Action plan for popularizing micro-irrigation system in India

Research on use of micro-irrigation systems for irrigating the agricultural crops were initiated nearly two decades ago in the country and is still continuing. The results indicate that the use of micro-irrigation systems not only improves the irrigation efficiency but also the crop yields substantially. In view of the future water shortages in the country and worldwide, steps should be taken without further delay for popularizing micro-irrigation systems in the country in order to achieve its large scale adoption. Though the state governments have taken some initial steps in this regard like giving subsidy for system installation and arranging extension programmes for training the farmers, they have not proved to be very effective so far. For large scale adoption, an action plan for popularizing the micro-irrigation systems in the country should be chalked out. This paper presents an action plan to effectively promote the use of micro-irrigation systems in the country.