National Water Mission’s (NWM) campaign “Catch The Rain Campaign” with the tagline “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls” is to nudge the states and stake-holders to create appropriate Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS) suitable to the climatic conditions and sub-soil strata before monsoon.
As per the Central Water Commission’s water availability inputs’ data (for the year 2019), India receives mean annual precipitation of about 3880 billion cubic meters (BCM). Out of this, only 699 BCM (18 %) is utilized, and the rest of it is lost due to evaporation and other factors. In 2025, the water demand is likely to be 843 BCM and 1180 BCM, respectively. Although the targets are not in reach, an appropriate strategy, if followed systematically, not only “catches more rain” but also ensures better demand management of water.
The United Nations’Nations’ report on Sustainable Development Goal-6 (SDG-6) on “Clean water and sanitation for all by 2030” quotes that India achieved only 56.6 % of the target by 2019. The SDG Goal status shows that India needs to move faster to meet the requirements. As per the NITI Aayog’s Composite Water Management Index (2019), India does not have drinking water access to 75% of households on their premises. Among 122 countries, India ranks 120th in the water quality index.
Over the per capita availability, India is identified as a water-stressed country. Water availability declined from 5178 cubic meters per year in 1951 to 1544 cubic meters per year in 2011. This is likely to go down to 1140 cubic meters by 2050.
About the Catch the Rain campaign
- The campaign is aimed to nudge the states and stakeholders.
- It is aimed to create appropriate Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS) suitable to the sub-soil strata before monsoon and climatic conditions.
- It is aimed to make check dams, rooftop RWHS, water harvesting pits, etc.
- Also, it envisages the removal of encroachments and de-silting of tanks to increase their storage capacity, remove obstructions in the channels that bring water to the catchment areas, etc.
- It objectifies to repair stepwells and using defunct bore-wells and unused wells to put water back to aquifers etc., to be taken up with community participation.
Water Requirement in Agriculture
- 78 % of freshwater resources are dedicated to agriculture. With the country’s development, the share of drinking water, industries, etc., is likely to increase.
- Per drop more crop in agriculture needs to be given effect, and the challenge is it can be daunting.
- A paradigm shift is needed to implement the strategy to increase land productivity measures as tonnes per hectare (t/ha) and maximize applied irrigation productivity measured as kg, or Rs, kg/m3.
- For crops such as rice and sugarcane, water should be used judiciously.
- These two crops alone consume nearly 60% of India’sIndia’s irrigation water, a NABARD-ICRIER study revealed.
State-wise Land Productivity
- Punjab scores high on land productivity of rice. Applied irrigation (controlled amounts of water to land to assist in producing crops) is negligible in Punjab.
- Southern states, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu, are only one-third of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
- Therefore, there is a need to re-align cropping patterns based on per unit of applied irrigation water productivity.
Existing Technologies for Irrigation
To produce the same output of these crops with almost half the irrigation water, there are some existing technologies in India:
a. Jain irrigation:
- Set up drip irrigation pilots for paddy in Karnal (Haryana) and Tamil Nadu and sugarcane in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh.
b. Traditional flood irrigation:
- The stats indicate that 3065 liters of water requirements under the traditional irrigation are 7.75 t/ha to produce 1 kg of paddy grain.
- Under drip irrigation, it can be reduced up to 842 liters.
Benefits of cost ratio of Drip Irrigation
- Drip irrigation with fertigation in the sugarcane case in Karnataka is observed as 2.64 t/ha.
- ”Family Drip System,” an extension to the drip irrigation. It was innovated by the Israel-based, Netafim, the world’s largest drip irrigation company.
Note: The company has also launched its largest demonstration project in Asia at Ramthal, Karnataka.
- Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) technology and the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) technology can also save 25-30 % of water compared to traditional flood irrigation.
Challenges associated with Drip Irrigation
- Under the current pricing policy of agri-inputs, technological solutions cannot make much headway unless the pricing is addressed. Farmers must be incentivized to save water.
- State Govt of Punjab and World Bank and J-PAL have initiated some pilot projects with an innovative policy of “Paani Bachao Paise Kamao.”
- It is aimed to encourage rational use of water among farmers. Meters are installed on farmers’ pumps under this initiative.
- Under the scheme, they are incentivized to save water pr power consumption compared to the previous usage.
- The incentive is credited directly into their bank accounts.
Way forward
Conclusively, it appears that it is time to switch from the highly subsidized price policy of water/power and even fertilizers to direct income support on a per hectare basis. Investment policies that help with newer technologies and innovations need to be in place. It is essential to price water and power as per their economic value. The recovery is critical for sustainable agriculture.
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