Irrigation

Featured Articles
August 10, 2022 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 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 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 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 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 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)
Orissa Community Tank Management Project – A paper by World Bank on proposed project restructuring
The document confirms that there is significant room for increase in crop and livestock productivity and can be addressed with the activities to be undertaken by the project. Posted on 03 Sep, 2011 07:39 PM

This document provides an appraisal of the World Bank financed Orissa Community Tank Management Project. The project on tank rehabilitation in the state was focused on institutional strengthening, agricultural livelihood services and some irrigation improvements in the project area.

Forecasting agricultural output using space, agrometeorology and land based observations
Proceedings of the annual review meeting by India Meteorological Department in August 2011 at Pune - Posted on 03 Sep, 2011 06:29 PM

This document presents the proceedings of the annual review meeting by India Meteorological Department (IMD) on “Forecasting Agricultural Output Using Space, Agrometeorology and Land Based Observations” (FASAL) organized at YASHADA, Pune during 1-2 August 2011.

Adaptive water resource management in the Lower Bhavani project command area in Tamil Nadu – A research report by IWMI
This study by IWMI explores the theory and practice of adaptive management based on a detailed field study in the Lower Bhavani project command area. Posted on 25 Aug, 2011 11:07 PM

Bhavani

To what extent farmers and water resource managers already practice adaptive management and whether it is practiced in an optimal manner or could there be areas for improvement based on recent advancements in the theory of adaptive management are some of the questions that are particularly appropriate in the light of rapid changes in river basin water use and also in relation to basin closure.

This paper draws on the development and use of water resources in the Lower Bhavani Project (LBP), with the LBP reservoir and the 84,000 hectare (ha) LBP command area. The project diverts water from the Bhavani River, a tributary of the Cauvery River in Tamil Nadu.

Boundary concepts for interdisciplinary analysis of irrigation water management – A working paper by Peter Mollinga
This paper by Peter Mollinga, University of Bonn reviews the boundary concept that has emerged in interdisciplinary irrigation studies in South Asia, particularly India. Posted on 24 Aug, 2011 07:16 PM

The focus is concepts that capture the hybridity of irrigation systems as complex systems, and cross the boundaries of the natural and social sciences. 

River basin planning deconstructed
Chicu presents the report of the dialogue on mainstreaming river basin planning, 9th to 11th August, Delhi. Posted on 20 Aug, 2011 08:33 AM

Guest post by: Chicu

Urbanization and intersectoral competition for water – A report by Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The ad hoc and sectoral approaches of the past do not adequately address the interrelated nature of urban water use, the report says. Posted on 07 Aug, 2011 07:24 PM

The report by Paul P Appasamy and Ruth Meinzen Dick deals with urbanization and intersectoral competition for water founded on the view that stereotypical images of “thirsty cities” that equate urban demand with “drinking water” or factories, and rural water supply with irrigation do not adequately portray the water uses in each area.

Economic and Political Weekly 2011: Review of Agriculture (June 25 - July 8, 2011)
Review of AgricultureHalf a century ago, scholars first noticed that small farms in India demonstrated a higher per acre productivity than large farms. In the 21st century these farms still produce more per acre than large farms. We should be looking at making the most of the higher agricultural productivity on small landholdings.
Where earlier seed varieties were seen as a crucial input for Indian Agriculture, it is now water that has become a critical resource because of its over-exploitation and wasteful use on crop land. In the search for better ways to harvest and use water resources, there has been tendency to hark back to the past and look at small and localized systems, but we forget that the demographic settings then were different and we do not acknowledge the fact that the institutional settings of the time made for inequitable access.
AS the government grapples with modifying the 2002 National Water Policy, an independent effort is made to formulate a draft that looks at water use in all areas in a holistic manner. These and other articles in this review look at different aspects of Indian Agriculture.
Posted on 28 Jul, 2011 02:25 PM

 

Issue: VOL 46 No. 26 and 27 Jun 25 - July 08, 2011

Review of Agriculture

Irrigation in Telangana: The Rise and Fall of Tanks

Gautam Pingle

A kalyani brought to life in Mulbagal, Karnataka: An Arghyam initiative
This is the story of a neglected kalyani or temple tank in the town of Mulbagal, Karnataka. Posted on 27 Jul, 2011 05:58 PM

Guest post by Manjunath Prasad

Public support to food security in India, Brazil and South Africa – Elements for a policy dialogue – A working paper by International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth
This working paper by International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth deals with public support to food security in India, Brazil and South Africa. Posted on 21 Jul, 2011 08:52 AM

CoverTogether, India, Brazil and South Africa have about 20 per cent of the world’s population. Although the three countries have demonstrated the potential for transformative development in the South, their experience has been marked by key challenges such as relatively high levels of poverty, inequality and food insecurity, problems that persist for significant numbers of people.

There is a potential to build a network of academics and experts from Brazil, India and South Africa, and food security is among the themes of great interest. This paper seeks to contribute to this process by examining pertinent elements of policy dialogue. As regards food security, each of these countries has developed conceptions and orientations that guide their policy agendas. They include distinctive treatments of several multi-dimensional strategies, multi-stakeholder arrangements and rights-based approaches.

Prospects and policy challenges in the Twelfth Plan: A special article by Montek Singh Ahluwalia in EPW
This paper by Montek Singh Ahluwalia in Economic and Political Weekly attempts to review the recent performance of the economy and lists the priorities and challenges for the Twelfth Plan. Posted on 14 Jul, 2011 08:55 AM

The year 2011-12 is the last year of the Eleventh Plan and this is therefore an appropriate time to review what has been achieved with a view to identify weaknesses in the strategy that need to be corrected, and also identify new challenges that may require new initiatives. The paper is presented in the hope of spurring a broader discussion on these issues.

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