Abstract
Climate change-related weather shocks are becoming more frequent in India, and poor, agrarian populations are the most vulnerable to these vagaries of weather. This study was undertaken to assess if the various drought-proofing and drought-relief programs are effective in mitigating the impact of droughts on crop production and household consumption in rural Bihar, India. The government of Bihar runs a number of drought-proofing and drought-relief programs to mitigate the impact of drought, but with little effect. The two largest social safety net programs—the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)—provide little relief to drought-affected families in rural Bihar. Further, additional subsidy on diesel to irrigate kharif crops in drought-affected areas does not reach many farmers. Delays, uncertainties, and high transaction costs in its disbursal to farmers further reduce the subsidy’s effectiveness. Public tube-wells and subsidy on private wells and pump-sets fail to provide wide-scale relief for the drought-stricken area. The results of our year-long study of 160 farmers with access to cheap irrigation from solar-powered pump-sets in Bihar showed that these farmers grew paddy in of all their land in kharif in 2013, in spite of low rainfall. The farmers reaped nearly 20% higher yields compared to their neighbors. These results indicate that affordable groundwater irrigation is essential for effective drought proofing in Bihar. A well-designed program to promote solar pumps can strengthen drought proofing and make agriculture more resilient to climate change.
Part of this paper has been published as pre-reviewed IFPRI discussion paper. IFPRI Discussion Paper 01398. http://ebrary.ifpri.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/128868/filename/129079.pdf.
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Notes
- 1.
Paddy accounts more than 40% of gross cropped area.
- 2.
97% of all irrigation pump-sets in the state run on diesel or kerosene.
- 3.
Personal communication with Dr. Aditi Mukherjee, Senior Researcher, in November 2012.
- 4.
A historical record of diesel-pump irrigation prices in selected locations in eastern Uttar Pradesh shows that water prices increased every time diesel prices increased, and the former increased substantially more than would be enough to cover the increase in diesel price (Fig. 1 in Shah 2007). Water buyers are under greater pressure to economize on water use than pump owners, and this differential pressure increases with every increase in diesel price.
- 5.
The cost of fuel includes the price of diesel (Rs. 50/l), the cost of fetching it from the nearest gas station, and the cost of working capital needed to hold a small stock of it. A 5 horsepower (HP) diesel pump consumes 1 l of diesel per hour. Lubricating oil costs around Rs. 400–500 and needs replacement after every 400 h of operation. Diesel pumps also have significant wear and tear costs, which increase with increase in hours of operation. These depend on the quality and the vintage of the machine, its care and upkeep, and the quality of fuel and oil used in it.
- 6.
If we look at the fixed cost of diesel pump-sets, it is quite low—at least as perceived by farmers who own them. Farmers buy a 5 HP pump-set for Rs. 15–25,000 and use it for 10–15 years, sometimes even longer, with periodic repairs and overhauls. The capital cost of a pump-set is lower for farmers who buy it with the government subsidy.
- 7.
- 8.
Bihar had an energy deficit of 20.2% and a peak deficit of 31% during 2012–2013 (GIZ 2013). The situation led to wide-scale rationing of power to all categories of consumers, even more so in rural areas.
- 9.
Results of this study are reported in detail in a forthcoming paper titled “Bringing an Evergreen Revolution in Bihar: The Impact of Access to Solar Pumps in 16 Villages”.
- 10.
These 16 districts are Saharsa, Supaul, Arariya, Kishanganj, Purnea Muzaffarpur, Sitamarhi, Shivahar, East Champaran, West Champaran, Vaishali, Darbhanga, Madhubani, Gopalganj, Madhepura, and Nalanda.
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Kishore, A., Joshi, P.K., Pandey, D. (2019). Droughts, Distress, and Policies for Drought-Proofing Agriculture in Bihar, India. In: Pal, B., Kishore, A., Joshi, P., Tyagi, N. (eds) Climate Smart Agriculture in South Asia. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8171-2_7
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