Prof. Gopal Naik uses his case study on Nonavinakere tank in Tumkur district to emphasize stakeholders’ roles
25 JUNE, 2022: IIM Bangalore has undertaken an exercise on the “promotion of efficiency of the state action plan in Karnataka on water management and sustainable agriculture”, in collaboration with the Hanns Seidel Foundation, India, under the guidance of Professor Gopal Naik, faculty in the Economics and Social Sciences area, with special interest in public policy/public service delivery, agriculture and rural development, etc. In this context, Prof. Naik and his team of researchers organized, on campus, the HSS-IIMB State Level Stakeholder Workshop on ‘Developing sustainability related knowledge and capability for farmers: A case study of Nonavinakere Irrigation Tank in Tumkur’, on 24th June 2022, to share findings of the study.
Considering that the current water use efficiency is only 35% in agriculture, the sustainable use of irrigation water is a priority across India. Over the years, considerable efforts have been devoted in formulating policies, and developing and adopting technologies with the primary objective of increasing water use efficiency. A case study of the Nonavinakere tank, in Tumkur district, has been conducted in this study to understand how the tank has been managed and how water use efficiency can be improved. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, the study examined how the supply of and demand for water is currently managed and suggested measures to improve the water use efficiency.
Recommendations
The study suggested that there is an immediate need to measure the water inflow and manage the catchment area with appropriate structures such as check dam to prevent water run-off and soil erosion. Siltation of tank is needed to increase the water holding capacity. Also, a proper water storage and water outflow measurement system needs to be installed to facilitate water budgeting and control. The tank has the capacity to irrigate a much larger area and in two seasons than what is currently being done. A proper water delivery system needs to adopted to measure water supply to farmers. It is also important to provide advisories to farmers on cropping pattern and modern irrigation practices. There must be better communication between the stake holders to substantially improve the water use efficiency.
Call for collaboration
The workshop, held on 24th June, brought together several different stakeholders, including the management authority of Nonanivnakere tank, beneficiaries of the tank, and several experts from prominent institutes. The conference provided a platform to discuss and bring awareness about the ground-level challenges faced by the farmers. The discussions provided meaningful insights into policies that can be implemented to improve the efficient water use in the command area. An important step to be taken forward is creating awareness amongst the farmers and improving the collaboration between the stakeholders.
The participants of the workshop were from academic institutions, government officials, non-governmental organizations, funding agencies and farmers.
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