Policy and reforms in Agriculture sector in India

During the 2011 census India entered the league of water deficient nations. A nation is considered water deficient if the per capita availability falls below 1700 cubic meters per person. The per capita water availability that fell by 15% during the first decade of this century to 1545 cubic meters per person will be below 1400 cubic meters per person this summer. Though the rate of depletion has reduced in the last few years we are still consuming much more than is being replenished by nature. And therein lies the danger. We will be leaving a troubled legacy for the next generation unless we take quick remedial actions to reverse the trend. As per the Central Water Commission 85.3% of the total water consumed was for agriculture in the year 2000. This is likely to decrease to 83.3% by 2025. India does not spend any money in conserving water consumed in agriculture. Surprisingly water conservation takes place in the industry and utility sectors both of which consume less than 5% of the nations water. The Union Agriculture Ministry statistics says that 48.6% of India’s substantial 140 million hectares of farmland are irrigated. To reduce the water crisis in India we need to change both our recycling as well as supply mode. 75% of water pollution from domestic waste water is today discharged untreated into local water bodies and rivers. This amounts to around 40000 million litres per day MLD from its 300 odd cities. Irrigation with waste water may cost less because of lower purification levels and also because crops serve as bio- filters and waste water contains nutrients. At the same time the water must remove toxicity that is harmful.