ENERGY REQUIREMENTS FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

摘要

In Maharashtra irrigation facilities have been created on 6.235 M Ha of land where as the ultimate irrigation potential of the state is 12.6 M Ha. Thus there is much scope for Maharashtra to increase its irrigation potential and thereby it's agricultural produce. However, there is a limited scope for flow irrigation. The trend of lifting water from reservoirs, canals and rivers is significantly increasing. This demands for more energy. The real burden on the grid shall be due to large L.I. schemes owned by the Government. The paper provides for details of present food grain production & needs of the state, scope to increase agricultural produce, electric energy utilisation in agricultural sector, future trends, energy forecast etc. The areas of energy waste are identified and discussed with remedial measures. It is recommended to promote the specific technology for deploying non-conventional energy sources for the agricultural pumps.