Trends in Irrigation Development and its Impact on Agricultural Productivity in IndiaA Time Series Analysis

摘要

In India, irrigation has a crucial role in agricultural and rural development (Vaidyanathan et ai. 1994: Hasnip ei ai. 2001: Barker and Molle. 2004). Due to yield augmenting impact of irrigation, it has received high priority in the successive Five Years Plans (FYP). However, ascertaining precise contribution of irrigation in food production is difficult because there are no official Indian statistical data that provide the breakdown of agricultural production under irrigated or rainfed conditions (World Bank. 1998). Nevertheless, various estimates point to a significant contribution from irrigated agriculture to overall agricultural production [60% estimated by Seckler and Sampath (1985): 55% by World Bank (1991); 58% by Planning Commission (1999)]. The present paper has examined the temporal and spatial pattern in irrigation development and has assessed its impact on agricultural productivity to provide a feedback for the holistic development of water resources in India.