Irrigation

Featured Articles
August 10, 2022
Taming water - Irrigation and drought protection in colonial India and the present
The irrigation at all costs mindset and narrow policies for drought protection during the colonial rule ignored rainfed agriculture and local practices that sustained agriculture in the Bombay Deccan. This continues even today.
Recurrent droughts and the struggle for survival (Image Source: Gaurav Bhosale via Wikimedia Commons):
August 9, 2022
MGNREGS becoming the quintessential scheme for tribal agriculture
Ensuring irrigation through farm ponds in tribal Chhattisgarh
Many tribal farmers opted for individual farm ponds under MGNREGA ensuring protective irrigation. (Image: Meenakshi Singh)
April 8, 2022
Water for all, still a dream?
Lack of governance and six toothless irrigation acts have done very little to change the water situation on the ground in Maharashtra, argues water expert Pradeep Purandare.
Peanut irrigation in India (Image Source: Seratobikiba via Wikimedia Commons)
March 11, 2022
Making every drop count: Micro-irrigation for tribal farmers of Gujarat
Subsidies enable tribal farmers to adopt micro-irrigation systems providing them assured irrigation
A key mitigation strategy to deal with water scarcity due to climate change is on-farm management of water using techniques like micro-irrigation (Image: India Water Portal Flickr)
September 17, 2021
Villagers’ shramdaan revives canal, enhances area under cultivation
Benefits of well-managed commons on livelihoods
Collective efforts revived the canal structure of Bichhiya dam bringing water to the village (Image: Foundation for Ecological Security)
August 29, 2021
Diversion-based irrigation systems
Experience of Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India) in revitalizing the traditional phad irrigation system in hilly tribal villages of Western Madhya Pradesh
Community members contribute voluntary labour required for laying the pipeline network and tank construction (Image: Anjali Aggarwal)
Half of government schools and anganwadis devoid of tap water supply: Report
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 17 Mar, 2021 11:01 PM

Tap water supply to government schools and anganwadis in a grim state: Panel report
A Mini-Water Supply (MWS) serves the local school (Source: IWP Flickr album)
The threatened traditional tank systems of Madurai
While traditional tanks systems in Madurai continue to fulfill the drinking water and irrigation needs of the rural population, rapid urbanisation is gradually destroying them!
Aman Srivastava
Pennan Chinnasamy
Posted on 16 Mar, 2021 11:47 AM

The tank cascade systems of Madurai

Arid and semi-arid regions of Southern-Indian peninsula are known to experience frequent droughts and the watersheds in these regions are characterised by hot climate, scanty water availability and erratic rainfall.
The dying tanks of Madurai (Image Source: Seetha Goplalakrishnan)
Managing groundwater demand: the way forward
Substituting groundwater irrigation by canal irrigation will not help in maintaining the current levels of food production in India. Managing groundwater demand will, finds a study.
Meha Jain
Ram Fishman
Pinki Mondal
Gillian L. Galford
Nishan Bhattarai
Shahid Naeem
Upmanu Lall
Balwinder Singh
Ruth S. DeFries
Posted on 02 Mar, 2021 07:25 AM

Groundwater reserves are depleting at rapid rates in India, which is one of the world’s largest consumer of groundwater with it  providing 60 percent of the irrigation needs of the country.
Groundwater, a valuable resource! (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Bringing life to a dying stream
In Vidarbha, water harvesting restores a nala to a perennial stream
Foundation for Ecological Security (FES)
Posted on 09 Feb, 2021 08:23 PM

Located in the Ghatanji block in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra, Jarur village has seen a good monsoon this year.
The communities are aware of the importance of harvesting and storing rainwater for meeting their needs, and have established several rules and norms for use of common resources. (Image: FES)
Budget 2021: Will agriculture sector get a boost?
Solutions are needed that will increase productivity while maintaining sustainability
Simi Mehta
Ritika Gupta
Anshula Mehta
Sunidhi Agarwal
Nikhil Jacob
Posted on 28 Jan, 2021 10:15 AM

The agriculture sector is confronted with high price volatility, low returns, low productivity and weather risks.
The government could consider a shift from the price support system to an income support system. PM-KISAN is a step in that direction, but the assistance under that is lacking. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Cereals drain India dry
A study on virtual water flows in interstate trade of cereals in India shows that cereals are rapidly draining the states that have the most critical levels of groundwater.
Harris
Francesca et al
Posted on 20 Jan, 2021 11:14 AM

Agricultural stagnation and inefficient irrigation systems

Agriculture continues to be an important sector for the Indian economy and for food security with more than half of the workforce being employed in agricultural activities. Greater use of improved crop varieties, irrigation and fertilisers have contributed to major improvements in crop yields in India.
Cereals and millets at a bazaar in Nizampet, Hyderabad (Image Source: Aditya Madhav, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons)
Over 97 million Indians were currently being exposed to extreme floods: Report
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 23 Dec, 2020 03:53 PM

75 percent districts in India are hotspots of extreme climate events: Report
75 percent districts in India are hotspots of extreme climate events (Source: IWP Flickr photos))
Illegal sand mining led to 193 deaths in two years, says report
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 02 Dec, 2020 12:00 PM

Illegal sand mining operations lead to 193 deaths in two years
Sand mining on the banks of Tapti (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Data-driven ‘water and agriculture’ planning: The big picture
If data was better organized and available for download in more ‘user-friendly’ formats, its utilization would improve manifold.
Shilp Verma
Manisha Shah
Cheshta Rajora
Posted on 15 Oct, 2020 06:57 PM

India is fortunate to have a rich tradition of public data collection and compilation.
The quality of our public data is highly variable, yet if analyses and interpretation are done keeping in mind some of the limitations, the datasets can be a precious resource at the meso and macro level. (Image: Pixabay)
Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan a low impact, high expenditure scheme: CAG
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 23 Sep, 2020 01:29 PM

Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan had a low impact in making Maharashtra drought free: CAG
Deepening work in progress under the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan (Source: Ravindra Pomane)
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