Water Management Strategies for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development of Sugarcane Farmers

Gupta, Rajendra; Singh, P. R.

Water Management Strategies for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development of Sugarcane Farmers

2015

Gupta, Rajendra | Singh, P. R.

Water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource and therefore constraining agricultural development in many regions of the country. In the past, new physical systems have been built to harness additional water resources when demand for water exceeded supply. However, with increasing demand by users in agriculture as well as from other sectors, and increasing concern about potentially harmful externalities of irrigation, emphasis is now being placed on improving the performance of existing irrigation systems. Considering the high cost of energy and shortage of water, irrigation of sugarcane may not be economical unless significant savings are made by reducing the amount of water applied. One of the important decisions is how much water should be applied. This decision needs to be based on the quality and availability of water resources, reliability of water supply, physiological requirements of the crop, and expected value of crop output. The most important recommended irrigation approach is to apply water at a level that gives maximum net income to the farmer. Adoption of modern water-saving irrigation technologies is also important to increase water use efficiency while maintaining current levels of production. In the present paper, the water management options available for sustainable socio-economic development of sugarcane farmers are discussed.

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