Large tracts of parched lands and severe shortage of drinking water in Maharashtra and Karnataka because of monsoon failure in the past two years have once again triggered a debate about the desirability of growing water-intensive crops such as sugarcane and cotton.
In community-led crop water budgeting recommended by agricultural economists and hydrologists, cane cultivation by way of flood irrigation linked to canal or groundwater that inevitably leads to huge water wastage is unlikely to find favour. Abinash Verma, director-general of Indian Sugar Mills Association, says the monthly use of water for growing the crop should be considered for the right perspective of water footprint of cane farming and not the whole amount consumed during the average 450 days of cultivation.
If Verma's proposition is accepted, then sugarcane emerges as a lot more water-efficient crop than paddy whose growing requires 130 days. In terms of water efficiency, sugarcane is at par with the 180-day cotton crop and soybean, which becomes ready for harvesting in 100 days. In view of wastage of water, which flood irrigation system inevitably entails, Verma advocates a switchover from flood to drip irrigation for cane farming. Drip irrigation leaves only the required water along with fertiliser at plant roots.
A nation is considered water-stressed if its yearly per-capita availability dips below 1,700 cubic metres. By this yardstick, India whose per-capita availability is less than 1,400 cubic metres, is in a crisis. China declared so at 1,500 cubic metres level. India has the risk of becoming water-scarce by 2050. Already, in several places, the per-capita availability is less than 1,000 cubic metres, says Ashok Gulati, the former chairman of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices.
The fast depletion of groundwater, which supports 65 per cent of the total irrigation area, supplies 85 per cent of rural drinking water and meets 65 per cent of urban water requirements, is causing grave concern. A fall in water table by 0.3 metre a year is happening because of inadequate recharging of groundwater. Shashi Shekhar, secretary, Union ministry of water resources, recommends building a "large number of construction tanks and revival of thousands of tanks, which our forefathers had created but which unfortunately are either silted or encroached upon."
Rain water is available for only 90 days in a year and therefore, the stored water is to be wisely used over 365 days.
The Economic Survey for 2015-16 describes water as one of "India's most scarce natural resources. India uses two to four times more water to produce a unit of major food crop" compared with China and Brazil. What naturally follows is the recommendation to turn the focus on improving the efficiency of water use in agriculture, covering all food and non-food crops. Agriculture accounts for 80 per cent of the country's water use. But, water demand from industrial, power and urban sectors will continue to rise putting increasing pressure on supply. Water supply management focus has, therefore, got to be principally on the farm sector. Whatever efforts Verma might make to promote sugarcane cultivation, the crop falls foul of many because of the large amount of water found embedded in the crop, thanks to wasteful flood irrigation. Also unwelcome is the fact that when sugar is sold in the world market, we are also exporting water. India is now a net exporter of water amounting to "one per cent of the total available water every year".
The government and Jain Irrigation, which is single-handedly bringing a growing number of crops under micro irrigation across the country, are on the same page that large-scale application of drip and sprinkler irrigation systems will lead to conservation of water, energy and fertilisers.
A spokesperson for Jain Irrigation says drip and sprinkler irrigation is "suitable for all kinds of terrain and ideal for small farmers". Indian sugarcane productivity is stagnating at 70 tonnes a hectare. Of the 5.3-million hectares under the cash crop, only a fraction is covered by drip irrigation. But, their average cane productivity is 100 tonnes a hectare, giving a major boost to farm income. The bottom line is cane growing by way of drip irrigation leads to 65 per cent saving in water and 45 per cent in electricity, while improving crop productivity by 40 per cent, compared to flow irrigation. Micro irrigation means more crop per drop.
