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Is Irrigation Water Free? A Reality Check in the Indo-Gangetic Basin

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  • Shah, Tushaar
  • Ul Hassan, Mehmood
  • Khattak, Muhammad Zubair
  • Banerjee, Parth Sarthi
  • Singh, O.P.
  • Rehman, Saeed Ur

Abstract

Summary "Getting prices right" is the silver bullet widely advocated to developing countries in fighting waste, misallocation and scarcity of water. In the vast, poverty-stricken Indo-Gangetic basin, however, high surrogate water price is driving out small-holder irrigation. With rising diesel prices, most small-holders who use borewells for irrigation find effective water use cost soaring, obliging them to economize on water use even by quitting irrigated farming. Electrified borewell owners, far fewer, face low marginal cost but have to contend with stringent electricity rationing. Public irrigation systems grossly under-price irrigation, but these are getting marginalized despite massive government and donor investments.

Suggested Citation

  • Shah, Tushaar & Ul Hassan, Mehmood & Khattak, Muhammad Zubair & Banerjee, Parth Sarthi & Singh, O.P. & Rehman, Saeed Ur, 2009. "Is Irrigation Water Free? A Reality Check in the Indo-Gangetic Basin," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 422-434, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:37:y:2009:i:2:p:422-434
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Kishore, Avinash & Joshi, Pramod Kumar & Pandey, Divya, 2014. "Droughts, distress, and policies for drought proofing agriculture in Bihar, India:," IFPRI discussion papers 1398, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    3. Shaheen, Farhet & Shah, Farhed A., 2017. "Climate Change, Economic Growth, and Cooperative Management of Indus River Basin," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258350, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Christian Franco-Crespo & Jose Maria Sumpsi Viñas, 2017. "The Impact of Pricing Policies on Irrigation Water for Agro-Food Farms in Ecuador," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-18, August.
    5. Bajaj, Akshi & Singh, S.P. & Nayak, Diptimayee, 2022. "Impact of water markets on equity and efficiency in irrigation water use: A systematic review and meta-analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    6. Kishore, Avinash & Singh, Vartika, 2021. "Seeds, Water, and Markets to Increase Wheat Productivity in Bihar, India," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315022, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Urfels, Anton & Mausch, Kai & Harris, Dave & McDonald, Andrew J. & Kishore, Avinash & Balwinder-Singh, & van Halsema, Gerardo & Struik, Paul C. & Craufurd, Peter & Foster, Timothy & Singh, Vartika & K, 2023. "Farm size limits agriculture's poverty reduction potential in Eastern India even with irrigation-led intensification," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    8. Turral, Hugh & Svendsen, Mark & Faures, Jean Marc, 2010. "Investing in irrigation: Reviewing the past and looking to the future," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(4), pages 551-560, April.
    9. Richard Ackermann, 2012. "New Directions for Water Management in Indian Agriculture," Global Journal of Emerging Market Economies, Emerging Markets Forum, vol. 4(2), pages 227-288, May.
    10. Clement, Floriane & Ishaq, Saba & Samad, Madar & Acharya, N. Sreedhar & Radha, A. Venkata & Haileslassie, Amare & Blümmel, Michael & Dey, Amitav & Khan, M.A. & Shindey, D.N. & Mit, Rajesh, 2010. "Improving water productivity, reducing poverty and enhancing equity in mixed crop-livestock systems in the Indo-Gangetic Basin," IWMI Reports 212431, International Water Management Institute.
    11. Zareena Begum Irfan & Bina Gupta, 2015. "To Consume or to Conserve: Examining Water Conservation Model for Wheat Cultivation in India," Working Papers 2015-101, Madras School of Economics,Chennai,India.
    12. Jin Kathrine Fosli & A. Amarender Reddy & Radhika Rani, 2021. "The Policy of Free Electricity to Agriculture Sector: Implications and Perspectives of the Stakeholders in India," Journal of Development Policy and Practice, , vol. 6(2), pages 252-269, July.
    13. Enrica De Cian & Ian Sue Wing, 2016. "Global Energy Demand in a Warming Climate," Working Papers 2016.16, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    14. Mkondiwa, Maxwell & Urfels, Anton, 2024. "Risk-based evaluations of competing agronomic climate adaptation strategies: The case of rice planting strategies in the indo-Gangetic Plains," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    15. Xenarios, Stefanos & Amarasinghe, Upali & Sharma, Bharat R., 2011. "Valuating agricultural water use and ecological services in agrarian economies: evidences from eastern India," IWMI Research Reports H043778, International Water Management Institute.
    16. Bajaj, Akshi & Singh, S.P. & Nayak, Diptimayee, 2023. "Are farmers willing to pay for groundwater irrigation? Insights from informal groundwater markets in Western Uttar Pradesh, India," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    17. Erenstein, Olaf, 2009. "Comparing water management in rice-wheat production systems in Haryana, India and Punjab, Pakistan," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(12), pages 1799-1806, December.
    18. Singh, K M & Singh, Pushpa, 2017. "Doubling farmers’ income: An action research initiative in Bihar (India)," MPRA Paper 96702, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Sep 2019.
    19. Clement, Floriane & Ishaq, Saba & Samad, Madar & Acharya, N. Sreedhar & Radha, A. Venkata & Haileslassie, A. & Blummel, M. & Dey, A. & Khan, M. A. & Shindey, D. N. & Mit, R., 2010. "Improving water productivity, reducing poverty and enhancing equity in mixed crop-livestock systems in the Indo-Gangetic Basin: CPWF project report 68," IWMI Research Reports H043549, International Water Management Institute.
    20. Achiransu Acharyya & Madhusudan Ghosh & Rabindra N. Bhattacharya, 2018. "Groundwater Market in West Bengal, India: Does it Display Monopoly Power?," Studies in Microeconomics, , vol. 6(1-2), pages 105-129, June.
    21. Mishra, Ashok & Siderius, Christian & Aberson, Kenny & van der Ploeg, Martine & Froebrich, Jochen, 2013. "Short-term rainfall forecasts as a soft adaptation to climate change in irrigation management in North-East India," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 97-106.
    22. Foster, Timothy & Adhikari, Roshan & Adhikari, Subash & Justice, Scott & Tiwari, Baburam & Urfels, Anton & Krupnik, Timothy J., 2021. "Improving pumpset selection to support intensification of groundwater irrigation in the Eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).

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