Publication

Abstract : A higher incentive has been provided to farmers in the water scarce region for scaling up micro-irrigation technologies, and in turn, anticipated that such adoption could stabilize groundwater level. While the former creates a sharp discontinuity in farmers’ adoption behaviour, the latter has been less explored at the irrigation system level. Therefore, the objectives are to examine effect of additional subsidy on diffusion of micro-irrigation in the water deficit areas, and to evaluate its’ impact on groundwater utilization at the tubewell level. The secondary data for 8,073 villages and towns between 2006-07 and 2014 were collected to do the first objective, and around 430 tubewell owners were surveyed for the second one. Analysis based on regression discontinuity design reveals that additional subsidy and social learning enhance the diffusion of micro-irrigation, but the latter has more significant impact than former. Further, micro-irrigation adoption is found as statistically insignificant to reduce groundwater utilization. However, it is observed that meter connection with adoption leads to decline the extraction of groundwater. Hence, the policy suggestion is that the government should continue to offer additional subsidy for large scale diffusion of micro-irrigation technologies, and in particular, enhance the meter connection to reduce the potential groundwater utilization.