IWMI

1
Irrigation in Andhra Pradesh Trends and Turning
Points

• IWMI
• Upali Amarasinghe
• BK Anand, Madar Samad, A. Narayanmoorthy

2
Outline

• Trends and tuning points of AP irrigated area
• Net irrigated area source wise irrigation
• Gross irrigated are , Cropping patterns
• Irrigation trends in Polavaram command area
  districts

3
Trend Analysis

• Focuses on four time periods
• 1970 - 1987
• 1988 - 1996
• 1997 2001
• 2002 - 2004
• 1988 Significant change
• 1997 - Enacted Farmer Manage Irrigation Systems
  Act FMISA
• 2002-2004 Wide spread droughts

4
Irrigation- Why is it important ?

• Andhra Pradesh in comparison to other states has
  the
• 4th largest land area
• 5th largest population
• 3rd in per capita income of all states
• 4th largest contributor to the national economy
  and
• AP Agriculture has
• 25 of the GDP from the agriculture sector
• 70 of the population have agriculture depended
  livelihoods
• 43 of the crop lands are under irrigation
• AP Irrigation contributes to
• 66 or more to the agriculture output

5
Irrigation in AP What has happened?

• Gradual significant growth before 1987
• Significant abrupt shift in 1987
• No significant change between 1987-1996
• Significant increasing trend after 1996
• Severe drop due to droughts

6
Irrigation in AP What has happened?
7
Spatial Trends Net irrigated area

• Telangana NIA increased both before and after
  1987
• Coastal Andhra Pradesh NIA increased before 1987,
  but no significant change after 1987
• Rayalaseema NIA decreased before 1987. A slight
  but statistically not significant increasing
  trend after 1987
• Rainfall variation was an influencing factor in
  three regions

8
How did different sources of irrigation
contribute?

• Biggest gain - Groundwater irrigation Increased
  17 to 43
• Largest decline- Tank irrigation - 30 to 15
• Surface irrigation declining - 49 to 37

9
How did canal irrigated area change?

• Investment is increasing,
• But NSIA has
• increased in the 1970s/ 1980s
• Decreased in early 1990s
• Stagnated in the late 1990s

• NSIA increased before 1987 in Coastal Andhra and
  Telangana
• NIA decreased between 1987-1996
• But the decline is arrested after 1996
• NIA in Rayalaseema is continuously decreasing

10
How did net tank irrigated area change?

• Tank irrigated area decreased both before and
  after 1987
• But there is a significant shift in 1987.

• In general tank irrigated area decrease over all
  time periods in all three regions.
• However, the shift in 1987 was significant in
  Costal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema region

11
How did net groundwater irrigated area change?

• Significant increase before 1987
• Significant acceleration after 1987.
• Rainfall was not a factor before 2002

• NGWIA growth was fastest in the Telangana region
• Shift in 1987 was significant in all regions
• NGWIA in Telangana increasing at an increasing
  rate.
• Growth was independent of rainfall until 2002.
• 2002-2004 had a drop in Telangana due to below
  average rainfall

12
How did well irrigated area change?

• Tubewell area is increasing
• and
• Dugwell area is decreasing

13
How did Gross Irrigated Area change?

• GIA
• Increased before 1987
• had a significant shift in 1987
• secreased in 1987-1996
• stagnated in 1997-2001
• affected in 2002-2004 due to droughts

• GIA
• Increased before 1987
• had a significant shift in 1987
• Decreased in 1987-1996
• Stagnated in 1997-2001
• Droughts affected 2002-2004

14
How did groundwater irrigation contributing to
GIA change?

• Net groundwater irrigated area had a significant
  contribution to GIA growth
• Contribution is decreasing in recent decades

15
Recent crop diversification trends?

• Food crop area decreasing Non food crop area
  increasing
• Rice area is decreasing fast.
• Maize, a feed crop, area is increasing
• Fruits and vegetable area increasing
• Sugarcane area in creasing

16
General findings

• Groundwater play a crucial role in AP irrigation
• Distress in groundwater irrigated areas is
  increasing, especially in rainfall deficit years
• Sustain GW area, recharge programs is necessary
  in the short-medium term

17
What needs to be done?

• Needs studies on
• Reservoir siltation and canal irrigated area loss
• Gap between potential and actual irrigated area
• Potential artificial recharge from thousands of
  AP tanks
• Implications of water demand due to cropping
  pattern changes
• Implications of crop diversification on the
  livestock economy
• Water demand of domestic, industrial,
  environmental sectors
• Additional water resources management
  development needs for meeting AP water futures
• Returns to investments in the irrigated sector
• Future investments needs medium and long term

18
Polavaram command area districts

• Command area is located in Vishakapatnam, East
  Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna
• 13 of the geographical area of AP
• 15 of the net sown area
• 24 of the net irrigated area
• 40 of the net surface irrigated area
• 17 of the net tank irrigated area
• 18 of the net tubewell irrigated area
• 12 percent of net groundwater irrigated area
• 28 of the gross irrigated area

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Polavaram command area districts

• 155 irrigation intensity
• 166 and 168 irrigation intensity in East and
  West Godavari
• 64 of the crop area is irrigated
• 63 and 88 of the crop area irrigated in East and
  West Godavari

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• Thank you