October 16 is observed as World Food Day to mark the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 1945. Its main purpose was to ensure food and nutrition security around the world in the aftermath of World War II. How far the world has moved to achieve this goal is an open question. While there is ample food being produced on this planet that can easily feed eight billion people, its access is quite skewed across nations.
This year’s theme for the World Food Day is “Water is Life. Water is Food”. In this context, it would be good to review how far India has progressed in achieving food security, and how it is using its water resources in agriculture.
First on the food security front. Having been through a journey of “ship to mouth” in mid 1960s, India has come a long way. Only in the last three years, 2020-21 to 2022-23, India exported 85 million tonnes (MT) of cereals, mainly rice, wheat and corn. This it did even after giving free food (rice or wheat) to more than 800 million people under the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana. This is a stupendous achievement. India has also made major strides in milk production which has shot up from 17 MT in 1951 to 222 MT in 2022-23.
The country is the largest producer of milk by far. Since 2000-01, poultry and fishery production has been growing at a fast rate. So, from the green and white revolution, India has also now ushered in a pink (poultry) and blue (fishery) revolution. However, access to sufficient nutritious food remains a challenge for many. According to the latest National Family Health Survey, almost 16.6 per cent of India’s population is malnourished (2020-22), 35 per cent of its children below the age of five years are stunted (low height-for-age) and 32 per cent are underweight (low weight-for-age).
Progress on this front has been rather slow, and in a business-as-usual environment, India will not be able to achieve its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of zero hunger (including malnutrition) by 2030. Now, how is India using its water resources in agriculture? It is important to note that while India is home to almost 18 per cent of the world’s population, it has only 4 per cent of global freshwater resources. Much of this water is used in agriculture. While FAO puts this figure at 90 per cent, the Indian Central Water Commission says it is 78 per cent. With rising population, and rising incomes, there will be a need to produce not only more food but also save water for drinking purposes as also for manufacturing and growing urbanisation.
Thus, India needs to adopt a two-pronged strategy with respect to water in agriculture. First, on the supply side, it must augment buffer stocking of water during the monsoon season in its reservoirs, and recharge groundwater through check dams and watersheds, etc. Second, it must work on the demand side to ensure more rational allocation and efficient use of water across crops.
This calls for not only institutional reforms in the Indian irrigation sector but also in the pricing of water and power for irrigation. While almost half of India’s gross cropped area is irrigated today, we need to take it to at least 75 per cent if we have to cope with weather vagaries associated with climate change.
This would require massive investments. India has not succeeded in attracting private sector investments in reservoirs and canal networks as water is almost free. The government does not have enough funds to invest in this, after doling out large food and fertiliser subsidies costing more than Rs 4 lakh crore. The state governments do not have the political will to charge for power that is used for groundwater irrigation. Under such a scenario, Indian agriculture remains a risky venture in the wake of climate change.
If we have to minimise this climate risk, we need a paradigm shift in our thinking. First and foremost, we need to shift focus from land productivity to water productivity. For example, we need not look at say so much tonne/hectare, but of kg of grain per cubic metre of irrigation water. Once we start looking at productivity from a water angle, we can identify the inefficiencies in the allocation and use of water in agriculture. In one of our studies at ICRIER on water productivity of 10 major crops, across all the major districts in which they are grown, we found out that while in Punjab land productivity of rice is one of the highest, its irrigation water productivity is the lowest.
That means that Punjab is one of the most inefficient growers of rice in terms of water used. On top of this, Punjab also emits the highest levels of carbon emissions (CO2eq), almost 5 tonnes/ha of paddy cultivation. All this calls for a revamping of policies, farm practices, and products, keeping water at the centre of agriculture. Can one reward farmers for switching from water-guzzling crops like paddy and sugarcane to less water-intensive crops like millets, pulses and oilseeds? Talk of green water credits! In our research on Punjab, we have found the subsidy from power and fertilisers in paddy cultivation amounts to roughly Rs 30,000/ha. Can this amount be given to farmers in Punjab who are willing to switch from paddy to pulses, oilseeds, and millets? This will create a level playing field across crops and would be good for the environment as well as nutrition. Above all, it will save Punjab from water disaster as roughly 78 per cent of its blocks are over-exploiting groundwater.
Farming practices such as direct seeded rice (DSR) and alternate wet and dry (AWD) irrigation, or zero till, etc., can also be rewarded as they will save water. And also drip irrigation, especially in sugarcane, which can save half the water. The bottom line is that unless we use water efficiently, ensuring sustainable food security is difficult.
Gulati is Distinguished Professor at ICRIER. Views are personal
