Water scarcity and the increasing global demand for water in many sectors, including agriculture, has became a global concern. The rapid growing world population and the adverse impacts of climate change led to growing competition for water use by industrial and urban users for agriculture to secure enough food. Irrigated agriculture is an important role in total agriculture and provides humanity with a wide range of agricultural products, including fruits, vegetables, grains and cereals. Effective management for water use is the only way to save water for the increasing irrigated agriculture.

1. Water scarcity and low water use
efficiency:
Challenges and opportunities
Kaushal K Garg, Suhas P Wani
and Team

2. Water scarcity
Physical water scarcity: Water is not abundant enough to meet
all demands
Economic water scarcity: lack of investment/capacity in water
infrastructure
Institutional water scarcity: Rights are not defined/clear

3. Current and future freshwater demand in India

4. Decreasing blue water availability with
increasing demand
Closing Krishna basin
Source: IWMI

5. Source: Hoekstra and Mekonnen, 2011
Water scarcity status of the important river
basins in India

6. Groundwater use status in India
Details Values
Total Agricultural Land 142 Million ha
Rainfed area ~ 55-60%
Irrigated area ~ 35-40%
Surface water irrigated area 21 Million ha
Groundwater irrigated area 27 Million ha
Total groundwater withdrawal (1960) 25 Km3
Total groundwater withdrawal (2009) 250-300 Km3
Number of bore wells (1960) 1 Million
Number of bore wells (2009) 20 Million

7. Reason for low Water use efficiency
Water use efficiency =
Water utilized by plants/water available
Rainfed system
• Single cropping
• Low inputs
• Fallow lands
• Rainy season fallow (Black cotton
soil/water logging)
• Rice-fallows
Irrigated system
• Flood irrigation methods
• Calendar based irrigation scheduling protocol
• Water logging, salinity and alkalinity
• Poor institutional arrangement (at various
levels)
• Unlined canals, channels and high seepage
(in command areas)

8. How to Enhance WUE in rainfed areas
• In-situ Interventions
• Mulching
• Drought tolerant crop cultivars
• Inter-cropping (e.g., Maize/PP)
• Water saving technology (e.g., DSR)
• Fallow management
• Agro-forestry
• Dryland horticulture
• Supplemental irrigation
• Wasteland/pasture land development

9. Rice-fallow areas in South Asia
Source: Murali Gumma et al., 2016
Country Irrigated Rainfed Total
Bangladesh 1.2 0.7 1.9
Bhutan 0.003 0.001 0.004
India 7.9 11.7 19.6
Nepal 0.2 0.1 0.3
Pakistan 0.01 0.1 0.1
Sri Lanka 0.2 0.0 0.2
Total 9.6 12.6 22.2
Rice-fallows in irrigated areas (43%)
Rice-fallows in rainfed areas (57%)
Area in Million ha

10. Crop intensification by rice fallow management
• Short/medium duration paddy
cultivars in Kharif
• Relay crop planting of pulses
(chickpea, lintels, green gram
etc) in Rabi
• Use of Zero-till multiple
planter/ minimum tillage for
timely sowing of pulse
• INM, IPM and best agronomic
management interventions
Parameter Improved system Traditional system
Rainfall in monsoon
(mm)
1100
(950+150)
1100
(950+150)
Runoff (mm) 300 300
Residue soil moisture
at end of Kharif (mm) 150 150
Crop cultivated Paddy-Chickpea Paddy
Crop water use in
Kharif (mm) 400 400
Crop water use in
Rabi (ET) 250 0
Total evaporation
losses (mm) 100 350
WUE (%) 80% 50%
Crop yield (kg/ha)
3500 (paddy)+
700 (Chick pea) 3500 (Paddy)
Net benefit (INR/ha) 40,000-50,000 25000-30,000

11. Rainy Season Fallow lands in Madhya Pradesh

12. Water logged field
Crop under BBF system
Crop intensification by land form treatment in
black Vertisols, Madhya Pradesh
Parameter
Improved system
(Double cropping
on BBF)
Traditional
system (Single
crop in post-rainy
season)
Rainfall (mm) 904 904
Evaporation and
other losses (mm) 172 406
Crop water use
(ET) 602 271
Runoff (mm) 130 227
Total crop yield
(Kg/ha) > 3000 1800-2500
WUE (%) 78 % 40%

13. Study location/
Benchmark Site
Interventions made Parameter
identified/
estimated
Before/
Without
Interventions
After/ With
Interventions
Sujala Watershed,
Karnataka
contour cultivation
along with
conservation furrows
crop yields
(t ha-1)
1.7
(1.2-3.4)
2.0
(1.4-3.9)
Vidisha, Sagar, Guna,
Sehore and Raisen (MP,
Karnataka) (170
farmers)
land form treatment
(bbf) + micro nutrient
application
soybean yield
(t ha-1)
1.9
(1.5-2.5)
2.3
(1.7-2.9)
Andhra Pradesh micro-nutrient S, B, Zn
+ N P application
maize yield
(t ha-1)
2.6 4.3
micro-nutrient S, B, Zn
+ N P application
ground nut yield
(t ha-1)
0.75 1.1
Haveri, Karnataka contour cultivation
(year 2006-2008)
maize yield
(t ha-1)
3.35 3.89
Dharwad, Karnataka contour cultivation
(year 2006-2008)
soybean yield
(t ha-1)
1.47 1.8
Kolar, Karnataka contour cultivation
(year 2006-2008)
groundnut yield
(t ha-1)
1.23 1.43
Effect of various in-situ interventions on crop yield

14. How to Enhance WUE in irrigated areas
• Improved drainage system
• Land leveling
• Promoting micro-Irrigation system
(drip and sprinkler)
• Controlling seepage losses
• Proper institutional mechanism
(e.g., users groups, WUAs)
• Monitoring mechanism and Proper
pricing
• Control on power subsidy
• Good quality power
• Consistency in power supply
• Need based Irrigation application

15. Water Impact Calculator for need based irrigation scheduling
• Simple and Excel based decision
making tool
• Computes field scale water balance
at daily scale
• Estimates crop water requirement
and soil moisture availability
• Generic tool which is applicable to
field, horticulture and vegetable
crops
• Validated at different rainfall, soils
and agro-ecological region
• 20-30% water or more can be saved
following need based water
application

16. Impact of Water Impact Calculator (WIC)
• WIC is wested and validated at
different rainfall, soils and agro-
ecological regions (e.g.,
Rajasthan, UP, Gujarat, Telangana,
Karnataka)
• It saved 20-30% irrigation water
without comprising crop yield
• Saved minimum two irrigation
• Reduced 1500-2000 INR/ha cost
of cultivation
WIC based WIC based Traditional
Method of Irrigation Drip Flood Flood
Mota Vadala, Jamnagar, Gujarat
Crop grown Wheat Wheat Wheat
Irrigation water (mm) 460 520 950
No of Irrigation (-) 7 6 13
Crop Yield (t ha-1) 6.3 5.8 5.9
Water productivity (kg/m3) 1.36 1.11 0.62
Crop grown Chickpea Chickpea Chickpea
Irrigation water (mm) 300 420 580
No of Irrigations (-) 5 6 9
Crop Yield (t ha-1) 2.2 1.8 1.8
Water productivity (kg/m3) 0.73 0.42 0.31
Dharola, Tonk, Rajasthan
Crop grown Wheat Wheat Wheat
Irrigation water (mm) 260 300 410
No of Irrigation (-) 5 4 5
Crop Yield (t ha-1) 3.5 3.4 3.5
Water productivity (kg/m3) 1.34 1.13 0.85
Kothapally, Ranga Reddy, Talangana
Crop grown Tomato Tomato Tomato
Irrigation water (mm) 400 590 700
No of Irrigation (-) 9 8 10
Crop Yield (t ha-1) 8.7 8.3 8.3
Water productivity (kg/m3) 2.1 1.4 1.2

17. Scaling up: Irrigation scheduling protocols
• Developed irrigation scheduling setup
for different field and horticulture crops
• Provided hands-on training on use of
WIC to line department officials (more
than 300 govt. officials trained in
Karnataka in 2015-16)
• Irrigation scheduling cards prepared for
different Bhoo Sumruddi taluks

18. Thank you!
ICRISAT is a member of the CGIAR Consortium