A+| A| A-
Micro-irrigation Neglected
In spite of the sustained efforts made by central and state governments, the adoption of micro-irrigation (MI) in the country—mainly sprinkler and drip irrigation—is rather tardy. The estimated potential of MI in the country is about 42 million hectares (mha) and the current coverage of area under MI in the country as on March 2013 is only about 6.0 mha (14%). The main bottleneck is the poor administration in implementing the subsidy by the states. Reducing the capital cost, effective subsidy disbursement and increasing the technical know-how will help the spread of MI in a bigger way.
In spite of the sustained efforts made by central and state governments, the adoption of micro-irrigation (MI) in the country—mainly sprinkler and drip irrigation—is rather tardy. The estimated potential of MI in the country is about 42 million hectares (mha) and the current coverage of area under MI in the country as on March 2013 is only about 6.0 mha (14%). The main bottleneck is the poor administration in implementing the subsidy by the states. Reducing the capital cost, effective subsidy disbursement and increasing the technical know-how will help the spread of MI in a bigger way. Even though Gujarat (Gujarat Green Revolution Company) and Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Pradesh Micro Irrigation Project) models have shown appreciable progress in recent years, other states have not been able to emulate due to poor governance.
Alternative MI subsidy implementation models can be considered:
Dear Reader,
Or
To gain instant access to this article (download).
(Readers in India)
(Readers outside India)
