Groundwater Market and Agricultural Development in West Bengal: Perspectives from a Village Study (original) (raw)
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Groundwater Market and Agricultural Tenancy: A New Form of Collective Inter-Linkage in West Bengal
Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 2020
Land ownership in West Bengal has passed through different phases. Initially there were land owners with large tracts of land. Later in the 1960s and 1970s, Government of West Bengal decided to redistribute land from the original land owners to the small and marginal farmers. The operation of this land redistribution was called 'Operation Barga'. In our survey of groundwater markets, we found that land relations are affected by water relations especially in case of groundwater sellers. In this background, the paper attempts to analyse the various water and related land based transactions experienced at the field level in the three agricultural districts of West Bengal. From field level survey of ground water markets and transactions between water sellers and water buyers, it is observed that owners of Groundwater Extraction Mechanisms (WEM), in order to economise their scale of water usage and maximise profit, form a collective monopoly amongst themselves, not only to divide the land to sell water but also to consolidate on the surrounding lands for economies of scale. Although this may lead to higher productivity of agriculture it may also lead to increase in landless farmers. Thus we find a situation in West Bengal which may thwart the very essence of land reforms.
Irrigation is a significant indicator to increase agricultural production. It also shapes the socio-economic status of farmers to some extent. Hence, Irrigated water has to use efficiently and judiciously. In this paper, an attempt has been made to show the spatial variation in the level of irrigation development of tube wells. Besides, an effort has been made to show the impact of tube well irrigation on farmers’ socio-economic status. To do so a cost-benefit analysis has been done. The present study is based on both primary and secondary sources of data. A positive relation has been found between tube well irrigated area and total irrigated area as changes in tube well irrigated area has influences on the overall irrigation system in the district. Hili block has the highest percentage of area under tube well irrigation. While Tapan block has the lowest percentage of tube well irrigated area. The key occupation of the study area is agriculture. The farmers of the study area are poo...
Groundwater Market in West Bengal, India: Does it Display Monopoly Power
Based on village-level primary household survey in three districts of West Bengal, the present study tries to understand the groundwater market structure using the standard market theory. Comparing the internal rate of return of private investors on groundwater irrigation with past studies, it is found that although the degree of monopoly has gone down in the state over time, a certain element of monopoly still exists in the groundwater market. The estimates of price-tomarginal cost ratios and the Lerner index amply demonstrate the existence of high degree of monopoly in groundwater market. The study also shows that since banks give loans based on collateral, it is the large farmland owners who benefit from these bank loans for installation of electric submersibles for groundwater irrigation. Factors such as availability of rain and canal water, advance payment for water, distance of the land from the irrigation source, and maintenance and labour cost of water extraction mechanism also affect the price of water. As the groundwater extraction increases, it leads to lowering of the groundwater table leading to increasing cost for the water seller who in effect transfers the increasing cost to price leading to a rise in groundwater prices. This is a cause of concern not only for the small and marginal farmers but also for the sustainability of groundwater. Studies in Microeconomics 6(1-2) 1-25
Hydrogeology Journal, 2006
Since 1960, South Asia has emerged as the largest user of groundwater in irrigation in the world. Yet, little is known about this burgeoning economy, now the mainstay of the region's agriculture, food security and livelihoods. Results from the first socio-economic survey of its kind, involving 2,629 well-owners from 278 villages from India, Pakistan, Nepal Terai and Bangladesh, show that groundwater is used in over 75% of the irrigated areas in the sample villages, far more than secondary estimates suggest. Thanks to the pervasive use of groundwater in irrigation, rain-fed farming regions are a rarity although rain-fed plots within villages abound. Groundwater irrigation is quintessentially supplemental and used mostly on water-economical inferior cereals and pulses, while a water-intensive wheat and rice system dominates canal areas. Subsidies on electricity and canal irrigation shape the sub-continental irrigation economy, but it is the diesel pump that drives it. Pervasive markets in tubewell irrigation services enhance irrigation access to the poor. Most farmers interviewed reported resource depletion and deterioration, but expressed more concern over the high cost and poor reliability of energy supply for groundwater irrigation, which has become the fulcrum of their survival strategy. Depuis 1960, l’Asie du Sud a émergée en tant que plus grand utilisateur d’eaux souterraines pour l’irrigation dans le monde. Par ailleurs, on connaît peu de choses sur l’économie bourgeonnante, le maintien actuel de l’agriculture de la région, la sécurité alimentaire et les moyens d’existence. Les résultats de différentes études socio-économiques, sur 2,629 propriétaires de puits de 278 villages d’Inde, Pakistan, Népal et Bangladesh, montrent que l’eau souterraine est utilisée sur 75 % des aires irriguées dans les villages échantillonnés, loin de ce que les estimations suggérèrent. Du fait de l’utilisation envahissante de l’eau souterraine pour l’irrigation, les régions utilisant l’eau de pluie sont rares, bien que les villages alimentés par eau de pluie abondent. L’irrigation avec l’eau souterraine est d’une manière quintessence complémentaire, utilisée le plus souvent pour les céréales inférieures et les légumes secs, alors que l’utilisation intensive de l’eau pour le blé et le riz domine les aires de canaux. Les subsides pour l’électricité et l’irrigation par canal, forme l’économie sub-continentale de l’irrigation, mais ce sont les pompes diesel qui la conduise. Les marchés envahissants des services de forages pour l’irrigation, améliorent l’accès de l’irrigation pour les pauvres. La plus part des fermiers interviewés ont reporté un épuisement et une détérioration de la ressource, mais sont surtout concernés par le coût et la faible rentabilité énergétique de l’eau souterraine pour l’irrigation, qui est devenue le point d’appui de leur stratégie de survie. Desde 1960 el Sur de Asia ha emergido como el usuario más grande del mundo de agua subterránea para riego. Sin embargo, se conoce poco acerca de esta creciente economía, que constituye ahora el pilar de agricultura de la región, la seguridad alimentaria y la subsistencia. Los resultados del primer levantamiento socioeconómico de este tipo, que involucra 2,629 propietarios de pozos de 278 poblados de India, Pakistán, Nepal teria y Bangladesh, muestra que el agua subterránea es usada en más de 75% de las áreas irrigadas en los poblados muestreados, mucho más que lo sugerido por estimaciones secundarias. Debido a el amplio uso de agua subterránea en riego, las regiones agrícolas abastecidas por agua de lluvia son raras aunque abundan poblados con parcelas alimentadas por lluvia. El riego por agua subterránea es quintaesencialmente suplemental, utilizado principalmente en cereales inferiores económicos en agua mientras que el trigo de uso intensivo de agua y el sistema de arroz predominan en áreas de canales. Los subsidios en electricidad y riego de canales moldean la economía de riego sub-continental, pero es la bomba de diesel la que la mueve. Los amplios mercados en servicios de riego de pozos entubados estimulan el acceso al riego para los pobres. La mayoría de agricultores entrevistados reportan un deterioro y escasez del recurso pero expresaron más preocupación por el alto costo y dependencia de los pobres en el abastecimiento de energía para regar con agua subterránea, lo cual se ha convertido en el punto de apoyo de su estrategia para sobrevivir.
A Study of Agriculture and Groundwater Utilization in West Bengal
2023
The study has been conducted to analyze the development and utilization of water resources towards the existing water market and the governance of water use in agriculture. The specific objectives of the study are development and utilization of minor irrigation over four minor irrigation censuses. An attempt has been made on land utilization pattern in irrigated systems also. Study reveals that ground water contributes more area than surface sources and water table have been declined for the pressure of irrigation. Summer paddy being a high-water consuming crop. Secondary data on irrigation potentiality, cropping pattern, minor irrigation censuses over times has been assembled from Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) (Eastern Region), State water investigation directorate (SWID) and area on different crops is from the official statistics published time to time by public sources. In the study area, it has been found that utilizable water is much less than available water. Gap between water demand and availability is more in southern districts of West Bengal. In both the cases of culturable command area and gross irrigated area, irrigation through the surface water sources has shown negative growth rate.
symposium on managing common resources: what …, 2001
The exploitation of groundwater for agricultural production in Bangladesh has been crucial to the agricultural growth that has enabled Bangladesh to emerge from being the 'basket case' to a sort of self sufficiency in staple food production in the last 20 years together with significant reductions on HCR poverty. This has come about not through the innovative aid dependent NGOs for which Bangladesh has become famous, but largely through private investment in tubewells selling irrigation services (water) to farmers of contiguous blocks of land, evidently overcoming collective action problems posed by the fragmented and unequal land holding structure, and confounding pessimistic prognoses of several political economies. Groundwater drawdown externalities are not crucial in most areas due to the abundance of the resource. Competition in these markets can perhaps be modelled as 'contestable' and 'embedded'; disputes are regulated (perhaps imperfectly) by creative use of indigenous dispute resolution institutions and various cultural, economic, social and political resources. Poverty is reduced but the implications for inequality are not clear -but which is of greater significance?' 1 By Richard Palmer-Jones, School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ. This paper is something of a 'cut and paste' job for the Workshop on Managing Common Resources at the
GeoJournal, 2019
The continuous demand of groundwater for irrigation in the agricultural sector has shown remarkable development of groundwater resources in Haryana. Small farmers with limited resources cannot install deep tube wells and therefore have to buy groundwater from large farmers for irrigation. These groundwater irrigation markets have emerged as robust and leading irrigation institutions. Their prevalence supports about 15% of the total irrigated area. Amongst the different size of land ownership, the small farmers irrigate nearly 44% of their cultivated land with purchased water from the neighboring large farmers. The cropping intensity achieved by groundwater buyers is far higher than the sellers. However, on an average each seller supports 1.6 buyers, 6.1 ha of land and 34% of the buyer's land. Generally, the sellers exploit groundwater buyers in groundwater transactions. The sellers follow the principle of profit maximization and do not negotiate with buyers on groundwater irrigation markets norms. The major objective of this study is to highlight the patterns and practices of groundwater irrigation markets in Haryana.
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Science, 2013
Attempts have been made in this paper to overview the present agricultural inputs for crop production and crop economy in the lower Gangetic plain. Results of the field survey show that the average labour requirement of Boro rice production is 35 persondays/acre. The fertilizer application by the farmers is not balanced and is well below the recommended doses. N, P 2 O 5 , K 2 O ratio used by the farmers was 7:3:1 against the appropriate ratio of 5:4:3 for HYV Boro rice. The cost of Boro rice cultivation has been estimated on the basis of input use. The rice cultivation costs were Tk.14,335, Tk 13,875 and Tk. 11,271 per acre for the water buyer, water seller with diesel pump and water seller with electric pump respectively. Labour and irrigation costs together normally account for two-thirds of the total cost of production-increases in the prices of these inputs can greatly depress Boro rice profitability. Moreover, Gross income of the water sellers from major crops is about 32% higher than that of the water buyers. The study also shows that the total cost for a Shallow Tube Well (STW) run by diesel motive power is almost twice that for electric motive power. If groundwater irrigated agriculture system is framed in a comprehensive manner, this could play an important role in poverty alleviation.