Economic implications of agricultural water use in eastern India

The irrigation services are often state-subsidized in agrarian economies for the enhancement of agricultural productivity while they also target poverty alleviation. The agriculture-dependent states of India offer representative examples of undervalued irrigation services mainly sourced by canal net...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xenarios, Stefanos, Amarasinghe, Upali A., Sharma, Bharat R.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Informa UK Limited 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40478
_version_ 1855519051051171840
author Xenarios, Stefanos
Amarasinghe, Upali A.
Sharma, Bharat R.
author_browse Amarasinghe, Upali A.
Sharma, Bharat R.
Xenarios, Stefanos
author_facet Xenarios, Stefanos
Amarasinghe, Upali A.
Sharma, Bharat R.
author_sort Xenarios, Stefanos
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The irrigation services are often state-subsidized in agrarian economies for the enhancement of agricultural productivity while they also target poverty alleviation. The agriculture-dependent states of India offer representative examples of undervalued irrigation services mainly sourced by canal networks. However, canal irrigation is nowadays lagging behind private groundwater initiatives but with significant costs which question the concept of low water pricing in agriculture. This paper assesses irrigation water costs in representative backward clusters of Bihar state in eastern India while the effects on different landholding groups are analysed. The results indicate that marginal landholders heavily rely on purchased water from unofficial markets while they pay the highest amount for irrigation. This is due to limited access in the canal network, possession of inefficient pumping systems and cultivation of crops with a high demand for water. However, acute policy reforms could drastically decrease water costs and improve agricultural productivity.
format Journal Article
id CGSpace40478
institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2011
publishDateRange 2011
publishDateSort 2011
publisher Informa UK Limited
publisherStr Informa UK Limited
record_format dspace
spelling CGSpace404782025-06-17T08:23:26Z Economic implications of agricultural water use in eastern India Xenarios, Stefanos Amarasinghe, Upali A. Sharma, Bharat R. economic situation agricultural production water use water consumption canal irrigation water rates water costs assessment case studies pumping The irrigation services are often state-subsidized in agrarian economies for the enhancement of agricultural productivity while they also target poverty alleviation. The agriculture-dependent states of India offer representative examples of undervalued irrigation services mainly sourced by canal networks. However, canal irrigation is nowadays lagging behind private groundwater initiatives but with significant costs which question the concept of low water pricing in agriculture. This paper assesses irrigation water costs in representative backward clusters of Bihar state in eastern India while the effects on different landholding groups are analysed. The results indicate that marginal landholders heavily rely on purchased water from unofficial markets while they pay the highest amount for irrigation. This is due to limited access in the canal network, possession of inefficient pumping systems and cultivation of crops with a high demand for water. However, acute policy reforms could drastically decrease water costs and improve agricultural productivity. 2011-10-01 2014-06-13T14:47:45Z 2014-06-13T14:47:45Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40478 en Limited Access Informa UK Limited Xenarios, Stefanos; Amarasinghe, Upali; Sharma, Bharat R. 2011. Economic implications of agricultural water use in eastern India. Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research, 3(4):371-391. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/19390459.2011.613633
spellingShingle economic situation
agricultural production
water use
water consumption
canal irrigation
water rates
water costs
assessment
case studies
pumping
Xenarios, Stefanos
Amarasinghe, Upali A.
Sharma, Bharat R.
Economic implications of agricultural water use in eastern India
title Economic implications of agricultural water use in eastern India
title_full Economic implications of agricultural water use in eastern India
title_fullStr Economic implications of agricultural water use in eastern India
title_full_unstemmed Economic implications of agricultural water use in eastern India
title_short Economic implications of agricultural water use in eastern India
title_sort economic implications of agricultural water use in eastern india
topic economic situation
agricultural production
water use
water consumption
canal irrigation
water rates
water costs
assessment
case studies
pumping
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/40478
work_keys_str_mv AT xenariosstefanos economicimplicationsofagriculturalwateruseineasternindia
AT amarasingheupalia economicimplicationsofagriculturalwateruseineasternindia
AT sharmabharatr economicimplicationsofagriculturalwateruseineasternindia