U P Singh, Secretary, Department of Water Resources, RD & GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti said that water security in agriculture is a local problem and requires de-centralized solutions.
Speaking at the national summit on ‘Investing in Future Through Sustainable Water Use Management in Agriculture’, organized by FICCI, Singh said that currently we use 90 percent of fresh water in agriculture and irrigation. “Without improving the water use efficiency in agriculture, all efforts of water use elsewhere will not be meaningful,” he added.
He said that we need to change our mindset and give emphasis on water productivity rather than just land productivity. He added that we must focus on water footprints, like carbon footprints, and urged the industry to play more active role in the overall development of the sector.
Emphasizing on the need of water conservation in agriculture Singh said that we need to adopt water recycle, and re-use policy in agriculture sector which has provisions for mandates and incentivization. “The more water we consume, more wastewater is generated. Many states have already started adopting this policy. You need to either mandate people or incentivize people. This kind of policy will have both mandating certain use and providing incentives,” he added.
Singh while highlighting the environment concerns said that we must also consider revisiting the current government procurement policy which mainly focuses on wheat and rice. It is important that states and farmers must be incentivized for other crops as well. “Today, we don't grow crops based on water endowment & topography of that particular area.
Ms Alka Bhargava, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt of India said that improved productivity is key to sustainability. “We have started adopting AI and other technologies to check soil moisture and cropping patterns. We are also looking at the use of grey water in agriculture to reduce dependence on ground water,” she added.
T R Kesavan, Chairman, FICCI National Agriculture Committee and Group President, TAFE Ltd said the government should draft a policy on creating an Agriculture Council so that Centre, state and various ministries work for the betterment of the sector.
Dr Ajai Kumar, Head-South Asia, Govt and Industry Affairs, Corteva Agriscience said all stakeholders including agriculture industry, policy-makers and regulators need to align while keeping farmers at its center in making agriculture ‘Climate Positive.’
Dr A K Padhee, Director, Country Relations and Business Affairs, New Delhi, ICRISAT said that conservation and sustainable management of natural resources, including water, demands priority action in the policy agenda.
FICCI-PwC report on ‘Plugging India’s Agri-water Gap: Sustainable and Innovative Approaches’ was released during the event
