Constraints Faced by Beneficiary Farmers of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana-Per Drop More Crop (PMKSY-PDMC) in Uttarakhand

As per UN-Water (2021), 72 per cent of all fresh water withdrawals are used by agriculture. Hence, sustainable water use in agriculture is key solution to present water crises worldwide. At present, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was launched in July, 2015 by the Central Government for this purpose. The present study was conducted to analyse the constraints faced by beneficiary farmers of PMKSY-PDMC in Uttarakhand. The study revealed that technical constraints were ‘Damage of laterals, submain and main line’, ‘Leakage of irrigation system’, ‘Difficulty in use of micro irrigation technology’, ‘Irrigation system pose hindrances for other intercultural operation’, ‘Requirement of high maintenance’ and ‘Blockage of water pipes and clogging of emitters’. Infrastructural constraints were ‘Materials and equipment’s supplied by the company are of lower quality’, ‘Services provided by the company are unsatisfactory’, ‘Unavailability of spare parts’ respectively, ‘After sales services are not up to mark’, ‘Insufficient and Irregular supply electricity for irrigation’ and ‘MIS provided is not sufficient or won’t fit the field demand’. Institutional constraints were ‘Inadequate number of demonstrations and trainings to motivate and develop skill for MI’, ‘Lack of knowledge about operation of micro irrigation’, ‘Lack of systematic campaign for popularizing the MIS’, ‘Inadequate awareness about micro irrigation, ‘Lack of individual contact with the expert related to micro irrigation’. Financial constraints were ‘Installation cost is high’, ‘High cost of spare parts’, ‘Time taken in subsidy disbursement is lengthy process’ and ‘Provision of subsidy is less’. Climatic and geographical constraint were ‘Damage to MIS due to cold and high temperature or high temperature’, ‘Choice of MIS does not match crop requirements’, ‘Undulated topography and fragmented land holding’, ‘Improper and Inadequate water source or water storage structure’ and ‘Unavailability of clean water’.