AN ECONOIVIIC ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS IRRIGATION SOURCES IN WESTERN UTTAR PRADESH

Abstract

Irrigation is the basis for a good farm husbandry and better land utilization,fen stable and higher crop production. For sustained growth and dynamism in farming, optimum use of irrigation water is an imperative necessity to meet the increasing demand for food and other products, for the growing population in India. It is believed that the valuable water is not'being, used optimally by the farmers. In this context, an attempt has been made to examine the existing conditions prevailing in respect of different sources of irrigation in Western Uttar Pradesh. The Engineering and Technological aspects of irriga tion in a particular area has always been in the lime light of researchers, just ^ the water requirement of the plants. But, the socio-economic or political aspects connected with the irrigation system in an area, the effect on farmers and their living standard, complimentarity characteristics of irrigation with fertilizer, and the linkage effects on other inputs, production, prices, and even the national economy, etc. are the aspects which are short of authoritative studies The present study makes an attempt in that direction. The study also attempts to compare the various alter native sources of irrigation being used in one of the charac teristic districts of western Uttar Pradesh (i.e. Saharanpur district) and to examine the optimum combinations of these Ui) sources, which could possibly help in optimum utilization of the available ix-rigation water, for deriving maximum benefit to the farmers. Thus, more specifically, the present study covers the following aspects: (i) Study the existing sources of irrigation avail able, particularly in Saharanpur district; (ii) Compare the difference in cropping patterns and productivity in respect of different sources of irrigation, according to size of holding; (iii) Measure the impact of the improved irrigation system on the utilization of family, permanent, and casual labour; (iv) Study the output-input relationship and resource use efficiency of important crops grown in the study area; (v) Work out cost per unit of water from different sources of irrigation,and to ascertain the most economical system of lift irrigation; and (vi) vitudy the possible ways and means to economise in the use of water for various competitive and complimentary crops by adopting scientific methods of distribution and use. For achieving the objectives, Saharanpur district was purposive-y selected and primary data for the study were (iii) collected from 12 randomly selected villages of the study area - 10 with irrigation facilities, and 2 without irriga tion facilities (i.e. 'Control Unit"). Thus, 200 farmers in the irrigated category and 50 farmers in the unirrigated category were randomly selected. The data were collected through personal interviews, for which an Intensive Survey Method was adopted. However, secondary data were collected from official records. The farmers studied were categorised as : Marginal 72, Small 75i Medium 29, and Earge 24 in the irrigated group, and 14, 22, 8, and 6 respectively in the unirrigated group. A specially structured schedule/questionnaire was used to collect the data. Analysis of the collected data revealed the degree of economic viability of various sources of irrigation in the study area. The percentage of area covered by these sources is : (i) Canal irrigation - 33.7 percent, (ii) Government tubewells - b.6 percent, (iii) Private electric/diesel tubewells - 47.8 percent, and (iv) Minor irrigation sources, like tanks, wells and ponds - using indigenous water lifts/devices - 11,9 percent. Conjunctive use of canal irrigation with other sources of irrigation (i.e. lift irrigation) was found to be in vogue in the study area to the extent of about 20 percent, and a comparative study has been made for such cases also. The pos ibility of extending the area under conjunctive use, using surface and ground water (tubewells), the reliability Civ, and flexibility of these sources, and the cropping patterns emerging under each of these sources have also been critically analysed/studied. Over the past 25-30 years there has been an expansion of area under different sources of irrigation and also shift from some sources to others. Due to mechanisation, and later on, due to energising of various water lifting devices, the old system like shallow wells irrigation, persian wheels, etc. are being abandoned and farmers have installed more and more tubewells. In this context, economic feasibility of different lift irrigation devices could be worked out in order to find out the most economical lift irrigation device. Cost per unit of water supplied has been calculated giving due weightage to the life-span and interest rate of a lift irrigation device. This has been done by applying the following formula: . i . \ n Annuity Factor » U1 + x£ (1 + i)n-1 Where, i • Rate of interest n • Eife of the device (i.e. lift irrigation) Under constraints of limited availability of data, and lack of well established procedures for calculating per unit cost of canal water, an attempt has been made to calculate the same, and compare it with per unit cost of other sources. These have then been shown in the order of cost per unit hierarchy, .v) suggesting what probably could be the source, or combination of sources, more profitable for the ax^ea/district. The unit cost so calculated for various sources of irrigation is: (1) Canal - 09 to 12 paise per Cu.M. (2) Government Tubewell . - 06 to 09 paise " " (3) Private-Electric Tubewell - 07 to 09 paise " " (4) Private Diesel Tubewell - 13 to 24 paise " " (5) Indigenous Water Lifts: (a) Persian Wheel ('Rahat') - 41.0 paise per Cu.M. (b) Counter-Poise Bucket Lift - 58.0 paise " " ('Dhenkli') (c) Self-Emptying Type Rope & - 67.5 paise " " Bucket Lift ('Mote') (d) Rope & Bucket Lift ('Charasa'J-se.O paise " " Cost and returns per hectare were also worked out in order to findout the profitability of important crops. Produc tion efficiency of important crops grown in the study area was also determined. To study the resource use efficiency of wheat, paddy, and sugarcane, (according to size of holding) Cobb-uouglas function was fitted. For this purpose, production function analysis was carriedout with the help of a computer programme run on the University of Roorkee Computer DEC-2050. The fitted function is of the following form: D-| bp D-5 b4 b5 Y • aX^ a„ " Xj A, Ac (vi) In the Cobb-Douglas frame work, Marginal Value Productivity (MVP) of resources is estimated at Geometric mean level, which reveals the level of use of different resources. The formula used is: MVP «b± |~ P.An attempt has been made i x • to study the cropping patternXin respect of different sources of irrigation. The study revealed that there was considerable change in the cropping pattern in the district over the past 3 decades due to improved irrigation, Tnough heavy pressure of population should have resulted in increase in food-grain's area, the area under food-grains production is decreasing and giving way to increased area under cash crops, particularly sugarcane making the district a sugarcane belt. Further, the study indicate that availability of improved irrigation has brought about an increase in productivity and adoption of improved technology. Water being a valuable and scarce input, its wastage reflects upon the socio-economic condition of the farmers. Hence the study also encompasses some related aspects, such as : capital assets of the farmers, family composition, changing educational, social and economic status of the farmers of the area - and their resultant impact - and finally, the employment generating potential of irrigated farming in general and its impact on income base of farmers in particular. The study revealed that improved irrigated farming significantly created more productive wan. days of employment. (vii) In brief, some of the important finaings of the study relate to: (1) The most economical/suitable source of irrigation in the district; (2) Unit cost of water being supplied for irrigation from the various sources; (3) Level of conjunctive use now being practised in the study area and possibilities of improvement; (4) Shifting trend over the past 20-30 years in cropping pattern, area under different sources of irrigation,adoption of improved technologies, cost-returns, and resource uae efficiency; and (5) Effect of irrigation on the farmers' quality of life, the response of the farmers, and the- linkage effects.