Revamping Policy for
Water and
Energy Use in Agriculture
Context
The indiscriminate use of disinfectants and soaps to reduce the chance
of COVID 19 spread is contaminating our water bodies and groundwater.
However, almost nothing has been mentioned about the issue of overuse of
water and contamination of water bodies in the awareness being generated
on health and hygiene.
India is
already an extremely water stressed nation. The pandemic situation will
not only impact the fresh water availability in the country but will
also burden the already depleting groundwater aquifers.
Issue of Excessive Use of Groundwater in Agriculture
Since the
Green Revolution in the 1960s, groundwater has played a vital role in
irrigating water-thirsty crops such as rice to feed India’s ever-growing
population (Mongabay, 7 June 2018). Groundwater level in India declined
by 61% in a decade (between 2007 and 2017). 89% of this extracted
groundwater is used for irrigation (Down to Earth, 9 July 2019).
Crop
choices too over the last few decades have contributed to our rapidly
depleting groundwater tables. While in the early eighties and nineties,
farming was based on the agro-climatic conditions of the region (based
on rainfall), the practice has shifted completely in the last two
decades. Rice, a water intensive crop from South India is grown in the
central Indian belt and North Indian states of Punjab and Haryana due to
easy availability of irrigation facility and free electricity for ground
water extraction backed by minimum support price (MSP).
The net
area irrigated by groundwater has increased seven-fold from 5.98 million
ha in 1950-51 to 42.44 million ha in 2013-14. In the same period, canal
irrigated area rose only two-fold, from 8.29 million ha to 16.28 million
ha (Hindu Business Line, 21 January 2019). Groundwater overexploitation
has reached near-crisis level in the states dominated by electric tube
wells and cheap or free power. The nine states of Punjab, Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu together account for 85% of India’s
groundwater blocks that are in critical condition. If current trends of
declining groundwater tables continue, 60% of all aquifers in India will
be in critical condition by 2025 (SW4All report, 2015).
![](images/Pg9.jpg)
Issue of Free Energy/ Cross Subsidised Energy in Agriculture Sector
In many
states of India, as part of the agricultural subsidies, electricity is
provided free to the farmers. This free electricity is used to draw
groundwater indiscriminately. States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu have
seen this trend. There has been a sharp growth in electricity use in the
agriculture sector, especially since the 1980s with consumption rising
from 3,465 million units (mu) in 1969 (8% of the total consumption) to
173,185 mu in 2016 (17% of the total). This is supplied either free or
at subsidised rates, and a large part of it is not metered. Close to 85%
of pumping energy used in agriculture comes from electricity, the rest
being mainly from diesel. (Hindu Business line, Opinion, Jan 21 2019).
This explains the kind of pressure being exerted on the ground water
table. Efforts to recharge the groundwater have been minimum. In
addition to this, excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, also
subsidised, have contaminated the groundwater through percolation from
the agricultural lands, giving birth to various health hazards for the
people living in these states.
These
agricultural cross subsidies not only burden the industrial and
commercial consumers, huge financial investments also go from the state
governments to provide direct subsidies to the farmers. As a result, the
electricity distribution companies (discoms) lose revenue.
Policy
Recommendations
![](images/Pg10.jpg)
To
establish a new normal scenario, states need to regularise water and
power use to the agriculture sector. India’s agriculture policy needs to
look at all the issues in a comprehensive way. The figure shows how
these issues are interlinked. Most of the countries where farming is the
main source of livelihood of the majority of the population provide
electricity and water free or at subsidised rates to the farmers but
they have devised effective ways of dealing with the issue of
overexploitation of groundwater. Below are a few examples:
Spain
uses an European Union programme which pays a subsidy of 420 Euros / ha
to reduce groundwater extraction.
Mexico
implements a cap on the quantity of subsidised electricity through a
formula based approach and is now considering direct cash transfer to
farmers in lieu of tariff subsidy.
Oman
subsidises electricity tariff for agriculture but meters consumption and
plans to implement consumption quotas.
Bangladesh provides a direct subsidy for diesel fuel purchase to
eligible farmers based on their land holdings.
Policy recommendations for the Indian context are as follows:
-
Electricity
subsidy should only be provided to farmers who have lower land holdings
through direct cash transfer mode and not as a free resource.
-
Subsidy
money should be used by farmers to purchase electricity in order to
prudently irrigate their lands.
-
Surface
water irrigation should be given preference rather than using ground
water.
The need of
the hour is to initiate strong policies at the state level to not only
reduce groundwater use but also revamp subsidy policy in the power
sector and implement policies with proper monitoring framework in place
for the sustainable use of natural resources and to achieve the goal of
SDGs.
■
References:
-
Direct
Delivery of Power Subsidy to Agriculture in India, SE4ALL
-
Dharmadhikary, S., Nhalur, S., & Dabadge, A. (2019, January 21). Issues
in power subsidy and farm distress. The Hindu Business Line .
-
DNA .
(2019, July 09). Groundwater extraction behind 61% decline in India's
water levels. DNA.
-
Down to
Earth. (2019, September 06). Growing gap in irrigation potential and
usage major challenge. Down to Earth.
-
MONGABAY .
(2018, June 07). India's groundwater crises, fuelled by intense pumping,
needs urgent management. MONGABAY.
-
World Bank
Group. (2010). Deep wells and prudence : towards pragmatic action for
addressing groundwater overexploitation in India. Washington D.C : World
Bank Group.
-
Understanding the Electricity, Water, Agriculture Linkages, Volume 1:
Overview , Prayas Energy Group, September 2018.
Gitika Goswami
ggoswami@devalt.org
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