Poverty-Reducing Role of Groundwater Irrigation in India: Evidence from a Cross-Sectional Analysis

Abstract

Groundwater irrigation, which accounts for over 65% of net irrigated area as of 2016–17, has become a dominant source of irrigation in Indian agriculture. Besides increasing the cropping intensity, productivity and production of crops, the intensive cultivation of crops due to timely access to groundwater irrigation increases the demand for agricultural labourers and hence water rates for those who are mostly living below poverty line. Both increased affordability of foodgrains and wage rates help the rural poor to cross the poverty barriers. Though irrigation has been used as one of the principal explanatory variables in the poverty-related studies in India, the importance of groundwater has not been recognized by the studies focusing on rural poverty. Since groundwater irrigation became a dominant source of irrigation in India and also its impact proved to be prominent in increasing the productivity and production of crops, it is likely that the impact of it on rural poverty would also be significant. In this chapter, an attempt has been made to examine the nexus between groundwater irrigation and rural poverty using state-wise cross section data covering eight time points: 1973–74, 1977–78, 1983, 1987–88, 1993–94, 1999–2000, 2004–05 and 2011–12. The results of the study show that there is a significant inverse relationship between the availability of groundwater irrigation and the percentage of rural poverty at all eight time points. States like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal continue to suffer with severe poverty where the development of groundwater irrigation is very low despite substantial potentiality for expansion.