INDIAN
AGRICULTURE – AN
INTRODUCTION
Agriculture in indian economy supports almost 17 per cent of world population from 2.3 per cent of world geographical
area and 4.2 per cent of world’s water resources.
The economic reforms, initiated in the country during the early 1990s, have put the economy on a higher growth trajectory. Annual growth rate in GDP has accelerated from below 6 percent during the initial years of reforms to more than 8 percent in recent years.
This happened mainly due to rapid growth in non-agriculture sector.
The workforce engaged in agriculture between 1980-81 and 2006-07 witnessed a very small decline; from 60.5 percent to 52 percent.
The economic reforms, initiated in the country during the early 1990s, have put the economy on a higher growth trajectory. Annual growth rate in GDP has accelerated from below 6 percent during the initial years of reforms to more than 8 percent in recent years.
This happened mainly due to rapid growth in non-agriculture sector.
The workforce engaged in agriculture between 1980-81 and 2006-07 witnessed a very small decline; from 60.5 percent to 52 percent.
The net sown area is
142 Mha. The net irrigated area was 58.87 Mha in 2004-05. Presently, the total
net irrigated area covers 45.5 per cent of the net sown area, the remaining
54.5 per cent is rainfed.
The degradation of land and surface as well as ground water resources results in fast deterioration of soil health.
The storage, transportation, processing, value addition and marketing of farm produce need to be improved to enhance household food, nutrition and livelihood security.
The degradation of land and surface as well as ground water resources results in fast deterioration of soil health.
The storage, transportation, processing, value addition and marketing of farm produce need to be improved to enhance household food, nutrition and livelihood security.
Indian agriculture is characterized by
agro-ecological diversities in soil, rainfall, temperature, and cropping
system.
Besides favorable solar energy, the country receives about 3 trillion m of rainwater, 14 major, 44 medium and 55 minor rivers share about 83 per cent of the drainage basin.
About 210 billion m3 water is estimated to be available as ground water. Irrigation water is becoming a scarce commodity. Thus proper harvesting and efficient utilization of water is of great importance.
Besides favorable solar energy, the country receives about 3 trillion m of rainwater, 14 major, 44 medium and 55 minor rivers share about 83 per cent of the drainage basin.
About 210 billion m3 water is estimated to be available as ground water. Irrigation water is becoming a scarce commodity. Thus proper harvesting and efficient utilization of water is of great importance.
Average size of farm holdings gradually reduced from 2.58 ha to 1.57 ha (Table 1). Small and marginal farmers have limited resources especially in rain-fed regions where only animate power is used resulting in low productivity.
Though agricultural production is high, the per hectare productivity is much lower than world average. There is an urgent need to increase productivity.
Smaller the farm, greater is the need for
marketable surplus, so that small farmers can have a reasonable income.
Achieving this goal will be possible only if we develop and disseminate
eco-technologies rooted in the principles of ecology, economics, gender equity
and employment generation. This is the pathway to an “ever-green revolution” in
agriculture. The estimated food requirement in India and total production of
major crops indicate that to keep pace with the present population growth and
consumption pattern, food grain requirement has been estimated to be 240 MT by
2020 and 300 MT by 2025. Annual agricultural growth should be maintained at 6.7
per cent to meet these demand projections.
Non-availability of manpower during peak crop
season is many times a problem. The overall achievement in the creation of
irrigation facilities has been relatively better in India with 63 per cent
growth rate compared to the world average. There is a need to increase the utilization
of rainwater to enhance the gross cropped area by 30 Mha as the yield of food
grain in irrigated areas is almost twice that in rain-fed agriculture. Per
capita availability of food grains has declined from 510 g per day in 1990 to
436 g in 2003 and this trend has to be arrested. The infrastructure for
agricultural diversification, reducing post harvest losses of perishables,
value addition to agro-produce and branding system needs to be strengthened.
Agricultural Production and Productivity
The nation is striving to find ways and means to
keep its burgeoning population adequately fed. On the one hand it is facing the
problem of declining productivity and on the other, challenges posed by
liberalization. In such a scenario, leveraging the available natural resources
and existing infrastructure is the only way to make the ends meet. Management
of the already built infrastructure in harmony with natural systems is the
clarion call of the day. Knowledge of the extent of existing infrastructure and
natural resources is one of the most basic pre-requisites to utilize them
effectively and in a sustainable manner. The discipline of agricultural
engineering endeavours to develop technologies for enhancing productivity and
3
reducing the cost of cultivation. Traditionally
animate power was used for field operations and processing activities. As a
result of introduction of mechanical power, agricultural engineering activities
have expanded considerably. To sustain the project population of 1.363 billion
by 2025 the productivity has to be increased by 100 per cent from the present
level by intensification of agriculture. It is estimated that the energy input
to agriculture would have to be increased form the present level of 1.3 to
2.4kW/ha.
The constraints of low productivity in agriculture
were realized and thus, central and state governments emphasized the need for
accelerated development of agriculture. Adoption of high yielding varieties by
farmers coupled with the use of higher doses of fertilizer and assured
irrigation through tube wells accelerated the pace of progress in agriculture.
As a result of adoption of improved inputs and management practices, the total
food grain production increased from a mere 50.8 million tonnes in 1950-51, to
212 million tonnes in 2006-07 and productivity increased from 522 kg/ha to more
than 1707 kg/ha (Table 2). The productivity of wheat, rice and oilseeds
increased to a greater extent than other crops. The increase in production of
food grain was possible as a result of adoption of quality seeds, higher dose
of fertilizer and plant protection chemicals, coupled with assured irrigation.
The growth in production of fruits (46 million tonnes), vegetables (91 million
tonnes), milk (81 million tonnes), fish (57 million tonnes) has also increased.
As a result, not only the country has achieved self-sufficiency in foods but
have adequate agro-produce for export. Our agriculture is now at the crossroads
(Table 3). The use of certified/quality seeds by the farmers has increased to
700,000 tonnes. The fertilizer consumption has increased to 21.65 million
tonnes (more than 112.69 kg/ha) in 2006-07 from 0.29 million tonnes in 1960-61.
It increased at an annual growth of 11.7 per cent. The use of technical grade
plant protection chemicals has increased to 56.11 thousand tonnes (0.4 kg/ha)
from a meagre of 8.62 thousand tonnes in 1960-61.
Crop and site specific agricultural mechanization
and agro-based small and medium enterprises in rural sector using a proper
blend of conventional and renewable energy sources will facilitate in enhancing
agricultural productivity and profitability resulting in higher income for
farmers and better quality of life.
4
2000-
|
2001-
|
2002-
|
2003-
|
2004-
|
2005-
|
2006-07
|
||
01
|
02
|
03
|
04
|
05
|
06
|
(Provisional)
|
||
Oilseeds
|
Production
|
18.44
|
20.66
|
14.84
|
25.29
|
26.10
|
27.98
|
23.26
|
Yield
|
810
|
913
|
691
|
1067
|
967
|
1004
|
895
|
|
Sugarcane
|
Production
|
295.96
|
297.21
|
287.38
|
237.31
|
232.32
|
281.17
|
322.94
|
Yield
|
68577
|
67370
|
63576
|
58986
|
63806
|
66828
|
66833
|
|
Pulses
|
Production
|
11.08
|
13.37
|
11.13
|
14.91
|
13.13
|
13.39
|
14.11
|
Yield
|
544
|
607
|
543
|
635
|
577
|
598
|
594
|
|
Coarse
|
Production
|
31.08
|
33.38
|
26.07
|
37.60
|
33.47
|
34.07
|
32.92
|
cereals
|
Yield
|
1027
|
1131
|
966
|
1221
|
1153
|
1172
|
1158
|
Milk MT
|
Production
|
80.60
|
84.40
|
86.20
|
88.1
|
92.6
|
97.1
|
100..9
|
Fish
|
Production
|
5.66
|
5.96
|
6.20
|
6.40
|
6.30
|
6.57
|
6.87
|
Irrigated area, Mha
|
75.95
|
78.81
|
75.87*
|
77.94*
|
78.00*
|
80.00*
|
82.63*
|
|
Fertiliser
|
13.88
|
17.36
|
16.09
|
16.80
|
18.34
|
20.34
|
21.65
|
|
consumption MT
|
||||||||
Per capita availability
|
495.50
|
416.20
|
494.10
|
437.6
|
462.7
|
422.4*
|
445..3
|
|
of food grains
|
||||||||
(gms/day)
|
||||||||
5
Crop
|
Production rank
|
Productivity rank
|
Paddy
|
2nd
|
30th
|
Wheat
|
2nd
|
22nd
|
Maize
|
7th
|
35th
|
Total cereals
|
3rd
|
36th
|
Groundnut
|
2nd
|
40th
|
Rapeseeds
|
3rd
|
28th
|
Pulses
|
1st
|
44th
|
Potato
|
4th
|
26th
|
Fruits
|
2nd (10 per cent
|
-
|
share)
|
||
Vegetables
|
2nd (9 per cent
|
-
|
share)
|
Farm mechanization
Mechanization is viewed as package of technology to
(i) ensure timely field operations to increase productivity, reduce crop losses
and improve quality of agro-produce (ii) increase land utilization and input
use efficiency (iii) increase labour productivity using labour saving and
drudgery reducing devices besides, being cost effective and eco-friendly.
Appropriate machinery have been adapted by farmers for ensuring timely field
operations and effective application of various crop production inputs
utilizing human, animal and mechanical power sources. Diverse farm
mechanization scenario prevails in the country due to size of farm holdings
(average farm holding size 1.6 ha) and socio-economic disparities. Indian
agriculture continues to be dependent upon human (agricultural workers
population 234.10million in 2000-
1)
and draught animal power (27
million pairs). Hand tools and animal drawn implements are extensively used
which involve a great amount of drudgery. Adoption of tractors has been on the
increase. Sale of tractors during 2005-06 touched 292000 nos.
Mechanization indicator is one of the measures of
modernization of agriculture of a country (Table 4). The availability of farm
power or energy per unit area (kW/ha) has been considered as one of the
parameters for expressing level of mechanization. Ratio of machine work and sum
of manual and machine work has also been considered to estimate the level of
mechanization. The unit farm power available from all sources (animate and mechanical
power) increased from 0.20 to 0.90 kW/ha (on the basis of net cropped area)
from 1950-51 to 1996-97. The ratio of tractive power to total farm power has
increased from 0.82 to 32.25 per cent.
Table 4
|
Level of mechanization
|
|
Sl. No.
|
Operation
|
Percentage
|
1
|
Tillage
|
40.2
|
Tractor
|
15.6
|
|
Animal
|
24.7
|
|
2
|
Sowing with drills and planters
|
28.9
|
Tractors
|
8.3
|
|
Animal
|
20.6
|
6
Irrigation
|
37
|
|
4
|
Thresher- Wheat
|
47.8
|
Paddy
and others
|
4.4
|
|
5
|
Harvesting
|
|
Reapers
|
0.56
|
|
Combines
|
0.37
|
|
6
|
Plant protection
|
34.2
|
A number of machines and equipment suitable for
different farm operations suited to different agro-climatic regions and
categories of farm have been developed and tested (Table-5). Most of these
machines are available commercially and have been well adopted.
Table 5 Present Status of mechanization in Farm
Mechanization
Technology
|
Present Status
|
|||||
Land Development
|
||||||
Land
|
levelling
|
and
|
Bull
dozers, power rakes,
land planes etc.
are
|
|||
grading
|
commercially
available. Animal drawn and
|
tractor
|
||||
levellers
are available for wetland and laser land leveller
|
||||||
for
large scale levelling.
|
||||||
Summer
|
ploughing
|
and
|
Tractor drawn mould board ploughs, disc plough
and
|
|||
subsoiling
|
subsoilers,
para plough are available commercially.
|
|||||
Seedbed
|
preparation
|
-
|
T/M strip till drill, roto till drill and zero
till seed cum
|
|||
conservation
|
tillage
|
fertilizer
drill field, till planter tested in light soils of
|
||||
seeding
|
raised
|
bed
|
northern
India and found useful for sowing of wheat.
|
|||
planting
|
||||||
Seedbed
|
preparation
|
-
|
Tractor mounted mould board, disc ploughs, disc
|
|||
Flat
bed
|
harrows,
cultivator etc are available commercially and
|
|||||
being
used by the farmers. Adoption of T/m rotavator is
|
||||||
increasing.
|
||||||
Seedbed
|
preparation
|
-
|
Good designs of A/d and T/d puddlers, levellers,
hydro
|
|||
low land
|
tiller
and rotavator are available commercially.
|
|||||
Pit making
|
Tractor mounted augers were imported and tested.
Few
|
|||||
indigenous
designs of tractor and power tiller mounted
|
||||||
augers
were developed and commercialized.
|
||||||
Manure application
|
Manual spreading and transportation through
tractor is
|
|||||
practised.
Power tiller and tractor-operated designs are
|
||||||
ready
for commercialization.
|
||||||
Sowing and Planting
|
||||||
Drilling
|
Animal
draw, Tractor mounted
and Power tiller
|
|||||
operated
seed drills, seed cum fertilizer drill
|
are
|
|||||
available
|
||||||
Planting/hill planting/
|
Dibblers, inclined plate planters and pneumatic
plate
|
|||||
Precision
drill
|
planters
are available
|
|||||
Planting
|
of
|
tubers
|
and
|
Potato planters of animal, tractor and power
tiller
|
||
rhizomes
|
mounted
are available.
|
|||||
Weeding and Interculture
|
||||||
Manual
|
weeding
|
and
|
Tools are available commercially; grubber, twin
wheel
|
|||
earthing
|
hoe,
cono weeder are common on Indian farms.
|
|||||
7
Technology
|
Present Status
|
||||||||||||
Power weeders
|
Developed and tested.
|
Rotary power weeder has been
|
|||||||||||
adopted
in different agro-climatic regions.
|
|||||||||||||
Power
|
tiller
|
operated
|
Developed and tested.
|
Power tiller mounted cultivator,
|
|||||||||
cultivation
and earthing
|
power
tiller mounted earthing cum fertilizer is under
|
||||||||||||
promotion
in sugarcane crop.
|
|||||||||||||
Tractor
|
mounted
|
Commercially available
|
|||||||||||
cultivator
and earthing
|
|||||||||||||
Plant Protection
|
|||||||||||||
Manual sprayers
|
Commercially available on large scale
|
||||||||||||
Manual
dusters
|
|||||||||||||
Animal
|
operated
|
Few commercial models are available.
|
Bullock drawn
|
||||||||||
sprayers
|
sprayer
for soybean and cotton is being promoted.
|
||||||||||||
Engine
|
operated
|
Many models are available
|
|||||||||||
sprayers
and dusters
|
|||||||||||||
Self
|
propelled
|
sprayers
|
High capacity sprayers are commercially
available.
|
||||||||||
and
dusters
|
|||||||||||||
Power
|
tiller
|
operated
|
Few
|
models
|
developed
|
by
|
R&D
|
Centres.
|
|||||
sprayers
and dusters
|
Commercialised
in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and
|
||||||||||||
Maharasthra.
Power tiller operated orchard sprayer with
|
|||||||||||||
turbo
nozzle has been commercialised.
|
|||||||||||||
Tractor
|
mounted
|
Commercially
|
available. Few
|
imported models field-
|
|||||||||
sprayers
and dusters
|
tested
and adopted by farmers. Aeroblast sprayers are in
|
||||||||||||
use for
horticultural crops.
|
|||||||||||||
Air
|
assisted
|
spraying
|
Manual and tractor mounted equipment have been
|
||||||||||
and
dusting
|
developed/adopted
|
||||||||||||
Harvesting & Threshing
|
|||||||||||||
Manual sickles
|
Locally made available at large scale.
|
With serrations
|
|||||||||||
many
designs are available for commercialization
|
|||||||||||||
Reaper-windrowers
|
Walk behind type models were designed, developed,
|
||||||||||||
Walking
type
|
tested
and commercialised
|
||||||||||||
Riding type
|
Prototypes available
|
||||||||||||
Power tiller mounted
|
A platform type reaper made and tested
|
||||||||||||
Tractor mounted
|
A number of models are being manufactured on
large
|
||||||||||||
scale. Now again its scope is increasing due to
the
|
|||||||||||||
requirement
of wheat and rice straw for fodder pin poses.
|
|||||||||||||
Groundnut diggers
|
Animal drawn, power tiller mounted and tractor
mounted
|
||||||||||||
diggers
are available.
|
|||||||||||||
Potato
|
diggers/sweet
|
Animal drawn, Tractor mounted semi and automatic
|
|||||||||||
potato
harvesters
|
potato
diggers developed and tested.
|
Power tiller
|
|||||||||||
mounted
potato digger is available.
|
|||||||||||||
Power threshers
|
Commercially available. Threshers for sunflower,
maize,
|
||||||||||||
Specialized
threshers
|
groundnut,
castor etc. have been developed.
|
||||||||||||
Multicrop thresher
|
Small and high capacity threshers developed and
tested
|
||||||||||||
for
rice, wheat, mustard, sunflower, safflower, sorghum,
|
|||||||||||||
maize,
pigeon-pea etc.
|
|||||||||||||
Combine
harvesters - Commercially available rice
8
Present Status
|
||||
General
|
purpose
|
grain
|
Commercially available
|
|
combine
|
||||
Straw combine
|
Commercially available for wheat
|
|||
Plot combine
|
Limited scope. Imported models are available
|
|||
Noise and Vibration on
|
Studies have been carried out which indicate that
|
|||
tractors
|
and
|
power
|
operators
of these power units are exposed to high level
|
|
tillers
|
of
noise and vibration, which are detrimental to health
|
|||
and
work performance.
|
||||
Modernization requires sophistication in
mechanization, which is possible at relatively large scales of operations with
capital and management constraints overcome. Marginal and small farmers are
increasingly becoming part time, with absentee farmers, periurban farmers, wage
earners on a part or full time basis. Industry and service sectors, trade and
commerce unable to reduce land based livelihoods compel rural people to remain
on land based livelihoods, forcing a steady increase in the number of land
holdings but with average land holdings going down making mechanization more
challenging and difficult. Scaling down of farm machines reduces mechanical
advantages. Instead of owning farm machinery other than hand tools, such
marginal farms can meet their needs through custom servicing. (if it is well
developed).
Farm Power Availability
India has made remarkable progress in agricultural
mechanization technology. The country evolved a selective mechanization model
using a power mix based on animate and inanimate power sources. The mix of
power sources includes human beings, animals, power tillers, tractors, engines
and electric motors. One of the globally used Index of Agriculture
Mechanization (IAM) is power availability per unit area. The power availability
is computed by taking both animals and inanimate power sources. Nearly 80 per
cent of the power in agriculture is contributed by inanimate power sources.
Table 6 shows the farm power availability and density of different power
sources in India. Table 8 shows the farm power availability versus food grain
production. It is apparent from these tables that agricultural productivity is
directly related to farm power availability. States with higher power per unit
area also have higher food production (Table 7). It is evident that higher
power availability will have to be ensured in the states with lower power
availability. This is also true for rainfed areas, where the power availability
is barely 0.54 kW./ha. The power availability in hilly areas is also quite low.
The increasing use of tractors and irrigation pumps
operated by electric motors and diesel engines are the indictors of the fact
that use of mechanical power in India has increased many fold during the last
two decades. Power availability was 0.32 kW/ha in 1965-66 and increased to 1.34
kW/ha in 2005-06 and needs to be increased to 2 kW/ha. The cultivable area per
tractor was 2162 ha in 1965-66 and has come down to about 50 ha per tractor in
2005-06 with the addition of a large number of tractors. However, it is seen
that the most popular model of tractor has a rating of 35 hp, which has a
command area of about 15-20 ha.
9
Status of farm power sources in India
|
|||||||
Sources
|
Unit
|
1960-
|
1970-
|
1980-
|
1990-
|
2000-
|
2004-
|
61
|
71
|
81
|
91
|
01
|
05
|
||
Agricultural
|
Number,
|
116.0
|
124.2
|
149.3
|
183.5
|
214.9
|
227.7
|
workers
|
million
|
||||||
Power,
|
5.8
|
6.2
|
7.5
|
9.2
|
10.7
|
11.4
|
|
mkW
|
|||||||
Draft
|
Number,
|
80.4
|
82.6
|
73.4
|
70.9
|
60.3
|
56.5
|
animals
|
million
|
||||||
Power,
|
30.6
|
31.4
|
27.8
|
26.9
|
22.9
|
21.5
|
|
mkW
|
|||||||
Tractors
|
Number,
|
0.037
|
0.168
|
0.531
|
1.192
|
2.472
|
2.812
|
million
|
|||||||
Power,
|
1.00
|
4.38
|
13.86
|
31.11
|
64.52
|
73.39
|
|
mkW
|
|||||||
Power
|
Number,
|
0
|
0.096
|
0.0162
|
0.0312
|
0.0775
|
0.0783
|
tillers
|
million
|
||||||
Power,
|
0
|
0.054
|
0.0196
|
0.175
|
0.434
|
0.438
|
|
mkW
|
|||||||
Diesel
|
Number,
|
0.230
|
1.700
|
2.880
|
4.800
|
6.226
|
7.595
|
engines
|
million
|
||||||
Power,
|
1.298
|
9.52
|
16.13
|
26.88
|
34.86
|
42.53
|
|
mkW
|
|||||||
Electric
|
Number,
|
0.200
|
1.600
|
3.350
|
8.070
|
13.250
|
14.467
|
motors
|
million
|
||||||
Power,
|
0.74
|
5.92
|
12.39
|
29.86
|
49.03
|
53.53
|
|
mkW
|
|||||||
1 Human = 0.05 kW, Draught animal pair = 0.38 kW, Power tiller = 5.6 kW;
Tractor = 26.1 kW, Electric motor = 3.7 kW, Diesel engine = 5.6 kW.
Table
|
7 Cultivated area, production and power
availability in India.
|
|||||||
Year
|
Croppi
|
Net
|
Gross
|
Irriga
|
Producti
|
Net sown
|
Power
|
|
ng
|
sown
|
sown
|
ted
|
vity
|
area per
|
availabil
|
||
intensit
|
area
|
area
|
area
|
T/ha
|
tractor
|
ity,
|
||
y
|
Mha
|
Mha
|
Mha
|
ha
|
kWha
|
|||
( per
|
||||||||
cent)
|
||||||||
1980-
|
124
|
140.3
|
173.3
|
38.7
|
1.023
|
264
|
0.55
|
|
81
|
||||||||
1985-
|
127
|
141.0
|
178.8
|
42.1
|
1.184
|
174
|
0.73
|
|
86
|
||||||||
1990-
|
130
|
142.2
|
185.5
|
48.0
|
1.468
|
119
|
0.87
|
|
91
|
||||||||
1995-
|
131
|
142.8
|
186.8
|
53.0
|
1.499
|
84
|
1.05
|
|
96
|
||||||||
2000-
|
131.6
|
141.2
|
185.7
|
54.83
|
1.630
|
57
|
1.29
|
|
01
|
||||||||
2004-
|
135.6
|
141.0
|
191.2
|
56.21
|
1.650
|
50
|
1.44
|
|
05
|
||||||||
10
Farm Power availability and
average productivity of food grains in
|
|||
India in 2001
|
|||
State
|
Farm
Power availability,
|
Food grain productivity,
|
|
kW/ha
|
kg/ha
|
||
Punjab
|
3.50
|
4032
|
|
Haryana
|
2.25
|
3088
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
1.75
|
2105
|
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
1.60
|
1995
|
|
Uttranchal
|
1.60
|
1712
|
|
West Bengal
|
1.25
|
2217
|
|
Tamil Nadu
|
0.90
|
2262
|
|
Karnataka
|
0.90
|
1406
|
|
Kerala
|
0.80
|
2162
|
|
Assam
|
0.80
|
1443
|
|
Bihar
|
0.80
|
1622
|
|
Gujarat
|
0.80
|
1169
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
0.80
|
907
|
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
0.70
|
1500
|
|
Maharashtra
|
0.70
|
757
|
|
Rajasthan
|
0.65
|
884
|
|
Jharkhand
|
0.60
|
1095
|
|
Jammu
|
&
|
0.60
|
1050
|
Kashmir
|
|||
Orissa
|
0.60
|
799
|
|
Chhattisgarh
|
0.60
|
799
|
|
All India
|
1.35
|
1723
|
|
Irrigation
Water is an essential natural resource for the
survival of life, a key input for plant growth and is instrumental in the
upkeep of the environment. Although water is a renewable source, it is quite
dynamic and scarce. The source of all water is annual precipitation/rainfall
and it is affected by a number of factors. As a result, rainfall in India is
highly variable, irregular and undependable with widespread variation among
various meteorological sub-divisions in terms of distribution and amount. The
highest and lowest annual average rainfall in India is 10,000 mm (Khasi-Jaintia
Hill, Meghalaya) and 100 mm in Rajasthan, respectively. The distribution of
water is highly skewed and to make it better the technical feasibility of inter
basin transfer of water by linking Himalayan and Peninsular rivers has been
investigated and the proposal is under consideration of the Government of
India. It is estimated that after the development of full irrigation potential
of 140 million ha as against the cropped area of 200 million ha by the year
2010, about 60 million ha will be left as rainfed. It, therefore, demands that
every drop of rainfall should be conserved and it can be done by in-situ and
ex-situ harvesting of rainfall. Significant progress has been made in the
development of water harvesting, conservation and utilization technology. For
better water use efficiency, it is necessary to adapt efficient irrigation
methods that are technically feasible, economically viable and socially
acceptable. Drip and micro irrigation systems need to be adopted and
popularized for row crops, horticulture and especially for widely spaced high
value crops in undulating terrains, shallow and porous soils and in water
scarce areas. However, the associated issues/problems of
