Enabling Access to Protective Irrigation through Socio-technical Engineering — Efficiency and Equity Effects Rao C. A. Ramaa, Dixit Sreenatha, Surendranah G.b, Nagaraj G.b, Rao K. V.a, Rao I. Bhaskaraa, Reddy B. Sanjeevaa, Venkateswarlu B.a aCentral Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad– 500 059, Andhra Pradesh bWatershed Support Services and Activities Network (WASSAN), Hyderabad – 500 030, Andhra Pradesh Online published on 9 October, 2012. Abstract Since most of the small and marginal farmers practising rainfed agriculture are economically too poor to invest in groundwater-based irrigation, exploring ways to expand the access to available irrigation facilities to such farmers can be an effective alternative to investing in developing new irrigation bore-wells. In this paper, an attempt has been made to achieve a more efficient and equitable use of existing groundwater resources by appropriate social and technical interventions in a multi-institutional initiative. This consisted of networking of bore-wells into a single system and providing access to irrigation water to those who did not possess any irrigation source. The results have indicated that when the existing bore-wells were networked and connected to a more efficient irrigation system like sprinkler, there were significant gains in terms of expansion of cultivated area, increase in cropping intensity and higher crop yields. Though both the owners of bore-wells and water receivers gained absolutely, the latter gained more in relative terms. The intervention could also lead to more efficient and equitable use of groundwater. This initiative has exemplified the feasibility and appropriateness of community-shared irrigation facilities and highlights the need for well coordinated efforts by different organizations to be effective in achieving the common goals. Top Keywords Irrigation, bore-wells, multi-institutional initiative, sprinkler, Andhra Pradesh. Top |