Efficient Irrigation and Water Conservation : Evidence from South India

Widespread adoption of efficient irrigation technologies, including drip irrigation, has been proposed as a means of limiting groundwater overexploitation, especially in the intensively farmed and water-stressed South Asia region. This paper report...

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Main Authors:	Fishman, Ram, Gine, Xavier, Jacoby, Hanan G.
Format:	Working Paper
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2021
Subjects:	IRRIGATION WATER CONSERVATION WATER-SAVING TECHNOLOGY GROUNDWATER DEPLETION AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/475611624561753275/Efficient-Irrigation-and-Water-Conservation-Evidence-from-South-India http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35884

id	okr-10986-35884
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-358842021-07-02T05:10:54Z Efficient Irrigation and Water Conservation : Evidence from South India Fishman, Ram Gine, Xavier Jacoby, Hanan G. IRRIGATION WATER CONSERVATION WATER-SAVING TECHNOLOGY GROUNDWATER DEPLETION AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY Widespread adoption of efficient irrigation technologies, including drip irrigation, has been proposed as a means of limiting groundwater overexploitation, especially in the intensively farmed and water-stressed South Asia region. This paper reports on a randomized controlled trial conducted in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh to evaluate the potential productivity and water-saving benefits of smallholder drip irrigation. A group of well-owners was encouraged to adopt drip irrigation through a subsidy scheme, whereas a control group was left to its own devices. The results indicate that, after three years, the drip group shifted into more remunerative and irrigation reliant crops, enjoyed higher agricultural revenue, and transferred (primarily through cash sales) more of its groundwater to adjacent plots. In terms of groundwater pumping, which has zero marginal price in this setting, there is precisely zero difference between the drip and control groups. The evidence thus suggests that drip adoption in South India, while increasing irrigation efficiency, will not save groundwater. 2021-07-01T14:00:35Z 2021-07-01T14:00:35Z 2021-06 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/475611624561753275/Efficient-Irrigation-and-Water-Conservation-Evidence-from-South-India http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35884 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9713 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper South Asia India
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
language	English
topic	IRRIGATION WATER CONSERVATION WATER-SAVING TECHNOLOGY GROUNDWATER DEPLETION AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY
spellingShingle	IRRIGATION WATER CONSERVATION WATER-SAVING TECHNOLOGY GROUNDWATER DEPLETION AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY Fishman, Ram Gine, Xavier Jacoby, Hanan G. Efficient Irrigation and Water Conservation : Evidence from South India
geographic_facet	South Asia India
relation	Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9713
description	Widespread adoption of efficient irrigation technologies, including drip irrigation, has been proposed as a means of limiting groundwater overexploitation, especially in the intensively farmed and water-stressed South Asia region. This paper reports on a randomized controlled trial conducted in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh to evaluate the potential productivity and water-saving benefits of smallholder drip irrigation. A group of well-owners was encouraged to adopt drip irrigation through a subsidy scheme, whereas a control group was left to its own devices. The results indicate that, after three years, the drip group shifted into more remunerative and irrigation reliant crops, enjoyed higher agricultural revenue, and transferred (primarily through cash sales) more of its groundwater to adjacent plots. In terms of groundwater pumping, which has zero marginal price in this setting, there is precisely zero difference between the drip and control groups. The evidence thus suggests that drip adoption in South India, while increasing irrigation efficiency, will not save groundwater.
format	Working Paper
author	Fishman, Ram Gine, Xavier Jacoby, Hanan G.
author_facet	Fishman, Ram Gine, Xavier Jacoby, Hanan G.
author_sort	Fishman, Ram
title	Efficient Irrigation and Water Conservation : Evidence from South India
title_short	Efficient Irrigation and Water Conservation : Evidence from South India
title_full	Efficient Irrigation and Water Conservation : Evidence from South India
title_fullStr	Efficient Irrigation and Water Conservation : Evidence from South India
title_full_unstemmed	Efficient Irrigation and Water Conservation : Evidence from South India
title_sort	efficient irrigation and water conservation : evidence from south india
publisher	World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate	2021
url	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/475611624561753275/Efficient-Irrigation-and-Water-Conservation-Evidence-from-South-India http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35884
_version_	1764483984709910528

Efficient Irrigation and Water Conservation : Evidence from South India

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