1-Environmental Impacts of Agricultural Water Management in India - An Overview

Abstract

Increasing human and livestock population along with significant developments in the various fields of agriculture has brought more and more lands under irrigation using mostly canal, dam, lift, and underground water through surface irrigation methods. With these improved agricultural practices, the food grain production has increased from 50.8 m tonnes in 1950-51 to 185 m tonnes in 1994-95. In this process of increasing productivity we have exploited our natural resources indiscriminately which in turn have resulted into various environmental degradations especially soil degradation. Out of various agricultural management practices, excess and intensive irrigation has been found to contribute more degradation than use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, deforestation and other agronomic pesticides. Various physical and chemical changes that have already occurred and measures to be adopted to prevent such changes have been highlighted. Some of the important environmental issues related to agricultural water management and agricultural development in the country have been briefly discussed