Make drip irrigation must in Marathwada: Agriculture department
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agriculture department
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AURANGABAD: The agriculture department
recently sent a recommendation to the state government asking it to
make drip irrigation compulsory for sugarcane cultivation across the
Marathwada region. The department has also sent recommendations to
construct check dams and taking up desilting of dried-up water bodies at
war footing in the region.
The Marathwada region comprises eight districts - Aurangabad, Jalna, Beed, Osmanabad, Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded and Latur - of which the first four are the worst hit by drought in the state.
As per the agriculture department records, the districts of Aurangabad, Jalna and Beed have 1,05,600 hectares of land covered by sugarcane, while the districts of Latur, Osmanabad, Nanded, Parbhani and Hingoli jointly have 1.45 lakh hectares of land covered by the crop.
According to the thumb rule, each hectare of land under sugarcane cultivation requires 2.5 crore litres of water per year. However, the crop has alone consumed 6.37 trillion litres of water so far this year in the region.
On the other hand, water experts said that sugarcane cultivated on one hectare of land requires at least 2,000 mm of water (ground and surface water) each year. So going by these statistics, the water required in a year for cultivation of sugarcane is 180 thousand million cubic (TMC), which is more than double the storage capacity of Jayakwadi dam. Interestingly, the city of Aurangabad requires only 2.5 TMC water per year.
Highly-placed sources in the agriculture department told TOI that alarmed by the amount of water being consumed by the crop, it has set a target of bringing at least 25% of the total area under sugarcane cultivation in the region, under drip irrigation in the current fiscal. For completing the target, the work will begin at the onset of monsoon, a time when sowing of sugarcane usually starts, sources said.
Irfan Shah, deputy director, ground water surveys and development agency, Aurangabad, said, "People have started lifting ground water tremendously. This has led to a sharp drop in the ground water level across the region. The rampant lifting of ground water for irrigating crops that consume large amount of water has created a huge problem. The ground water should be recharged and the available stock should be used judiciously to maintain the balance."
"Each hectare of land under sugarcane cultivation will require Rs 80,000 for bringing it under drip irrigation. Going by the current status of the crop across the region, the agriculture department will require at least Rs 350 crore to bring a portion of it under drip irrigation, which brings down the water consumption of the crop by at least half," an official of the agriculture department said.
The Marathwada region comprises eight districts - Aurangabad, Jalna, Beed, Osmanabad, Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded and Latur - of which the first four are the worst hit by drought in the state.
As per the agriculture department records, the districts of Aurangabad, Jalna and Beed have 1,05,600 hectares of land covered by sugarcane, while the districts of Latur, Osmanabad, Nanded, Parbhani and Hingoli jointly have 1.45 lakh hectares of land covered by the crop.
According to the thumb rule, each hectare of land under sugarcane cultivation requires 2.5 crore litres of water per year. However, the crop has alone consumed 6.37 trillion litres of water so far this year in the region.
On the other hand, water experts said that sugarcane cultivated on one hectare of land requires at least 2,000 mm of water (ground and surface water) each year. So going by these statistics, the water required in a year for cultivation of sugarcane is 180 thousand million cubic (TMC), which is more than double the storage capacity of Jayakwadi dam. Interestingly, the city of Aurangabad requires only 2.5 TMC water per year.
Highly-placed sources in the agriculture department told TOI that alarmed by the amount of water being consumed by the crop, it has set a target of bringing at least 25% of the total area under sugarcane cultivation in the region, under drip irrigation in the current fiscal. For completing the target, the work will begin at the onset of monsoon, a time when sowing of sugarcane usually starts, sources said.
Irfan Shah, deputy director, ground water surveys and development agency, Aurangabad, said, "People have started lifting ground water tremendously. This has led to a sharp drop in the ground water level across the region. The rampant lifting of ground water for irrigating crops that consume large amount of water has created a huge problem. The ground water should be recharged and the available stock should be used judiciously to maintain the balance."
"Each hectare of land under sugarcane cultivation will require Rs 80,000 for bringing it under drip irrigation. Going by the current status of the crop across the region, the agriculture department will require at least Rs 350 crore to bring a portion of it under drip irrigation, which brings down the water consumption of the crop by at least half," an official of the agriculture department said.
Only 80k hectares in region under drip irrigation system
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AURANGABAD: The agriculture department
was in for a surprise, when the records showed that only 0.02% of its
total farming land in Marathwada region has been covered by drip
irrigation. The eight districts of the region with a gross crop area of
25 lakh hectares, has only around 50,000 hectares covered under drip
irrigation.
The department has now set a target of bringing a further 39,000 hectares of agriculture land under drip irrigation in 2013-14, for which it will require Rs 113 crores. In 2011-12 the agriculture department brought 18,513 hectares of land under drip irrigation and in the 2012-13 fiscal, it brought 14,730 hectares under drip irrigation.
Agriculture department officials said that the 50% subsidy given by the state is proving insufficient to motivate the farmers in the region to shift to drip irrigation method instead of using the traditional method of watering through mud canals or bunds ploughed in the fields.
When contacted divisional statistician (Agriculture), V S Thakke, said, "The division has around 16 lakh hectares of crop area under kharif, 8 lakh hectares under rabi and around 1 lakh hectares of crop area covered by horticulture and vegetables. The gross crop area under cultivation is 25 lakh hectares, of which around 50,000 hectares of crop area is covered by drip irrigation."
Experts blame the state for framing poor policies promoting judicial usage of water, as compared to neighbouring states. The state of Andhra Pradesh, which is known as a delta belt, is totally dependent on the water from other states but still has successfully managed to bring a majority of its crop under drip irrigation by providing a minimum of 70% of subsidy.
Bandu Shinde, a farmer and agriculture expert, said, "The major problem is red tapism in claiming the subsidy. Due to corrupt practices, a major chunk of the promised subsidy goes into someone else's pocket."
The department has now set a target of bringing a further 39,000 hectares of agriculture land under drip irrigation in 2013-14, for which it will require Rs 113 crores. In 2011-12 the agriculture department brought 18,513 hectares of land under drip irrigation and in the 2012-13 fiscal, it brought 14,730 hectares under drip irrigation.
Agriculture department officials said that the 50% subsidy given by the state is proving insufficient to motivate the farmers in the region to shift to drip irrigation method instead of using the traditional method of watering through mud canals or bunds ploughed in the fields.
When contacted divisional statistician (Agriculture), V S Thakke, said, "The division has around 16 lakh hectares of crop area under kharif, 8 lakh hectares under rabi and around 1 lakh hectares of crop area covered by horticulture and vegetables. The gross crop area under cultivation is 25 lakh hectares, of which around 50,000 hectares of crop area is covered by drip irrigation."
Experts blame the state for framing poor policies promoting judicial usage of water, as compared to neighbouring states. The state of Andhra Pradesh, which is known as a delta belt, is totally dependent on the water from other states but still has successfully managed to bring a majority of its crop under drip irrigation by providing a minimum of 70% of subsidy.
Bandu Shinde, a farmer and agriculture expert, said, "The major problem is red tapism in claiming the subsidy. Due to corrupt practices, a major chunk of the promised subsidy goes into someone else's pocket."
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