GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A professor with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences hopes to use his research on water conservation to help farmers in India stop committing suicide.
In 2014, the National Crime Records Bureau of India reported 5,650 farmer suicides. The highest number of farmer suicides were recorded in 2004 when 18,241 farmers committed suicide. The agency blames low crop yields, crippling loans, droughts and a shrinking supply of groundwater for the rash of suicides.
Sanjay Shukla, a professor in the UF/IFAS agricultural and biological engineering department, has conducted two studies that show groundwater is disappearing where it is needed most: areas that get less rainfall in south India. Approximately 70 percent of the Indian population depends on agriculture as a source of income, Shukla said.
The first study, led by the UF Water Institute and in collaboration with the United Nation’s ICRISAT program, began in 2010 and ran through 2016. While there was anecdotal evidence that farmers were suffering through a water shortage, Shukla wanted to study what was causing the shortage. According to Shukla, India uses more groundwater than any other country in the world.
“Back in 2000, droughts were affecting all of India, but especially in drier areas such as the Telangana state in south central India,” said Shukla, who works out of the UF/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee, Florida. “Wells were drying up, farmers couldn’t pay back loans and crops were lost. Many farmers committed suicide, and it affected millions of families.”
His study confirmed that, indeed, groundwater was in short supply. But he was astounded by his next discovery. The Indian government subsidizes electricity to farmers, giving them free access to the energy source throughout the day. Farmers, said Shukla, built more wells powered by electric pumps.
“Compounding the problem, is that most farmers in India use flood irrigation, and often use way too much water,” Shukla said. “We found the decline in groundwater coincided with the period of time when the government offered free electricity to help farmers. But in a way, it really worked against farmers. We saw a proliferation of wells, and that led to the loss of groundwater. Others who really needed the wells, but couldn’t afford it, would buy water from other farmers.”
“If the current rate of withdrawal continues, and there is an increase in the number of groundwater wells, the situation will worsen,” said Rajendra Sishodia, a post-doctorate working with Shukla. “If another drought comes, that can mean the difference between having a crop or not. And the flooding irrigation will continue to continue to reduce the amount of flow in rivers by 13 to 26 percent,” he said.
Since hydroelectric dams are used to generate electricity, a lower river means less electricity is produced, Sishodia said. “It’s a vicious cycle. Farmers will need more energy because the water level is lower, and they will need to burn more electricity to bring the same amount of water. It means more money will be spent on subsidies, which are causing too many wells to be dug, and too much water being used.”
The first study was published in the Journal of Hydrology. Next, Shukla and other researchers went back to India to study solutions to reverse the damage.
In the 2017 study, published in Advances in Water Resources, researchers predict the current system will result in crop production dropping by 60 to 90 percent. So, they offered several solutions:
- Change from flood irrigation to drip irrigation to save water.
- Reduce hours of free electricity available by 50 percent.
- Store excess runoff water.
According to Shukla, the government would save $6 billion by cutting subsidies. Introducing and adopting drip irrigation techniques would cost $4.2 billion, he said.
“If farmers did this, they could survive and thrive in drought years,” Shukla said. “The savings would support expanding farmland to increase food production. And it would help families survive.”
—Beverly James
UF|IFAS
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