sustainable management of groundwater resources. Aquifers are basically rocks in which groundwater is stored and they are typically made up of gravel, sand, sandstone or limestone. NAQUIM was initiated as a part of the Groundwater Management and Regulation Scheme to delineate and characterise the aquifers to develop plans for groundwater management.
“Certainly ‘Catch the Rain’ campaign is a game changer not only for the agro sector but for the entire nation. If we do some basic calculation then we will reach a conclusion that India loses around 100 trillion tonnes of rainwater that falls on its land. If we can store this water it would be more than sufficient for agriculture as well as for human usage. This campaign by the National Water Mission’s (NWM) is a sign to states and stakeholders to create appropriate Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS) suitable to the climatic conditions and subsoil strata before monsoon."
- Rajendra Shende, Chairman, TERRE Policy Centre