Write about irrigation potential of India.
Answers
Explanation:
The ultimate irrigation potential of India has been estimated to be 139.5 mha, comprising 58.5 mha from major and medium schemes, 15 mha from minor irrigation schemes and 66 mha from groundwater exploitation. India's irrigation potential has increased from 22.6 mha in 1951 to about 90 mha at the end of 1995.
Water is the most critical input for enhancing agricultural productivity, and therefore expansion of irrigation has been a key strategy in the development of agriculture in the country. The ultimate irrigation potential of India has been estimated to be 139.5 mha, comprising 58.5 mha from major and medium schemes, 15 mha from minor irrigation schemes and 66 mha from groundwater exploitation. India’s irrigation potential has increased from 22.6 mha in 1951 to about 90 mha at the end of 1995. It is estimated that even after achieving the full irrigation potential, nearly 50 percent of the total cultivated area will remain rain fed.
If we analyse agricultural growth during the past four decades, we find that high-yielding varieties, irrigated area expansion and fertilizer use have been the major factors contributing to the achievement of green revolution in India. The present level of consumption of total nutrients (NPK) is 14.3 million tonnes/year. On an all-India basis, per-hectare consumption of fertilizer (NPK), which was a meagre 2.0 kg/ha during the early sixties, has risen tremendously during the last 35 years or so, to a level of 76.5 kg/ha.
The share of water use other than for agriculture was only 13 percent in 1985, which is likely to become 27 percent by 2025. Such a fast growth of water need in the face of emerging supply constraints is likely to result in a wide supply gap for irrigation water in the near future.
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