Lok Sabha Question No. 77 (STARRED), answered on 2023-02-07
Subject: Shortage of Water for Agriculture
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: Dinesh Chandra Yadav, Santosh Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE& FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE & FARMERS WELFARE

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO.77

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 7 TH  FEBRUARY, 2023

## SHORTAGE OF WATER FOR AGRICULTURE

† * 77.  SHRI DINESH CHANDRA YADAV; SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE कृ िष एवं कसान कयाण मंी be pleased to state:

(a)    whether it is true that due to climate change it  is  being  estimated  that  there  is going  to  be  a shortage of water for  agriculture in future;

(b)    whether  there  will  be  a  major  problem  of irrigation  in  agriculture  sector  due  to shortage  of water;

(c)      if  so,  the  policies  under  consideration  of  the  Government  for  the  management  of agriculture sector; and

(d)    whether  about  67  per  cent  boys  and 59  per  cent  of  girls  upto  the  age  of  5 years  are suffering    from anaemia due to water contamination in the country and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMES WELFARE

कृ िष एवं कसान कयाण मंी

## (SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) to (d):   A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

O.I.H.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  77  DUE  FOR  REPLY  ON  7 th  FEBRUARY,  2023 REGARDING SHORTAGE OF WATER FOR AGRICULTURE.

(a) & (b): Ministry  of  Environment,  Forests  and  Climate  Change    conducted studies  on  impact  of  climate  change  in  India  as  part  of  the  Second  National Communication to the United Nations Frame Work Convention on Climate Change. The studies revealed that Impact of climate change and climate variability on the water resources  are  likely  to  affect  irrigated  agriculture.  However,  the  impact  of  climate change  has  been  dealt with effectively through various interventions of the Government.

(c): (i) To meet the challenges of Agriculture  in the face of changing climate, the Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research  (ICAR)  has  launched  a  flagship  network project  namely  National  Innovations  in  Climate  Resilient  Agriculture  (NICRA).  The project  aims  to  study  the  impact  of  climate  change  on  agriculture  including  crops, livestock,  horticulture  and  fisheries  and  to  develop  and  promote  climate  resilient technologies in agriculture which will address vulnerable areas of the country. Besides, ICAR has  developed  cost  effective,  location  specific  scientific  technologies    viz. rainwater harvesting & recycling, precision technologies for irrigation  and  farming practices, adoption of modern agronomic practices, diversifying cropping pattern from water guzzling crops like low land rice, sugarcane to pulses, oilseeds, maize and agroforestry  etc.  It  also  imparts  training  and  organizes  field  demonstrations  to  educate farmers in these regard. The salient achievements under NICRA are as follows:

1.  ICAR has developed resilient  varieties  in  different  crops  tolerant  to  climatic stresses to improve the food grain production in the face of changing climate. Since 2014, a total of 2122 varieties have been released out of which 1752 are climate resilient varieties which includes 400 abiotic stress tolerant varieties and 1352 are biotic stress tolerant.
2.  Sixty eight location-specific climate resilient technologies have been developed and popularized for wider adoption among the farming communities.
3.  District level risk and vulnerability assessment of Indian agriculture to climate change has been prepared which is useful for several Ministries/ Departments for prioritizing resources towards developmental programs.
4.  Based  on  vulnerability  assessment,  climate  resilient  technologies  are  being demonstrated on farmer's fields in 151 clusters covering 446 villages.
5.  Agricultural contingency plans for 650 districts have been prepared and State officials have been sensitized for preparedness through 57 State-level interface meetings during the past eight years. Agricultural contingency plans have been made  available  online  for  policy  makers  to  take  decisions  in  the  event  of delayed monsoons and other extreme weather events.
6.  ICAR in collaboration with India Meteorological Department (IMD) is issuing Agromet  advisories  twice  a  week  (Tuesday  and  Friday)  to  around  6  crore farmers  of  the  country  through  Gramin  Krishi  Mausam  Seva  program.  The advisories  are  reaching  the  farmers  through  m-KISAN  portal,  WhatsApp groups, SMS services etc.
7.  During the past decade, 16,958 capacity building programs were conducted throughout the country under NICRA project to educate stakeholders on various aspects  of  climate  change  and  resilient  technologies,  covering  5,14,816 different  stakeholders  including  farmers  so  as  to  enable  wider  adoption  of climate resilient technologies.
8.  ICAR has made efforts to improve the nutritional quality in high yielding varieties of cereals, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables and fruits using breeding methods and developed 87 varieties under special project on Consortium Research Platform on Biofortification.
9.  System of Rice Intensification/ Direct Seeded Rice (SRI/ DSR) are also being promoted under National Food Security Mission (NFSM) for reducing use of water in agriculture sector.

(ii) To deal with the impact of climate change in Agriculture Sector, the Department of  Agriculture  &  Farmers  Welfare  is  implementing  National  Mission  for  Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA). NMSA is one of the Missions within the National Action Plan on Climate  Change  which  aims  to  evolve  and  implement  strategies  to  make  Indian agriculture  more  resilient  to  the  changing  climate.  The  NMSA  has  components  viz Rainfed Area Development, Soil Health Management and On Farm Water Management implementing as  Per Drop More Crop (PDMC). PDMC focuses on micro irrigation technologies namely Drip and Sprinkler Irrigation systems to enhance water use efficiency through precision water management. It helps in efficient water use at farm level as well as reduced fertilizer usage, labour expenses, other input costs and in overall income enhancement of farmers. So far, an area of 149.13 lakh ha has been covered under Micro Irrigation in the country.

(iii)      The  Government  is  implementing  Pradhan  Mantri  Krishi  Sinchayee  Yojana (PMKSY)  with  an  aim  to  enhance  physical  access  of  water  on  farm  and  expand cultivable area under assured irrigation and introduce sustainable water conservation practices. The components of PMKSY are as under:

1. Accelerated  Irrigation  Benefit  Programme  (AIBP)  and  Har  Khet  Ko  Pani (HKKP):  These  components  are  being  implemented  by  Department  of  Water Resources,  River  Development  &  Ganga  Rejuvenation  (DoWR,RD&GR).  Under PMKSY, 99 prioritized AIBP Projects including their Command Area Development and Water Management (CADWM) activities have been taken up on Mission Mode.

2. Watershed Development Component (WDC-PMKSY): The Integrated Watershed  Management  Programme  (IWMP)  was  amalgamated  as  one  of  the components  in  the  umbrella  scheme  of  PMKSY  in  2015-16  and  named  as  the Watershed Development Component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (WDC-PMKSY). Under WDC-PMKSY 1.0, Department of Land Resources provided Central  assistance  for  6382  watershed  development  projects  in  28  States  and released Rs.19926.67 crore as Central share. The extended project period of WDCPMKSY 1.0 got over on 31.03.2022. The activities undertaken, inter alia, include ridge area  treatment,  drainage  line  treatment,  soil  and  moisture  conservation,  rainwater harvesting, nursery raising, pasture development, livelihoods for asset less persons etc. Under WDC-PMKSY 1.0, as per information received from the States/UTs, since 2014-15 to 2021-22, approximately 7.64 lakh water harvesting structures have been created / rejuvenated. An additional area of about 16.41 lakh ha has been brought under protective irrigation. The number of farmers benefited is about 36.34 lakh during this period. Further, during 2018-19 to 2021-22, 1.62 lakh ha has been brought under plantation (Horticulture/ Afforestation) and 3.36 lakh ha culturable wasteland treated in  all  completed  projects.  Government  of  India  has  also  approved  continuation  of WDC-PMKSY 2.0 with a physical target of 49.50 lakh ha of rainfed/ degraded areas in December, 2021. Under WDC-PMKSY 2.0, Department has already sanctioned 1110 watershed projects to States/UTs covering an area of 49.43 lakh hectare with total project cost of Rs. 12109.96 crore (Central share Rs. 7864.25 crore).

(iv)   Further, Government supports construction of water harvesting and conservation works  primarily  through  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Mission Amrit Sarovar launched as a part of celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav with an objective to conserve water for future. The Mission is aimed at developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district of the country. As on date, 93970 sites have been identified and work has commenced on 55660 sites. The work has been completed on 29520 sites. In addition, large number of water bodies  such  as  farm  ponds,  dug  wells,  check  dams  and  community  ponds  (water harvesting & Fishery) have been created under the MGNREGS Scheme. A total of 64,09,852 water harvesting structures have been created so far under the scheme.

(v)        DoWR,  RD  &  GR  has  set  up  Bureau  of  Water  Use  Efficiency  (BWUE)  for promotion, regulation and control of efficient use of water in irrigation, industrial and domestic sector. The Bureau facilitates promotion of improving water use efficiency across  various  sectors  namely  irrigation,  drinking  water  supply,  power  generation, industries etc. in the country. National Water Mission (NWM) launched the 'Sahi Fasal' campaign to nudge farmers in water stressed areas to grow crops which are not water intensive  but  use  water  efficiently  and  are  economically  remunerative,  healthy  and nutritious and suited to the agro-climatic-hydro characteristics.

(vi)          In  order  to  promote  climate  friendly  and  water  use  efficient  crops,  the Government  has  taken  up  various  initiatives  to  increase  the  cultivation  of  millets. Millets are hardy, have low water requirement and shorter crop cycle which means that they  can  be  grown  and  harvested  in  arid  regions.  With  an  aim  to  generate  mass awareness,  increase  production,  productivity  and  strengthen  the  Millet  value-chain towards enhanced Millet consumption, the proposal submitted by the Government in 'The United Nation's General Assembly (UNGA)'   to declare 2023 as the International Year  of  Millets  was  accepted  and  supported  by  72  countries.  Accordingly,  UNGA declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYM) on 5th March 2021. Millets is now known as Shri-Anna.

(d) The prevalence of anaemia is 67.2 percent among male children aged 6-59 months and 67.0 percent among female children aged 6-59 months as per National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5, 2019-21). The causes of anaemia in children are low iron stores at birth due to anaemia in mother, non-exclusive breastfeeding, too early introduction of inappropriate complementary food, late introduction of appropriate  (iron-rich)  complementary  foods,    insufficient  quantity  of  iron  and  iron enhancers  in  diet:  low  bioavailability  of  dietary  iron,    increased  iron  requirements related to rapid growth and development during infancy and childhood, non-nutritional causes  of  anaemia,  iron  loss  due  to  parasite  load,  poor  environmental  sanitation, unsafe drinking water and inadequate personal hygiene.

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