German technique to solve Indian farmers' water woes

A German expert has offered Indian farmers a subterranean irrigation system which uses less than half the amount of water that drip irrigation consumes.

Dr W Staender, who has been advising the European Commission on agriculture, says the sub-irrigation system evolved by him is the next generation drip irrigation.

"Sprinklers waste water. My system uses one-third of what the drip system uses," he says. "Special pipes with slits as thin as a hair strand are laid at a depth of 50 metres. An overhead tank pumps in water round the clock. The irrigation happens in the sub-soil as water oozes out of the slits. There is no scope for evaporation and very little chance for the weeds to grow," Staender says.

The volume of water needed by the soil and the crop is calculated on a computer. This can be raised or reduced, he says, adding that water goes only where the roots need it.

Staender, who has entered into MoUs with some NGOs and a university for pilot projects in India, says he plans to approach the central and state governments for implementing the technology.

The technique, he says, costs Rs 4 lakh per hectare but can double productivity in two to seven years and turn barren lands into fertile bio-mass production zones.Staender said pilot projects were being undertaken in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab.

He has signed MoUs with an NGO, Development Alternatives, Punjab Agricultural University and the Rai Foundation.

Ashok Khosla of Development Alternatives said they were experimenting on various kinds of crops including horticultural on a plantation near Delhi.

"We have invested Rs 1.5 crore in a six-hectare plot. Special pipes and the pipe-laying tractor have been provided by The Club of Budapest International which is funding the project. We are trying to adapt the technology to Indian conditions," he said.