Achieving agricultural pumpset efficiency in rural India

✍ Scribed by William Reidhead

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 110 KB
• Volume: 13
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0954-1748
• DOI: 10.1002/jid.743

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Throughout India, the operation of lift irrigation systems (‘pumpsets’) is grossly inefficient, resulting in massive over‐consumption of energy and inadequate irrigation, limiting agricultural productivity growth and resulting in the reduced welfare of smallholder farmers. This paper examines the potential for pumpset ‘rectification’, a development intervention being considered for large‐scale programmes by a number of state agencies in India. Assessing the energy demand for centrifugal pumpsets at the national level, it outlines a practical methodology for applying rectification in the field. The results of the analysis indicate that rectifications can be very cost‐effective and can be applied on a broad scale. Institutional and policy implications are derived for ensuring that rectifications will be effective, sustainable, and will maximize the benefits to India's farmers. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.