Your search found 27 records
1 Mukherji, Aditi. 2008. The paradox of groundwater scarcity amidst plenty and its implications for food security and poverty alleviation in West Bengal, India: What can be done to ameliorate the crisis? Paper presented at the 9th Annual Global Development Network Conference, Brisbane, Australia, 29-31 January 2008. 24p.
Groundwater irrigation ; Water market ; Electrification ; Tube wells ; Policy ; Poverty ; Food security / India / West Bengal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.6.3 G635 MUK Record No: H040739)
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/data/datastats/wb/Groundwater_Scarcity_West_Bengal_Aditi_IWMI_2007.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H040739.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H040739.pdf
West Bengal is a state of plentiful rainfall, high groundwater potential most of which is available at very shallow depths. It is also one of the poorer states in India. In view of this, many agencies such as Reserve Bank of India and the World Bank have recommended groundwater irrigation as an important tool for rural poverty alleviation. West Bengal had recorded high agricultural growth rates in the early 1990s and groundwater irrigation played an important role in that growth. Unfortunately, this growth could not be sustained. This paper argues that one of the main reasons for recent stagnation in West Bengal’s agriculture is the severe ‘energy-squeeze’ it is experiencing due to overwhelming dependence on diesel pumps, recent escalation in diesel prices and low rates of rural electrification. This paper argues that the current groundwater related policies have a resource conservation bias because they have been inordinately influenced by the dominant discourse on scarcity and depletion – a discourse which does not hold good in the case of West Bengal – a water abundant state steeped in poverty. In view of this paradox of scarcity amidst plenty, this paper based on primary data from 40 villages and 580 respondents makes a case for deploying groundwater irrigation for poverty alleviation through electrification of irrigation tubewells and continuation of high flat rate tariff. Quite contrary to the received wisdom that electricity subsidies benefit only the rural rich and that metering of irrigation tubewell is the only answer, this paper argues that neither is necessarily true in the case of water abundant eastern India where efficient and largely equitable groundwater markets operate.
2 Shah, Tushaar; Verma, Shilp. 2008. Co-management of electricity and groundwater: an assessment of Gujarat’s Jyotirgram Scheme. Economic and Political Weekly, 43(7): 59-66.
Groundwater management ; Electricity supplies ; Electrification ; Tube wells ; Groundwater irrigation ; Farmers attitudes ; Villages / India / Gujarat / Saurashtra / Jyotirgram Scheme
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.9104 G635 SHA Record No: H040848)
In September 2003, the government of Gujarat introduced the Jyotirgram Yojana to improve rural power supply. Two major changes have since taken place: (a) villages get 24 hour three-phase power supply for domestic use, in schools, hospitals, village industries, all subject to metered tariff; and (b) tubewell owners get eight hours/day of power but of full voltage and on a pre-announced schedule. It has, however, offered a mixed bag to medium and large farmers and hit marginal farmers and the landless. This article offers an assessment of the impact of Jyotirgram, and argues that with some refinements it presents a model that other states can follow with profit.
3 Shah, Tushaar; Bhatt, S.; Shah, R. K.; Talati, J. 2008. Groundwater governance through electricity supply management: assessing an innovative intervention in Gujarat, western India. Agricultural Water Management, 95:1233-1242.
Groundwater management ; Groundwater irrigation ; Water stress ; Water governance ; Water policy ; Electricity supplies ; Electrification ; Villages ; Tube wells ; User charges ; Water rates ; Farmer-led irrigation ; Water market / India / Gujarat
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.6.3 G635 SHA Record No: H041475)
Gujarat, a rapidly industrializing state in western India, is notorious for groundwater over-exploitation. A perverse link between energy subsidies and groundwater overdraft has left the state with a bankrupt electricity utility and depleted aquifers, especially since the late 1980s. Moreover, this perverse relationship has meant that groundwater irrigators have essentially held Gujarat’s non-farm rural economy to ransom. Efforts to regulate groundwater overdraft since the early 1970s have been unsuccessful, as have attempts to charge a rational electricity tariff to groundwater irrigators. During 2003–2006, drawing upon a proposal outlined by researchers, the government launched the Jyotigram (lighted village) scheme, which invested US$ 290 million to separate agricultural electricity feeders from non-agricultural ones, and established a tight regimen for farm power rationing in the countryside. By 2006, Gujarat covered almost all of its 18,000 villages under the Jyotigram scheme of rationalized power supply. With this, two major changes have occurred: (a) villages receive 24 h three-phase power supply for domestic uses, in schools, hospitals, village industries, all subject to metered tariff; (b) tubewell owners receive 8 h/day of power of full voltage and on a pre-announced schedule. The Jyotigram scheme has radically improved the quality of village life, spurred non-farm economic enterprises, halved the power subsidy to agriculture, and reduced groundwater overdraft. It has also produced positive and negative impacts on medium and large farmers, while notably harming marginal farmers and the landless, who depend for their access to irrigation on water markets which have become much smaller, post-Jyotigram. In addition, the water prices charged by tubewell owners have increased by 30–50%. We propose that the Jyotigram scheme, with some refinements, can be implemented successfully in other regions of South Asia facing similar challenges of groundwater governance.
4 Shah, Tushaar; Verma, Shilp. 2008. Real-time co-management of electricity and groundwater: an assessment of Gujarat’s pioneering Jyotirgram Scheme. In Amarasinghe, Upali A.; Sharma, Bharat R. (Eds.) Strategic Analyses of the National River Linking Project (NRLP) of India, Series 2. Proceedings of the Workshop on Analyses of Hydrological, Social and Ecological Issues of the NRLP, New Delhi, India, 9-10 October 2007. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) pp.327-344.
Groundwater irrigation ; Tube wells ; Pumps ; Electrification ; Farmers attitudes ; Share cropping ; Poverty ; User charges ; Rural economy / India / Gujarat / Jyotirgram Scheme / Sabarkantha
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 333.9162 G635 AMA Record No: H041811)
(250.33 KB)
5 Lock, R.; Shandling, K. S. 2009. Achieving ethical business conduct in public and private water enterprises: troublesome challenge or enhanced opportunity? In Llamas, M. R.; Martinez-Cortina, L.; Mukherji, Aditi. (Eds.). Water ethics: Marcelino Botin Water Forum 2007. Leiden, Netherlands: CRC Press. pp.229-240.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 333.91 G000 LLA Record No: H042082)
6 Scott, C. A.; Sharma, Bharat R. 2009. Energy supply and the expansion of groundwater irrigation in the Indus-Ganges Basin. International Journal of River Basin Management, 7(2):119-124.
Groundwater management ; Groundwater irrigation ; Pumps ; Energy ; Electrification / India / Pakistan / Nepal / Bangladesh
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H042134)
(0.16 MB)
Irrigation using groundwater has expanded rapidly in South Asia since the inception of the Green Revolution in the 1970s. Groundwater currently represents the largest source of irrigation in the Indus-Ganges Basin (IGB), which feeds over one billion people and provides direct livelihoods for hundreds of millions of farmers. Although abundant in absolute terms, groundwater is overexploited in the western IGB plains and is underutilized in the east. The spatial and temporal patterns of groundwater development are the result of multiple demand factors: (a) farmer investment, (b) subsidies and markets, and (c) population density; as well as supply factors: (d) sources of groundwater recharge, and (e) energy supply and pricing. This paper examines trends in electricity supply and groundwater development in the Indian portion of the IGB over the 1980 – 1999 period, with contextual reference to groundwater irrigation in Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Principal findings include early-1980s’ growth in numbers of electric pumps across the Indian IGB followed by 1990s’ stagnation in the eastern part of the basin; this trend is linked to electricity supply and pricing policies, which have varied markedly from state to state. The eastern IGB presents an energy-groundwater paradox: a region rich in energy sources but with inadequate electricity supply that has led to increased reliance on diesel power, which in turn is limiting development of groundwater – one of this region’s most abundant and agriculturally productive resources.
7 Kansakar, D. R.; Pant, Dhruba; Chaudhary, J. P. 2009. Reaching the poor: effectiveness of the current shallow tubewell policy in Nepal. In Mukherji, Aditi; Villholth, K. G.; Sharma, Bharat R.; Wang, J. (Eds.) Groundwater governance in the Indo-Gangetic and Yellow River basins: realities and challenges. London, UK: CRC Press. pp.163-181. (IAH Selected Papers on Hydrogeology 15)
Groundwater irrigation ; Shallow tube wells ; Pumps ; Private ownership ; Farmers ; Small farms ; Agricultural credit ; Financing ; Loans ; Agricultural policy ; Poverty ; Rural areas ; Electrification ; Surveys ; Crops ; Diversification ; Productivity ; Profitability / Nepal / Dangihat / Arjundhara
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.6.3 G570 MUK Record No: H042228)
(0.40 MB)
8 Mukherji, Aditi; Banerjee, P. S.; Daschowdhury, S. 2009. Managing the energy-irrigation nexus in west Bengal, India. In Mukherji, Aditi; Villholth, K. G.; Sharma, Bharat R.; Wang, J. (Eds.) Groundwater governance in the Indo-Gangetic and Yellow River basins: realities and challenges. London, UK: CRC Press. pp.279-292. (IAH Selected Papers on Hydrogeology 15)
Groundwater irrigation ; Energy ; Pumps ; Electrification ; Electricity supplies ; Tariff ; Tube wells ; Water scarcity ; Water market ; Surveys ; Economic aspects ; Policy ; Rice / South Asia / India / Bengal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI 631.7.6.3 G570 MUK Record No: H042235)
(0.20 MB)
9 White, H. 2008. Of probits and participation: the use of mixed methods in quantitative impact evaluation. IDS Bulletin, 39(1):98-109.
Impact assessment ; Evaluation ; Electrification ; Rural areas ; Households ; Education ; Educational reforms ; Social aspects ; Women / Laos / Ghana / Bangladesh / India / Malawi / Zambia / Andhra Pradesh
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 658.4013 G000 WHI Record No: H034789)
10 International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 2007. Water Figures: quarterly newsletter of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Water Figures: quarterly newsletter of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI)., 3. 8p. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3910/2009.355]
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H042389)
11 Samad, Madar; Shah, Zhankana; Acharyulu, S.; Acharya, Shreedhar. 2009. Managing rehabilitation and resettlement of the involuntarily displaced population: lessons from selected hydro projects in India. In International Water Management Institute (IWMI). Strategic Analyses of the National River Linking Project (NRLP) of India Series 5. Proceedings of the Second National Workshop on Strategic Issues in Indian Irrigation, New Delhi, India, 8-9 April 2009. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). pp.123-137.
Electrification ; Development projects ; Resettlement ; Living standards ; Legal aspects ; Households ; Surveys / India / Bhima-Ujjaini Project / Sardar-Sarovar Project
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H042690)
(0.33 MB)
12 Evans, Alexandra E. V.; Giordano, Meredith; Clayton, Terry. (Eds.) 2012. Investing in agricultural water management to benefit smallholder farmers in West Bengal, India. AgWater Solutions Project country synthesis report. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute (IWMI). 20p. (IWMI Working Paper 148) [doi: https://doi.org/10.5337/2012.210]
Water management ; Agricultural production ; Investment ; Research projects ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Groundwater resources ; Water use ; Reservoirs ; Watersheds ; Electrification ; Pumps ; Rain water management ; Water harvesting ; Irrigation ; Farmer-led irrigation ; Technology / India / West Bengal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H045180)
(1.20MB)
The AgWater Solutions Project, carried out between 2009 and 2012, focused on resolving water issues faced by smallholder farmers. The project examined existing Agricultural Water Management (AWM) solutions, together with factors that influence their adoption and scaling up. The project aimed to identify investment opportunities in AWM that have high potential to improve the incomes and food security of poor farmers. The work was undertaken in the African countries of Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia, and in the Indian States of Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. This Working Paper series summarizes results and recommendations from the research carried out in each of these countries and states.
13 Mukherji, Aditi. 2012. Rural electrification for a second green revolution in West Bengal [India]. IWMI-Tata Water Policy Research Highlight, 38. 7p.
Electrification ; Green revolution ; Agricultural development ; Groundwater development ; Contamination ; Water policy ; Tube wells ; Pumps ; Arsenic ; Water table / India / West Bengal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H045485)
(337.2KB)
14 Buisson, Marie-Charlotte. 2015. What does pump sets electrification change? impacts on cropping patterns, productivity and incomes in West Bengal. Paper presented at the ICID 26th Euro-Mediterranean Regional Conference and Workshops on Innovate to Improve Irrigation Performances. Workshop: Irrigation and Energy, Montpellier, France, 12-15 October 2015. 5p.
Groundwater irrigation ; Pumps ; Tube wells ; Electrification ; Energy policies ; Agricultural development ; Water market ; Cropping patterns ; Seasonal cropping ; Rice ; Intensive farming ; Productivity ; Farm income ; Cost benefit analysis ; Farmers / India / West Bengal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047391)
(0.27 MB) (276 KB)
West Bengal is currently implementing new policies facilitating the access to electrified irrigation for farmers and expects to initiate a second Green Revolution. Based on primary data, this paper aims to estimate the potential impact of these electrification policies. Using a discontinuity design and propensity score methods, we identify that electrification induces a significant change in the cropping patterns and more water intensive crops, especially boro rice, are preferred by farmers. In addition, the cropping intensity is also higher for electric pump owners. However, we cannot identify any significant quantity impact, which means that the yields are not benefitting from an access to electric pumps. On the contrary, there is a significant and positive price effect for boro rice: the farmers irrigating with electrified tubewells have significantly higher value added and consequently higher incomes from their farming activities. Finally, we identify a positive impact of tubewell electrification on the number of irrigations; considered together with the absence of impact on yields, this result questions the sustainability of the electrification policies to manage the groundwater resource.
15 Mukherji, A.; Shah, Tushaar; Banerjee, P. S. 2016. Kick-starting a second green revolution in Bengal. In Shah, M.; Vijayshankar, P. S. (Eds.). Water: growing understanding, emerging perspectives. New Delhi, India: Orient BlackSwan. pp.483-489. (Readings on the Economy, Polity and Society)
Groundwater ; Agricultural development ; Green revolution ; Irrigation water ; Water use ; Pumps ; Electrification ; Diesel oil ; Costs ; Economic aspects ; Farmers ; Institutions ; Government policy / India / West Bengal
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047749)
(0.98 MB)
16 Rao, Krishna C.; Gebrezgabher, Solomie. (Eds.) 2018. Energy recovery from organic waste - Section II. In Otoo, Miriam; Drechsel, Pay (Eds.). Resource recovery from waste: business models for energy, nutrient and water reuse in low- and middle-income countries. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.34-313.
Energy recovery ; Energy generation ; Fuels ; Organic wastes ; Resource recovery ; Business management ; Models ; Briquettes ; Agricultural wastes ; Case studies ; Fuelwood ; Charcoal ; Biogas ; Bagasse ; Renewable energy ; Eenergy conservation ; Supply chain ; Socioeconomic environment ; Environmental impact ; Municipal wastes ; Solid wastes ; Public-private cooperation ; Partnerships ; Economic aspects ; Risk reduction ; Faecal sludge ; Food wastes ; Organic fertilizers ; Electrification ; Swine ; Abattoirs ; Industrial wastes ; Carbon credits ; Rice husks ; Rural areas ; Local authorities ; Ethanol ; Sugar industry ; Cassava / Uganda / Rwanda / India / Kenya / Peru / Brazil / Mexico / Thailand / Venezuela / Kampala / Kigali / Nairobi / Bihar / Maharashtra / Pune / Mumias / Dagoretti / Bangkok / Carabobo
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H048625)
(10.3 MB)
17 Watson, P.; Rao, Krishna C. 2018. Power from manure and agro-waste for rural electrification (Santa Rosillo, Peru) - Case Study. In Otoo, Miriam; Drechsel, Pay (Eds.). Resource recovery from waste: business models for energy, nutrient and water reuse in low- and middle-income countries. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.152-161.
Agricultural waste management ; Waste management ; Electrification ; Organic fertilizers ; Biogas ; Renewable energy ; Nongovernmental organizations ; Power generation ; Rural communities ; Supply chain ; Financing ; Environmental impact
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H048637)
(1.06 MB)
18 Rao, Krishna C.; Natarajan, H.; Doshi, K. 2018. Power from rice husk for rural electrification (Bihar, India) - Case Study. In Otoo, Miriam; Drechsel, Pay (Eds.). Resource recovery from waste: business models for energy, nutrient and water reuse in low- and middle-income countries. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.203-214.
Rual areas ; Electrification ; Agricultural waste management ; Rice husks ; Biomass ; Business management ; Supply chain ; Environmental impact / India / Bihar
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H048642)
(1.07 MB)
19 Mohanty, P.; Patnaik, S. 2017. Energy-centric operationalizing of the nexus in rural area: cases from South Asia. In Salam, P. A.; Shrestha, S.; Pandey, V. P.; Anal, A. K. (Eds.). Water-energy-food nexus: principles and practices. Indianapolis, IN, USA: Wiley. pp.117-126.
Water resources ; Water availability ; Food security ; Energy resources ; Energy demand ; Nexus ; Rural areas ; Solar energy ; Living standards ; Economic growth ; Drinking water ; Water security ; Pumps ; Electrification ; Case studies / South Asia / India / Nepal / Odisha / Rajasthan / Baunsadiha Village / Makwanpur / Thingan Village
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H048742)
20 Urfels, A.; McDonald, A. J.; Krupnik, T. J.; van Oel, P. R. 2020. Drivers of groundwater utilization in water-limited rice production systems in Nepal. Water International, 45(1):39-59. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2019.1708172]
Groundwater irrigation ; Water use ; Agricultural production ; Rice ; Shallow tube wells ; Irrigation scheduling ; Irrigation efficiency ; Smallholders ; Farmers ; Resilience ; Water market ; Pumps ; Electrification ; Solar energy ; Model / Nepal / Eastern Gangetic Plains / Rupandehi / Banke / Kailali
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049516)
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02508060.2019.1708172?needAccess=true#aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGFuZGZvbmxpbmUuY29tL2RvaS9wZGYvMTAuMTA4MC8wMjUwODA2MC4yMDE5LjE3MDgxNzI/bmVlZEFjY2Vzcz10cnVlQEBAMA==
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049516.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049516.pdf
(2.85 MB) (2.85 MB)
Most rice farmers in Nepal’s Terai region do not fully utilize irrigation during breaks in monsoon rainfall. This leads to yield losses despite abundant groundwater resources and ongoing expansion of diesel pumps and tubewell infrastructure. We investigate this puzzle by characterizing delay factors governing tubewell irrigation across wealth and precipitation gradients. After the decision to irrigate, different factors delay irrigation by roughly one week. While more sustainable and inexpensive energy for pumping may eventually catalyze transformative change, we identify near-term interventions that may increase rice farmers’ resilience to water stress in smallholder-dominated farming communities based on prevailing types of irrigation infrastructure.
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