‘Wet’ Water Saving and Social Benefits from Micro Irrigation: A Study from IGNP Command Area in Rajasthan

The broad research question raised in the study is whether subsidies are desirable for promoting micro irrigation systems in canal commands. The study was undertaken in Indira Gandhi Nehar Project command area where farmers adopted sprinklers with the help of an intermediate storage system locally known as diggie. The objectives of the study were to: (1) analyze the farming systems changes associated with MI adoption; and, (2) evaluate the economic and social costs and benefits of sprinkler and diggie adoption in the region. The study showed that sprinkler with diggie is economically viable for the farmers even without subsidies. It further shows that the social benefits, accrued from real/‘wet’ water saving, exceed the social costs. The study showed that under situations of induced water scarcity, incremental income return over pre-adoption scenario will not be the decisive criterion for farmers to go for MI systems. Instead, the criterion would be water productivity enhancement, which also ensures that the income returns are higher than what they would probably secure with flood-irrigated crops under conditions of reduced water availability. Since the social costs are less than the social benefits, the subsidies are justifiable as it makes the private benefits exceed the private costs. The study also validates the unique methodology used for economic cost benefit analysis of micro irrigation systems.