Water Resource and Use Efficiency Under Changing Climate

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Presently, groundwater contributes 60% of total irrigation, and due to overdrafting of groundwater, it has reached the level of water crisis in many states of India. Climate change (CC) also poses many threats, especially in terms of quality, quantity, and sustainable use of water resources, which require judicious use of water management technologies to improve agricultural water productivity. There is need to harvest each drop of water and use efficiently and effectively in CC. Thus, the scope of improving water use efficiency (WUE) and enhancing water productivity in agriculture under the present CC scenario has taken to be the priority area of interest. Therefore, there is a need to improve either the irrigation method or inculcation of multi-sensor-based technology, which makes the irrigation system automated, or interventions of agronomical measures in fields. Considering this, Government of India has also taken initiative by launching PMKSY (Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana) to fulfil the dream of “More crop per drop” to familiarize modern irrigation methods and “Har Khet Ko Pani” by promoting on-farm development, integrated farming as well as integrated approaches in watershed management in farmers’ fields. Apart from it, recent advances in sensor technologies and the Internet of things (IoT) have made automated irrigation scheduling, which helps in real-time monitoring of soil moisture. But there is need to conduct more research to develop a low-cost automated irrigation system for wide acceptability by small and marginal farmers that will help fulfil the dream of “More crop per drop.” The “More crop per drop” paradigm provides the pathway to solve many problems related to water management by improving overall agricultural water productivity. By considering the facts, this chapter aims to describe the current scenario of CC as well as its uncertainty in irrigation water availability. It also takes a critical look at the present status and issues of irrigation methods. Lastly, this chapter discusses the technological interventions, including both engineering and agronomical measures to address the challenges of irrigation water management and to enhance WUE.