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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Subsidy to farmers is misfiring, finds study -Mihika Basu

Subsidy to farmers is misfiring, finds study -Mihika Basu

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published Published on Jan 12, 2017   modified Modified on Jan 12, 2017
-Bangalore Mirror

ICAR researchers say subsidised electricity benefitting only medium and large farmers

Stating that the policy decision to provide free or subsidised electricity has been a key driver for widespread groundwater exploitation, estimates by ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Centre, Ballari, reveal that in Karnataka, groundwater depletion has forced farmers to drill up to depths of 200 to 300 metres, costing about Rs 2.5-3 lakh for a successful bore-well. However, due to increasing interferences between wells, bore-wells currently last for only two to six years, and such failures cause huge economic setbacks for small and marginal farmers with no resources to drill another bore-well. Incurring loans for drilling another bore-well may backfire if the attempts are unsuccessful, said researcher Suresh Kumar. What is further discouraging is that in reality, the existing subsidy provision is targeted to only 19.7 per cent of the farmers, who have irrigation pump sets, leaving 88.3 per cent of the farm families out of the purview of subsidy, according to the report.

“Policy planners and administrators are now faced with the challenge to design and implement a workable mechanism to manage the ever-growing complexity of groundwater-energy nexus. Groundwater extraction has already surpassed sustainable utilisation limits in most parts of India. Also, the water table is going down at an alarming rate, with continuous deterioration in quality. Consequently, chasing the rapidly declining water table has become too costly for small and marginal farmers, thus aggravating disparity among the farming groups,” said the research findings.

In Karnataka, there are 2.26 million electrically-operated irrigation pump sets. The numbers are increasing at an annual growth rate of 4.3 per cent. This, said the researcher, implies an addition of 70,000 new pump sets per year, which also increases electricity demand. According to available data, the agriculture sector in Karnataka is the largest consumer of electricity with 16,788 million units, which is 35.83 per cent of the total consumption of the state. Further, the assessment shows electricity consumption for irrigation is increasing at a rate of eight per cent per annum, posing a stiff challenge in an electricity-deficient state. Karnataka meets 20 per cent of its demand by short-term power purchases.

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Bangalore Mirror, 11 January, 2017, http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/others/subsidy-to-farmers-is-misfiring-finds-study/articleshow/56464445.cms


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