ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN WATER PRODUCTIVITY FOR SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL GROWTH IN INDIA M L Kansal - JPSS Chair Professor

1. INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ROORKEE
Department of Water Resources Development & Management
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN WATER PRODUCTIVITY
FOR
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL GROWTH IN INDIASUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURAL GROWTH IN INDIA
M L Kansal
JPSS Chair Professor
November 2016

2. Sustainable Development
• According to Bruntland Commission
report (1987), sustainable
development is that development
which meet the needs of present
without compromising the ability of
f i h i
Social
future generations to meet their
own needs.
• In order to have sustainable
d l i h ld b b d
Sustainability
Bearable Equitable
development, it should be based on
equitable, bearable, and viable
considerations. Thus, sustainable
development related to the three
Environmental Economic
Viable
development related to the three
major sectors – Economic,
Environmental, and the Social
considerations.
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considerations.

3. Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), officially known as transforming our
world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a set of seventeen aspirational
"Global Goals" on sustainable development issues as mentioned below. It incorporatesGlobal Goals on sustainable development issues as mentioned below. It incorporates
the issues of land development along with human development in terms of education,
public health, and the general standard of living.
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Source:http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/

4. Sustainability
Social Progress
Stakeholder Involvement
Social Equity
Employment Generation g p y
and Capacity Building
Cultural Heritage
Economic
Development
Microeconomic Efficiency
Regional Economy
Infrastructure
Sustainability
Infrastructure
Environmental
P t ti
Biodiversity
Water and Land Resources
Protection
Visual Impact and Noise
Pollution
Sustainable Technology Transfer
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Sustainable
Technologies
Technology Transfer
Innovation

5. Sustainability Principles in Agriculture
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6. Contd …
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7. India’s Water Resources – at a glance
• Population of India is 1.27
billion (2013)
• Geographical area of India is
about 3.29 X 106 km2
( h l )(7th largest)
• Average annual precipitation
= 1190 mm [Varies from 100 to
12000 mm] (Cv= 15‐70)
• Total Rainfall hours is about 100.
• Nearly 80% of the annual
rainfall takes place in only 3 to 4
months
• Number of rainy days in a year
about 80.
• The average annual
precipitation received in India is
4,000 km3
• Average Water Resources is
about 1500 (m3/person/year) asabout 1500 (m /person/year) as
per (International standard)
critical condition is 1700
(m3/person/year)
• Availability between 1000‐1400
BCM
• Highly Uneven in Space and Time
• Brahmaputra ‐ Barak ‐ Ganga System accounts for about 60% of total surface water
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BCM
• Total Water Requirements
(F+DW+I+ENV+N+Losses) =
1180 BCM
resources
• Western and Southern regions experience severe deficit in water availability
• Thus, water storage is required to meet the various demands in space and time.

8. Per Capita Water Availability in India
• Water availability is
decreasing and water
requirements are
increasing, it is likely to
create a serious problem
towards the food and watertowards the food and water
security in the country.
• Without a major
technological innovationtechnological innovation,
and irrigation water
management there is little
hope of meeting the ever‐
increasing water demands.
• There is a need to yield
“more crop per drop” of
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water.

9. Water Use Efficiency (WUE)
• WUE is a dimensionless ratio of total amount of water used to the total amount of
water applied.
• It is the % of water supplied to the plant that is effectively taken up by the plant,% pp p y p y p ,
i.e., that was not lost to drainage, bare soil evaporation or interception.
Mathematically,
Ef= Vu/Ve
hwhere,
Ef = Efficiency, dimensionless
Vu= Volume utilised, m3; and
Ve = volume extracted from the supply source, m3
e
• The various types of water efficiency (used in irrigation area) are storage efficiency,
conveyance efficiency, and field application efficiency etc.
• Its value varies between 0 and 1 or between 0 and 100 as a percentage.
• Raising irrigation water efficiency means shifting from less efficient flood or furrow• Raising irrigation water efficiency means shifting from less efficient flood or furrow
system to overhead sprinklers or drip irrigation.
• It is estimated that switching from flood or furrow to low pressure sprinkler systems
reduces water use by an estimated 30 %, while to drip irrigation may cut water use
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to 50 %.

10. Water Productivity (WP)
• WP is the net return for a unit of water used. It defines the ratio of net benefits
from crop, forestry, fishery, livestock and mixed agricultural systems to the amount
of water consumed to produce these benefits It can be ‘physical’ (like ‘more cropof water consumed to produce these benefits. It can be ‘physical’ (like ‘more crop
per drop’ or ‘value’ (‘economic’) based.
• WP is generally defined as crop yield per cubic metre of water consumption
including ‘green’ water (effective rainfall) for rain‐fed areas and both ‘green’ and
‘blue’ water for irrigated areas.
• It is used to describe better the ratio between the quantity of a product (biomass or
yield) and the amount of water depleted/ diverted. It may vary with the objectives
and domain of the interest of the studyand domain of the interest of the study.
• Thus, WUE and WP have different meaning and are interlinked. In order to increase
WP we need to increase WUE but not the other way around
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• In other words, higher WP means either same production from less water resources
or higher production from the same water resources.

11. WP Gains using Drip over Conventional Irrigation in India
Crop
Yield increase
(%)
Decline in
water application (%)
WP Gain
(%)
Bananas 52 45 173
Cabbage 2 60 150
Cabbage (evapotranspiration) 54 40 157
Cotton 27 53 169
Cotton 25 60 212
Cotton (evapo‐transpiration) 35 15 55
Cotton 10 15 27
Grapes 23 48 134
Okra (evapotranspiration) 72 40 142
Potatoes 46 0 46
Sugarcane 6 60 163
Sugarcane 20 30 70
Sugarcane 29 47 143
Sugarcane 33 65 280
Sugarcane 23 44 121
Sweet potatoes 39 60 243
Tomatoes 5 27 44
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Tomatoes 50 39 145
(Source :Molden et al. (2007)

12. WP from a unit of water for selected commodities
Product
Water productivity
Kilograms Dollars Protein Calories
(per cubic meter) (per cubic meter) (grams per cubic meter) (per cubic meter)
C lCereal
Wheat ($0.2 per kilogram) 0.2–1.2 0.04–0.30 50–150 660–4000
Rice ($0.31 per kilogram) 0.15–1.6 0.05–0.18 12–50 500–2000
Maize ($0.11 per kilogram) 0.30–2.00 0.03–0.22 30–200 1000–7000
LegumesLegumes
Lentils ($0.3 per kilogram) 0.3–1.0 0.09–0.30 90–150 1060–3500
Fava beans ($0.3 per kilogram) 0.3–0.8 0.09–0.24 100–150 1260–3360
Groundnut ($0.8 per kilogram) 0.1–0.4 0.08–0.32 30–120 800–3200
VegetablesVegetables
Potato ($0.1 per kilogram) 3–7 0.3–0.7 50–120 3000–7000
Tomato ($0.15 per kilogram) 5–20 0.75–3.0 50–200 1000–4000
Onion ($0.1 per kilogram) 3–10 0.3–1.0 20–67 1200–4000
FruitsFruits
Apples ($0.8 per kilogram) 1.0–5.0 0.8–4.0 Negligible 520–2600
Olives ($1.0 per kilogram) 1.0–3.0 1.0–3.0 10–30 1150–3450
Dates ($2.0 per kilogram) 0.4–0.8 0.8–1.6 8–16 1120–2240
Others
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Beef ($3.0 per kilogram) 0.03–0.1 0.09–0.3 10–30 60–210
Fish (aqua culture ) 0.05‐1.0 0.07–1.35 17–340 85–1750
(Source :Molden et al. (2010a)

13. Factor Affecting Sustainable Agriculture
Mechanization level
Use of green manure
Integrated management
 Crop species type
 Application of
Irrigation
 Soil factors
Using minimum tillage
Using animal waste asNitrogen consumption
Replacing crop products
Mechanization level g g
of the field
Use of fallow system
 Agronomic factors
 Economic factors
fertilizers
The use of cover crops
Change of irrigation
methodsApplication of
Integrated pest
management
Nutrient management
Soil conservation
Tillage perpendicular to
the slope
Using crop rotationWater resources
Amount of fertilizers
consumption
pp
pesticides
Following cultivate
alternation
Maintenance of cultivate
production residues
management
Positive effects on sustainability
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Negative effects on sustainability

14. Factors Boosting WP and Reducing Losses
Factors boosting biomass Factors affecting Loss reduction
• Genetic Enhancement • Natural resource managementGenetic Enhancement Natural resource management
(land, soil and water)
• Fertilization • Change of Irrigation method
• Pest & Disease control • Crop planning
• Weed Control • Use of fallow system
• Crop growth in humid and cooler
season
• Proper sequencing of water deficit
• Priming or soaking of seed • Manipulation of seedling agePriming or soaking of seed Manipulation of seedling age
• Application of organic matter,
farmyard manure and bio‐fertilizer
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15. Challenges to Sustainable Agricultural Growth
 To integrate the natural processes into agricultural production processes, so
ensuring profitable and efficient food production.
 Th th f i i i ti f th f t l d bl i t The pathway for minimization of the use of external and non‐renewable inputs
damaging the environment.
 Improvement in the welfare and quality of life of farm animals.
 To get full participation of farmers and other rural people in all processes of To get full participation of farmers and other rural people in all processes of
problem analysis, and technology development, adaptation and extension leading
to an increase in local self‐reliance and social capital
 To enhance both the quality and quantity of wildlife, water, landscape and otherq y q y , , p
public goods of the countryside
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16. Pathways to attain higher Irrigation WP
Exchange transpired water
for CO2 more effectively in
producing biomass
High WP
Transpire most of
the supplied
water
Convert most
of the biomass
into grain
g
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Three pathways to attain highest irrigation water productivity.

17. Conclusion
• Improving agricultural water productivity in India is important for meeting the
requirements of ‘Food Security’ for the ever‐increasing population.
• There are many ways to improve the irrigation water productivity However theseThere are many ways to improve the irrigation water productivity. However, these
option(s) vary from place to place, state to state and also depend on social and
economic conditions of the farmers.
• Non‐structural measures like agronomic management people’s participation etcNon structural measures like agronomic management, people s participation, etc.
help in improving WP.
• Environmental protection measures enhance the WP by way of reducing water
losses.losses.
• An important and promising area of innovation is biotechnology, which is
undergoing a revolution. New high yielding plants, that are more environment‐
friendly and more drought‐ tolerant will help us in improving WP. Seeds of newfriendly and more drought tolerant will help us in improving WP. Seeds of new
variety coupled with agronomic techniques suitable to smallholding farmers will
help in yielding “more crop per drop” of water.
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