Your search found 2 records
1 Urfels, A.; Mausch, K.; Harris, D.; McDonald, A. J.; Kishore, A.; Balwinder-Singh; van Halsema, G.; Struik, P. C.; Craufurd, P.; Foster, T.; Singh, V.; Krupnik, T. 2023. Farm size limits agriculture's poverty reduction potential in Eastern India even with irrigation-led intensification. Agricultural Systems, 207:103618. (Online first) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2023.103618]
Farm size ; Poverty reduction ; Intensification ; Food security ; Climate resilience ; Smallholders ; Rice ; Sustainable agriculture ; Cropping systems ; Households ; Sustainable Development Goals ; Farm income ; Crop production ; Value chains / South Asia / India / Bihar / Indo-Gangetic Plains
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051731)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X23000239/pdfft?md5=2a024959f5d2befb681e065be718b7c8&pid=1-s2.0-S0308521X23000239-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051731.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H051731.pdf
(4.48 MB) (4.48 MB)
CONTEXT: Millions of people living in the Eastern Gangetic Plains (EGP) of India engage in agriculture to support their livelihoods yet are income poor, and food and climate insecure. To address these challenges, policymakers and development programs invest in irrigation-led agricultural intensification. However, the evidence for agricultural intensification to lift farmers' incomes above the poverty line remains largely anecdotal.
OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study is to use a large household survey (n = 15,572; rice: 8244, wheat: 7328; 2017/18) to assess the link between agricultural intensification and personal daily incomes from farming (FPDI) in the rice-wheat systems of the EGP – the dominant cropping system of the region.
METHODS: We use the Intensification Benefit Index (IBI), a measure that relates farm size and household size to FPDI, to assess how daily incomes from rice-wheat production change with irrigation-led intensification across the EGP.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Relative to the international poverty line of 1.90 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)$ day-1 and accounting for variations in HH size in the analysis, we found that small farm sizes limit the potential for agricultural intensification from irrigation to transform the poverty status of households in the bottom three quartiles of the IBI. The estimated median FPDI of households with intensified systems in the bottom three quartiles is only 0.51 PPP$ day-1 (a 0.15 PPP$ gain). The median FPDI increases to 2.10 PPP$ day-1 for households in the upper quartile of the IBI distribution (a 0.30 PPP$ gain). Irrigation-led agricultural intensification of rice-wheat systems in the EGP may provide substantial benefits for resilience to climatic change and food security but achieving meaningful poverty reduction will require complementary investments.
SIGNIFICANCE: Transforming the poverty status of most smallholder farmers in the EGP requires diversified portfolios of rural on- and off-farm income-generating opportunities. While bolstering food- and climate security, agronomic intervention programs should consider smallholders' limited monetary incentives to invest in intensification. Irrigation-led agricultural intensification programs and policies should explicitly account for the heterogeneity in household resources, irrigation levels, and degree of dependence on agricultural income.
OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study is to use a large household survey (n = 15,572; rice: 8244, wheat: 7328; 2017/18) to assess the link between agricultural intensification and personal daily incomes from farming (FPDI) in the rice-wheat systems of the EGP – the dominant cropping system of the region.
METHODS: We use the Intensification Benefit Index (IBI), a measure that relates farm size and household size to FPDI, to assess how daily incomes from rice-wheat production change with irrigation-led intensification across the EGP.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Relative to the international poverty line of 1.90 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)$ day-1 and accounting for variations in HH size in the analysis, we found that small farm sizes limit the potential for agricultural intensification from irrigation to transform the poverty status of households in the bottom three quartiles of the IBI. The estimated median FPDI of households with intensified systems in the bottom three quartiles is only 0.51 PPP$ day-1 (a 0.15 PPP$ gain). The median FPDI increases to 2.10 PPP$ day-1 for households in the upper quartile of the IBI distribution (a 0.30 PPP$ gain). Irrigation-led agricultural intensification of rice-wheat systems in the EGP may provide substantial benefits for resilience to climatic change and food security but achieving meaningful poverty reduction will require complementary investments.
SIGNIFICANCE: Transforming the poverty status of most smallholder farmers in the EGP requires diversified portfolios of rural on- and off-farm income-generating opportunities. While bolstering food- and climate security, agronomic intervention programs should consider smallholders' limited monetary incentives to invest in intensification. Irrigation-led agricultural intensification programs and policies should explicitly account for the heterogeneity in household resources, irrigation levels, and degree of dependence on agricultural income.
2 Bhattarai, N.; Lobell, D. B.; Balwinder-Singh; Fishman, R.; Kustas, W. P.; Pokhrel, Y.; Jain, M. 2023. Warming temperatures exacerbate groundwater depletion rates in India. Science Advances, 9(35):1-9. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adi1401]
Groundwater depletion ; Groundwater table ; Groundwater irrigation ; Crop water use ; Water demand ; Farmers ; Crop production ; Precipitation ; Drought stress ; Aquifers ; Evapotranspiration ; Precipitation ; Models ; Policies / India
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H052182)
(0.82 MB) (844 KB)
Climate change will likely increase crop water demand, and farmers may adapt by applying more irrigation. Understanding the extent to which this is occurring is of particular importance in India, a global groundwater depletion hotspot, where increased withdrawals may further jeopardize groundwater resources. Using historical data on groundwater levels, climate, and crop water stress, we find that farmers have adapted to warming temperatures by intensifying groundwater withdrawals, substantially accelerating groundwater depletion rates in India. When considering increased withdrawals due to warming, we project that the rates of net groundwater loss for 2041–2080 could be three times current depletion rates, even after considering projected increases in precipitation and possible decreases in irrigation use as groundwater tables fall. These results reveal a previously unquantified cost of adapting to warming temperatures that will likely further threaten India’s food and water security over the coming decades.
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