Evaluating the Need and Feasibility of Micro Irrigation Systems for Sustainable Irrigation

Abstract

Irrigation plays a vital role in the sustainability of agriculture and the improvement of farm yields. Although the Indian government has made substantial investments in developing irrigation projects, there remains a significant gap between the created irrigation potential and its utilization due to losses in canal conveyance and inefficient conventional irrigation methods in the canal command. Most modernization works are focussed on implementing micro irrigation for tube well irrigation systems, a problem since 64% of Indian districts experienced a water table decline between 2002 and 2016. With this in mind, the present study examines the command area of Gadarjudda minor of the Upper Ganga Canal in Haridwar district, Uttarakhand, India, to assess the necessity and viability of micro irrigation in the canal command area. The evaluation is done by evaluating the current canal status, designing the gravity flow piped irrigation network, and conducting a social survey to determine farmers' willingness, awareness, and purchasing capacity toward adopting micro irrigation systems on their farms. High conveyance loss, erratic water distribution, and poor maintenance highlight the importance of micro irrigation in the study area. The profile of the minor canal is sufficient to allow gravity flow in the pipe network, with velocity and pressure head within the permissible limits. A social survey revealed that farmers showed a high level of willingness to adopt microirrigation, but a low purchasing capacity discourages its adoption. For the canal water fed micro irrigation system in Gadarjudda minor government support, awareness among farmers, active participation of farmers Associations, and piped irrigation network are deemed mandatory.