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Demand-Side Water Management in Sugarcane Farming in India Through Farmers’ Behaviour Change: Experience from Dsclsugar and Olam

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Demand-Side Water Management in Sugarcane Farming in India Through Farmers’ Behaviour Change: Experience from Dsclsugar and Olam 2nd World Irrigation Forum (WIF2) W.3.1.03 6-8 November 2016, Chiang Mai, Thailand DEMAND-SIDE WATER MANAGEMENT IN SUGARCANE FARMING IN INDIA THROUGH FARMERS’ BEHAVIOUR CHANGE: EXPERIENCE FROM DSCLSUGAR AND OLAM Richard Colback1, Harsh Vivek2 and Suparna Jain 3 ABSTRACT Sugarcane is a prime commodity in agribusiness in India, which is the second largest producer of sugarcane in the world after Brazil. It supports livelihoods and offers the potential for export at globally competitive prices. Over 50 million farmers are engaged in sugarcane cultivation on over four million hectares of land, in addition to over 20 million more individuals who depend on employment generated by the sugar mills and other industries related to use of this sugar. In a resource constrained market such as India, there is an increasing need to promote resource use efficiencies that will avoid competing claims over the limited agricultural land and water available. Improvements in water management through a demand side approach have been identified within this project as a way to bridge the resource availability and sustainability gap. In an attempt to avoid conflicts that have arisen in Indian States such as Maharashtra, wherein concerns related to diversion of water for irrigation had been exacerbated by sudden and erratic drought like conditions, the project demonstrated efficiencies that could be gained from low cost interventions. The project was guided by the ‘3S’ principle of Suitability, Sustainability and Scalability. The project took into consideration agro-climatic and soil conditions, and identified low cost water efficient techniques for promotion such as: trash mulching; use of organic manure; furrow irrigation; drip irrigation; land levelling; and gated pipes. As a result of the efforts made with 100,000 sugarcane farmers, approximately 64 billion litres of water-use for irrigation has been avoided through the use of improved water management practices. The variability of water efficiencies gained from the different practice interventions were also computed duringa12 month data recording on demonstration plots within the project. The value proposition of the project activities was found to be multifaceted, including catalysing farmers’ behaviour” towards demand side water management which led to greater efficiencies (more crop per unit water), as well as managing supply-chain and business risks emerging from impending water challenges to provide a clear business case for water efficiency practices and investments in equipment to larger organizations such as sugar mills and financial institutions. 1. INTRODUCTION Agriculture in India contributes 15%to the country’s GDP and employs 50% of the country’s workforce. While a scientific assessment of yield loss due to poor quality irrigation is not available, a high level sample survey of farmers revealed that they believe that crop yield could improve by at least 10%if the required volume of water is available at the correct time and inefficient water application avoided. Reliable irrigation using water-efficient practices could therefore enhance the economic viability and environmental sustainability of irrigated agriculture, while also reducing per unit water use. However, farmers generally perceive ‘water use efficiency’ as maximising net revenue rather than saving water (Knox et al., 2012) and therefore water-saving is not a priority for most farmers. Their focus of activities is typically on 1 Senior Operations Officer, Irrigation Specialist, International Finance Corporation, Email: [email protected] 2 Operations Officer, International Finance Corporation, email:[email protected] 3 Consultant, International Finance Corporation, email : [email protected] 1 2nd World Irrigation Forum (WIF2) W.3.1.03 6-8 November 2016, Chiang Mai, Thailand managing labour and other inputs to get better economic gains (Molden et al., 2010). Towards that economic aim, most growers make irrigation decisions by relying on subjective judgements, based on their practical experience and observation (Knox et al., 2012). A demonstration of the benefits from modifying their typical practices would allow farmers to evaluate the full potential of their cultivation areas. This requires a combination of structured technical advice, and a system for broadening awareness of the effects of specific irrigation practices. While farm level yields are recorded, there is a lack of, or poor access to, historic records of water use. Quantification of the impacts of water efficiency therefore required a way of retrospectively evaluating typical water use efficiency. Sugarcane production requires large volumes of water (with an average of 20 mega liters of water/ha. At present, 80%of this water requirement is being met through groundwater extraction. India’s Central Ground Water Board has estimated that only 162 billion cubic meters (BCM)/yr of groundwater is available for future irrigation, out of which around 40 BCM/yrwill be available in the sugar-producing states. In India, sugarcane is cultivated in approximately 5.0 million ha area, which requires about 100 BCM of water/yr. (Srivastava et al., 2011). In order to address this shortfall, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, in collaboration with Solid arid and Asia implemented a sustainable sugar cane advisory project to demonstrate demand-side water management techniques and practices. The project provided support to 100,000 sugarcane farmers supplying two leading sugar companies in India, DSCL Sugar and Olam Agro India Limited, in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. The key challenges faced by the sugar cane farmers in the project areas were the declining availability of irrigation water due to climate change and over-exploitation of groundwater. The majority of sugar cane farmers utilize traditional flood irrigation practices with poor land preparation, leading to over use of water and sub-optimal yield The increased costs for irrigation, particularly in terms of the additional energy and labour, also impacts net farm income. In recent times, conflict has arisen in Indian States such as Maharashtra, where diversion of water from storage to sugarcane fields has occurred at the cost of availability of water for domestic and industrial consumption. These conflicts were also attributed to the sudden and erratic drought-like conditions in many parts of India which occurred due to climate change, adversely affecting supply-side water schemes, perennial and rain-fed rivers. 2. METHODS 2.1 DSCL Sugar The catchment area of DSCL Sugar that was included in the project lies in Uttar Pradesh, falling mainly within the Ganga basin, where ground water extraction has exceeded 70% of annual recharge. The project worked with approx. 80,000 farmers spread over 55,000 ha. More than 80% of the farmers were small holders. A baseline survey done on a sample of 1400 farmers in the DSCL Sugar catchment area showed up that 57% of the sugarcane farmers were using flood irrigation. Following the survey, discussions with stake holders and expert evaluation led to a strategy to promote cost-effective and locally appropriate water-use efficiency enhancement practices and technologies to reduce the overall application of irrigation water, whilst maintaining or improving farm level productivity. The package of water efficient techniques comprised: a) Furrow irrigation, b) Furrow+ Trash mulching, c) Land levelling, and d) Furrow +Application of organic manure. (Prasad et al, 1980). The overall approach of the program was to promote the adoption of practices through1) a training program for the farmers which was delivered byDSCL extension officers, 2 2nd World Irrigation Forum (WIF2) W.3.1.03 6-8 November 2016, Chiang Mai, Thailand agronomists and irrigation experts, and 2) demonstration plots on farmers’ fields to show publicize the impacts. By using demonstrations and providing necessary training, the programme was designed to catalyse behavioural change in farmers towards adoption of sustainable cultivation practices. The training and capacity building program was based on the principles of suitability, sustainability and scalability (a) Suitability: Water efficient practices and Good Water Management Practices (GWMP) were customized to suit the local agro-climatic and farmer socio- economic conditions. (b) Sustainability: The focus on “training the trainer” creates a cadre extension workers and lead farmers who continue to support the dispersion of knowledge and awareness of benefits within their community one the project came to an end. (c) Scalability: The approach to” train the trainer” and a focus on extension workers and lead farmers provided a method to more effectively scale beyond typical “pilots” and “design approaches”. The results of this project component with respect to the sugarcane cultivable land area brought under the recommended water efficient practices/technologies are summarized in table 1. 2.2 Olam The catchment area of Olam that was included in the project lie in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The project area was 15,000 Ha with a combined supply chain of 20,000farmers. Challenges to efficient water manage ment varied in the two Olam catchment areas. In the case of Barwani in Madhya Pradesh, rainfall as well as water availability from surface and groundwater sources was limited. In Kolhapur district, Maharashtra, the cane growing area receives adequate rainfall (>2000 mm per year), however accessing water for additional
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