Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

            } else {
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

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		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Not so simple to drought-proof the farmer; stock up for dry days -Himangshu Watts&#039;,
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-The Economic Times Blog&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not so simple.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&amp;rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
India has just 4% of the planet&amp;rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&amp;rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&amp;rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &amp;lsquo;Make in India&amp;rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&amp;rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&amp;rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &amp;mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Economic Times Blog, 7 March, 2016, http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/et-commentary/not-so-simple-to-drought-proof-the-farmer-stock-up-for-dry-days/&#039;,
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-The Economic Times Blog

The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Economic Times Blog&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Not so simple.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&amp;rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;India has just 4% of the planet&amp;rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&amp;rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&amp;rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &amp;lsquo;Make in India&amp;rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&amp;rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&amp;rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &amp;mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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-The Economic Times Blog&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not so simple.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&amp;rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
India has just 4% of the planet&amp;rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&amp;rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&amp;rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &amp;lsquo;Make in India&amp;rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&amp;rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&amp;rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &amp;mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Economic Times Blog, 7 March, 2016, http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/et-commentary/not-so-simple-to-drought-proof-the-farmer-stock-up-for-dry-days/&#039;,
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-The Economic Times Blog

The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Economic Times Blog&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Not so simple.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&amp;rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;India has just 4% of the planet&amp;rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&amp;rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&amp;rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &amp;lsquo;Make in India&amp;rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&amp;rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&amp;rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &amp;mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in..."/>
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                <div align="justify">-The Economic Times Blog<br /><br />The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.<br /><br />Not so simple.<br /><br />While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.<br /><br />For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.<br /><br />India has just 4% of the planet&rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.<br /><br />Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &lsquo;Make in India&rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.<br /><br />Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.<br /><br />Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.<br /><br />Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.<br /><br />The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.<br /><br />Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.<br /><br />The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.<br /><br />So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.<br /><br />The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.</div>               </font>
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-The Economic Times Blog&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not so simple.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&amp;rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
India has just 4% of the planet&amp;rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&amp;rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&amp;rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &amp;lsquo;Make in India&amp;rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&amp;rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&amp;rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &amp;mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Economic Times Blog, 7 March, 2016, http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/et-commentary/not-so-simple-to-drought-proof-the-farmer-stock-up-for-dry-days/&#039;,
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-The Economic Times Blog

The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Economic Times Blog&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Not so simple.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&amp;rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;India has just 4% of the planet&amp;rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&amp;rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&amp;rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &amp;lsquo;Make in India&amp;rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&amp;rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&amp;rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &amp;mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Not so simple to drought-proof the farmer; stock up for dry days -Himangshu Watts&#039;,
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-The Economic Times Blog&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not so simple.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&amp;rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
India has just 4% of the planet&amp;rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&amp;rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&amp;rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &amp;lsquo;Make in India&amp;rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&amp;rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&amp;rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &amp;mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Economic Times Blog, 7 March, 2016, http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/et-commentary/not-so-simple-to-drought-proof-the-farmer-stock-up-for-dry-days/&#039;,
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-The Economic Times Blog

The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Economic Times Blog&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Not so simple.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&amp;rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;India has just 4% of the planet&amp;rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&amp;rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&amp;rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &amp;lsquo;Make in India&amp;rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&amp;rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&amp;rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &amp;mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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-The Economic Times Blog

The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in..."/>
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                <strong>Not so simple to drought-proof the farmer; stock up for dry days -Himangshu Watts</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-The Economic Times Blog<br /><br />The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.<br /><br />Not so simple.<br /><br />While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.<br /><br />For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.<br /><br />India has just 4% of the planet&rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.<br /><br />Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &lsquo;Make in India&rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.<br /><br />Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.<br /><br />Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.<br /><br />Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.<br /><br />The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.<br /><br />Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.<br /><br />The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.<br /><br />So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.<br /><br />The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.</div>               </font>
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    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f1997c7b6dc-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f1997c7b6dc-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f1997c7b6dc-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f1997c7b6dc-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f1997c7b6dc-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f1997c7b6dc-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f1997c7b6dc-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f1997c7b6dc-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
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		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Not so simple to drought-proof the farmer; stock up for dry days -Himangshu Watts&#039;,
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-The Economic Times Blog&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not so simple.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&amp;rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
India has just 4% of the planet&amp;rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&amp;rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&amp;rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &amp;lsquo;Make in India&amp;rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&amp;rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&amp;rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &amp;mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Economic Times Blog, 7 March, 2016, http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/et-commentary/not-so-simple-to-drought-proof-the-farmer-stock-up-for-dry-days/&#039;,
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-The Economic Times Blog

The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Economic Times Blog&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Not so simple.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&amp;rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;India has just 4% of the planet&amp;rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&amp;rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&amp;rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &amp;lsquo;Make in India&amp;rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&amp;rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&amp;rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &amp;mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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-The Economic Times Blog&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Not so simple.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&amp;rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
India has just 4% of the planet&amp;rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&amp;rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&amp;rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &amp;lsquo;Make in India&amp;rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&amp;rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&amp;rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &amp;mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Economic Times Blog, 7 March, 2016, http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/et-commentary/not-so-simple-to-drought-proof-the-farmer-stock-up-for-dry-days/&#039;,
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-The Economic Times Blog

The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-The Economic Times Blog&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&amp;rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Not so simple.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&amp;rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;India has just 4% of the planet&amp;rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&amp;rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&amp;rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &amp;lsquo;Make in India&amp;rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&amp;rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&amp;rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &amp;mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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-The Economic Times Blog

The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in..."/>
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                <strong>Not so simple to drought-proof the farmer; stock up for dry days -Himangshu Watts</strong></h1>
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                <div align="justify">-The Economic Times Blog<br /><br />The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.<br /><br />Not so simple.<br /><br />While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.<br /><br />For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.<br /><br />India has just 4% of the planet&rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.<br /><br />Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &lsquo;Make in India&rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.<br /><br />Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.<br /><br />Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.<br /><br />Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.<br /><br />The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.<br /><br />Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.<br /><br />The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.<br /><br />So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.<br /><br />The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.</div>               </font>
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-The Economic Times Blog<br />
<br />
The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.<br />
<br />
Not so simple.<br />
<br />
While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.<br />
<br />
For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.<br />
<br />
India has just 4% of the planet&rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.<br />
<br />
Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &lsquo;Make in India&rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.<br />
<br />
Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.<br />
<br />
Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.<br />
<br />
Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.<br />
<br />
The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.<br />
<br />
Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.<br />
<br />
The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.<br />
<br />
So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.<br />
<br />
The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.
</div>',
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-The Economic Times Blog

The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in...',
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This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.<br /><br />For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.<br /><br />India has just 4% of the planet&rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.<br /><br />Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &lsquo;Make in India&rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.<br /><br />Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.<br /><br />Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.<br /><br />Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.<br /><br />The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.<br /><br />Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.<br /><br />The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.<br /><br />So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.<br /><br />The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.</div>',
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-The Economic Times Blog<br />
<br />
The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.<br />
<br />
Not so simple.<br />
<br />
While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.<br />
<br />
For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.<br />
<br />
India has just 4% of the planet&rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.<br />
<br />
Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &lsquo;Make in India&rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.<br />
<br />
Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.<br />
<br />
Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.<br />
<br />
Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.<br />
<br />
The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.<br />
<br />
Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.<br />
<br />
The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.<br />
<br />
So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.<br />
<br />
The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.
</div>',
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$metaTitle = 'LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Not so simple to drought-proof the farmer; stock up for dry days -Himangshu Watts'
$metaKeywords = 'Water Shortage,drought,Agriculture,Irrigation,Water Scarcity,Water Conflict'
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-The Economic Times Blog

The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in...'
$disp = '<div align="justify">-The Economic Times Blog<br /><br />The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year&rsquo;s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after.<br /><br />Not so simple.<br /><br />While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource.<br /><br />For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer&rsquo;s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation.<br /><br />India has just 4% of the planet&rsquo;s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world&rsquo;s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity.<br /><br />Agriculture sucks in 84% of India&rsquo;s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the &lsquo;Make in India&rsquo; campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here.<br /><br />Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue.<br /><br />Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched.<br /><br />Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river.<br /><br />The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains.<br /><br />Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%.<br /><br />The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world&rsquo;s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country&rsquo;s aquifers in a couple of decades &mdash; a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water.<br /><br />So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached.<br /><br />The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.</div>'
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Not so simple to drought-proof the farmer; stock up for dry days -Himangshu Watts

-The Economic Times Blog The massive increase in expenditure on irrigation in this year’s Budget has raised hopes that more water will flow into fields. This can drought-proof the farmer, increase crop output and lead to greater rural prosperity, which, in turn, will generate demand for all kinds of goods and services. So, everybody will live happily ever after. Not so simple. While higher spending on irrigation is a good beginning, a lot more needs to be done to balance the demand and supply of water in a country that aspires to boost agriculture and industrial activity, both of which need vast quantities of water. This is a formidable challenge as we have erratic monsoons, shrinking groundwater, depleted reservoirs, stressed rivers and criminal wastage of the scarce resource. For starters, India needs to reboot its agricultural sector, where farmers use up to four times the water compared to China, Brazil and the US for each unit of output. Given the current state of farming and poor maintenance and inefficiency of irrigation facilities, we have a water shortage. This will not change unless the farmer’s choice of crops, often determined by procurement prices, is changed and the country shifts decisively towards modern, efficient irrigation using pipes, sprinklers and drip irrigation. India has just 4% of the planet’s fresh water but is home to 17% of the world’s population. Its per-capita water availability is 1,544 cu m, which makes it a water-stressed country, a tag given to countries with 1,000-1,700 cu m available per head. Worse, India is moving, according to a Niti Aayog study, from water stress towards water scarcity. Agriculture sucks in 84% of India’s water. But factories and households, which absorb 12% and 4% respectively, will demand much more as industrialisation and urbanisation gather momentum and the ‘Make in India’ campaign lures foreign companies to set up shop here. Each car contains steel that requires afew lakh litres of water to produce. Plastic bottles requires more water to produce than the amount they store. Industrialisation and water shortage in a land of suicide-prone farmers is a toxic combination. This is already visible in the industrialised regions of Maharashtra where competition for water between districts has intensified and taken a political hue. Afew years ago, the state changed its water policy to give industry priority over agriculture. However, widespread protests forced the government to give agriculture higher priority even as farmers complain that industry still manages to take their share of water, leaving fields parched. Water disputes are on the rise. Last week, armed policemen were uprooting illegal irrigation pipes and are ready to open fire on farmers who steal water on the arid border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The Supreme Court has spent a lot of time in adjudicating river water disputes between aggressively competing states whose total demand for water is much more than what flows in the river. The government needs to ensure that farmers do not plant water-guzzling crops in arid regions. Many farmers plant two crops of rice, including one in the relatively dry season. Semiarid regions are happily expanding the cultivation of water-intensive crops like sugarcane and the phenomenally thirsty cotton crop that swallows 2,700 litres of water to produce enough raw material for just one T-shirt. Cotton is 25-30 times more thirsty than some oilseeds and grains. Further, poor maintenance of irrigation facilities, loss of irrigated land to reckless urban expansion and wasteful use of water are making matters worse for Indian farmers. Many are forced to pump out groundwater. As a result, the share of canals in irrigation has halved since the early 1950s to about 23%, while the share of groundwater has doubled to more than 60%. The groundwater situation in northern and northwestern India has reached critical levels, where it is being extracted much more than it is being replenished. India is the world’s biggest user of groundwater, consuming aquarter of the global total at a speed that will dry up 60% of the country’s aquifers in a couple of decades — a situation that can create a serious shortage of drinking water. So, groundwater cannot be the key source of additional irrigation. That leaves another option: large reservoirs along with hydropower plants that will generate smoke-free, renewable electricity and store water when the flow in rivers surges in the rainy season. But these projects come with formidable challenges of cost and difficulties in land acquisition. Given the patchy record of relief and rehabilitation, such projects come with Medha Patkar attached. The best solution: adopt modern irrigation practices and make effective plans for the future. Not an easy task.