Abstract

In India, irrigation uses around 80% of the available water. Given the relative scarcity of water in India and the population abundance, there exists a space for the propagation of more efficient and resource sensitive methods for irrigation. Given this context, there is large scope for the adoption of micro-irrigation in agriculture, with micro-irrigation having considerable impact in terms of water conservation and for crop production. Both state and central governments in India have promoted micro irrigation. Karnataka pioneered these schemes in 1991 for horticultural crops and expanded to agricultural crops in 2003. A centrally sponsored micro irrigation scheme began in 2005-06, offering a 50% subsidy from the union and state governments. The initiative scaled up to the National Mission on Micro Irrigation (NMMI) in 2010, aiming to cover 69 million hectares by 2030, prioritizing marginal, small, and women farmers.

The study focuses on Karnataka’s NMMI implementation since 2006-07, highlighting the separate implementation by the Agriculture and Horticulture departments, with subsidies and significant area coverage. Challenges include poor database management, lack of strategic planning, and insufficient farmer education. The government plans to streamline implementation through a single agency and an online application system to enhance data availability and monitoring.

CBPS. (2013). Study on micro irrigation in Karnataka (drip and sprinkler irrigation). Karnataka: Centre for Budget and Policy Studies, and Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Department of Planning, Programme Monitoring and Statistics, Government of Karnataka.