Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Can Improved Agricultural Water Use Efficiency Save India’S Groundwater?, Ram Fishman, Naresh Devineni, Swaminathan Raman
Can Improved Agricultural Water Use Efficiency Save India’S Groundwater?, Ram Fishman, Naresh Devineni, Swaminathan Raman
Publications and Research
Irrigated agriculture is placing increasing pressure on finite freshwater resources, especially in developing countries, where water extraction is often unregulated, un-priced and even subsidized. To shift agriculture to a more sustainable use of water without harming the food security and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of smallholders, substantial improvements of water use efficiency will be required. Here, we use detailed hydroclimatic and agricultural data to estimate the potential for the widespread adoption of efficient irrigation technologies to halt the depletion of India's groundwater resources. Even though we find substantial technical potential for reversing water table declines, we show that the …