Do Farmers Gain by More Crop Per Drop?

Farmers are often advised to cultivate ‘more crop per drop’ of water. But does this fetch higher profits? Utilising field data from Karnataka, the paper analyses, which strategy benefits the most in crop choice. Economic analysis indicates that the strategy of ‘more crop per drop’ fetched lower net return than the strategy of maximizing net returns. The highest yielding crops using ‘more crop per drop’ were papaya (14.12 kgs per M3 of water) followed by palak (13.5), cabbage (11.99), ash gourd (11.39), tomato (10.02). Similarly, the crops fetching maximum net returns per rupee of expenditure on water were marigold (Rs 1.89 per rupee of water cost) followed by mulberry (1.63), chrysanthemum (1.30), palak (1.21), papaya (1.10). The implications of the study are, Punjab-Haryana farmers by cultivating rice as monocropping using three times groundwater used by Karnataka farmers are realising net return of Rs..50,000 per acre (without accounting for cost of groundwater), while Karnataka farmers by using one-third of groundwater, by following drip irrigation are realising net returns of Rs.1.13 lakhs per acre (by accounting for cost of groundwater) which is twice that of Punjab – Haryana farmers.