Go for drip irrigation

IN a push to averting agriculture distress as aridity stares at Punjab following over-exploitation of groundwater, the state government is persuading farmers to go in for the drip irrigation technology. The 80 per cent subsidy offered on the cost of the project to the cotton farmers of the Malwa belt should attract the water-stressed peasants to the scheme. The demonstration plots will educate the farmers on how micro-irrigation works. The crop is irrigated by dripping, or sprinkling water on the surface, or subsurface. It is pumped through a network of pipes emanating from a canal or harvested water. To some extent, this meets the challenge of unreliable monsoons. 

Micro-irrigation also holds the potential of providing more efficient use of water as its loss is minimised in comparison to the conventional flooding method of irrigation and also raising crop productivity. The neighbouring Haryana showcases a dramatic turnaround. In the last decade, the centres for vegetables in Karnal set up with technical know-how and assistance from Israel that also rely on drip irrigation have been a success. The cultivators have registered a manifold increase in the vegetable yield and at the same time registered an almost 50 per cent decrease in water use and a significant reduction in fertiliser/pesticide input.

As Punjab goes in for this corrective measure, it would do well to learn from the southern and western states which have experimented with micro-irrigation. Since erratic electricity supply is a problem, the solar-powered lift micro-irrigation project would be a more reliable option. The government’s scheme would be myopic if it did not take into consideration the cost and recurring maintenance of drip irrigation, especially by the small farmer. It must factor in the funds required to take care of wear and tear of components such as filters, pipes etc. Only then would it be beneficial to the farmer in the long term. Coupled with weaning farmers away from water-intensive crops and monitoring of the use of this depleting resource, it is crucial that the government implements its water management policies strictly, lest the fertile land turns barren.