1. Raising Productivity in Irrigated Agriculture
Presented at International Conference on
Uncommon Opportunities: Roadmap for Employment, Food & Global Security
November 22, 2004
The Mother’s Service Society, Pondicherry

2. Low Productivity of Indian Agriculture
India ranks among the lowest countries in the world on productivity of most major crops.
Huge waste of water resources damaging crop productivity, increasing soil salinity and aggravating water shortages -- 80% of India’s water use is for irrigation.

3. Low farm productivity results in
High unit cost of production
High priced food
Low farm incomes & purchasing power
Low labour absorption
High water consumption/unit of produce

4. Factors Determining Crop Productivity
Soil preparation
Quality of seed
Planting methods & tools
Plant nutrition – type, quality & timing
Water management
Pest management
Time & schedule management

5. Advanced Agricultural Technology (ATT)
Adapted appropriately to local conditions can
Raise crop productivity by 100 to 200%
Raise water use efficiency by 100 to 200%.

6. Enhancing plant nutrition can double yields & incomes on all crops.
“Every Rs 1 of investment in plant nutrition returns Rs 5 of additional income” Dr C. Lakshmanan, CACS
One Tanjore paddy farmer reduced his production cost from Rs 3.50 to Rs 1.50 per kg

7. Crop Productivity Gap (kg/ha)
USA
China
India
Maize
8900
4900
2100
Paddy
7500
6000
3000
Soy beans
2250
1740
1050
Seed Cotton
2060
3500
750
Tomato
6250
2400
1430

8. Balanced Soil Fertility & Plant Nutrition
Plants require more than 12 essential nutrients
In India, soil is being tested for only three nutrients.
Without these 12 nutrients, genetic potential of hybrid seeds cannot be tapped.
The same hybrid rice seed generates 2.8 tons per hectare in India, 5.4 tons in China & 8 tons in USA.
Methods employed in India for application of fertilizers lead to low absorption, low fertilizer use efficiency, high wastage and high cost.
ATT can triple productivity of the same hybrid seed.

9. Soil Fertility – before treatment
Optimum Level Required by Plants

10. Soil Fertility – after NKP treatment
Optimum Level Required by Plants

11. Impact of Improved Soil Nutrition
Crop (tons/acre)
Tamil Nadu Average
ATT Adapters in Tamil Nadu
Potential
Rice 2 4 6
Cotton Lint (lb./A)
310
890
2200
Bringjal 8 17 30
Maize
1.2
2.8
7.8
Okra 10

12. Comparative Tomato Yields
India aver 8-12 tons per acre
California aver tons
ATT in California 60 tons
Achieved in Tamil Nadu 38 tons

13. Brinjal in TN
ATT achieved 17 tons/acre of brinjal in TN compared with TN average of 8 tons. Potential is for 30 tons generating more than Rs 1 lakh/acre profit

14. Red Cabbage in TN
ATT has achieved 20 tons/acre of cabbage in TN compared with TN average of 12 tons. Potential is for 30 tons generating more than Rs 1 lakh/acre profit.

15. Badji Pepper in TN
ATT has achieved 14 tons/acre in Tamil Nadu compared with local average of 6 tons. Potential is 20 tons generating more than 1.5 lakhs profit/acre.

16. Okra in TN
ATT technology has produced 6 tons/acre of Okra in TN compared with state average of 2 tons. Potential is for 10 tons yielding income of Rs 50,000 to 1 lakh/acre.

17. Sugarbeet gives 50% more sugar than cane in ½ the time with only 2/3rd the water
ATT farmers in CA achieve the highest yields of sugarbeet. Sugarbeet can produce tons/acre in TN in 6 months with 15% sugar recover compared to TN average of about 40 tons cane in 12 months with only 10% recovery. Also sugar beet consumes only 40% as much water than sugarcane.

18. ATT Cotton in CA
ATT achieved cotton yields of 2200 lbs/acre in California & 890 lbs in TN compared with state average of 310 lbs.

19. Maize
Maize yields of 2.8 tons/acre have been achieved in TN with ATT technology compared to TN average of 1.2 tons. ATT potential is for 7.8 tons/acre.

20. Water Conservation 80% of water in India is consumed for agriculture
Real problem is wastage, not shortage
Water productivity in agriculture is extremely low
California farmer produces 35 times more cotton/liter
RWH can replenish 10 yrs consumption in one season
Furrow irrigation can reduce water consumption 50-70%
Deep chiseling can 2x crop yields & ½ water usage

21. 30-36” Soil Penetration in USA

22. Soil Penetration 6-8” in Tamil Nadu

23. Normal Indian Soil 6” Hard Pan
Rainwater cannot penetrate deepr or drain, so it floods roots & evaporates rapidly. The flooding prevents plant roots from breathing, which is essential for absorption of nutrients. 6”
Crop
Roots cannot penetrate so plant growth is stunted. Plants are small, weak, needs frequent irrigation & gives low yield.
Hard Pan

24. Deep Soil Chiseling 36” Soft Pan Crop
Roots sink deep to reach perennial water supply & nutrients. Plant grows large, strong & highly productive.
36”
Crop
Soft Pan
Rainwater stored deep down where it will not easily evaporate & is available to plants for months

25. Deep Chiseling in USA

26. Deep Chiseling in TN

27. Normal Flat-bed Land Preparation in TN

28. Tomato with furrows in TN
ATT Tomato consumed 33% of the water
Achieved 217% higher yield (38 tons)

29. Flood Irrigation in TN
Flood irrigation methods practiced in TN waste large amounts of water and drown crops resulting in high water consumption & low yields.

30. Furrow Irrigation in California
Furrow irrigation reduces water consumption by upto 70% while increasing crop yields.

31. Furrow Irrigation in TN

32. What ATT can do Improve land use efficiency
Doubling or tripling productivity per unit area can reduce the cost per unit of agricultural produce to enhance farm incomes and promote international competitiveness.
Improve fertilizer use efficiency
Doubling or tripling farmer income by balancing plant nutrients in the soil to optimize plant intake of applied fertilisers, safeguarding the environment and reducing soil degradation.
Improve water use efficiency
Doubling or tripling water use efficiency and reducing salinization of irrigated lands through land preparation techniques that harvest rainwater on millions of acre while reducing waste of irrigated water.

33. Limitations & Requirements
Size of land holding
Capacity to invest
Lack of chiseling equipment
Accurate analysis of 13 nutrients
Expert knowledge of plant nutritional requirements
Farmer knowledge of planting, fertilization & irrigation methods

34. Solutions Size: Technology is size neutral Cost:
Investment in soil fertility is moderate
Can be incremental & return higher income each season
Chiseling:
Local equipment can be adapted
Loans/Incentives for upgrading private farm service centres
Soil tests:
Establish national network of government-certified private labs
Soil test analysis:
Develop computerised expert systems with foreign assistance if necessary

35. Solutions - 2
Farmer knowledge: Establish national network for demonstration & training
Central training institutes
Satellite training institutes
Farm Schools
Develop multimedia training programmes
E-farming -- deliver expert advice & training via rural knowledge centres
Reorient Ag Colleges to focus on Production Agriculture
Develop certification programme for starting Agri-Clinics

36. State Level Project Facilities Income
Central training centre + 11 satellite training centres
12 soil labs & farm service centres
6000 farm schools
Income
Demonstration farms
Agri services
Training fees

37. Farmers Trained Year 1 2 3 4 Total 1100 1400 1500 2000 6000 33000
Farm School Instructors Trained
1100
1400
1500
2000
6000
Lead Farmers Trained
33000
75000
120000
228000
Cumulative Total
34400
76500
122000
234000