By IANS,
New Delhi : Public investments will have to be raised to improve efficiency and spread of irrigation facilities, and thereby push growth in the agriculture sector, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here Thursday.
In an address at the inauguration of the fifth Asian regional conference on improvement in irrigation projects, he also said his government “was sharply increasing” public investment in agriculture.
This, Manmohan Singh said, was aimed at doubling the annual growth rate in the sector to 4 percent in the 11th Plan period that ends 2012.
“The most important area for investment in agriculture relates to the provision of water and its most efficient use. In fact, we hope to be able to add about 16 million hectares to the irrigated area during the 11th Five-Year Plan,” he said.
The prime minister said there was scope for substantial improvement in the efficiency of the irrigation system.
“An assessment of the irrigation system in India indicates that efficiencies of surface water systems can be improved from the present level of 35 to 40 percent to about 60 percent and that of groundwater systems from 65 percent to about 75 percent.”
Moreover, he said, about 84 percent of the created irrigation potential has been utilised in India, and added: “Efficient use of crop water can increase the gross irrigated area.”
According to Manmohan Singh, India’s challenge of managing water resources “in a rational and sustainable manner will require action on many fronts and coordination across different sectors of the economy”.
“In India, we have tried to address these complex inter-relationships through the formulation of a National Water Mission, which is one of the eight national missions that are part of our National Action Plan on Climate Change.”
The prime minister also called for greater synergy between agriculture and water policies “with a view to securing food supply, especially to the poor and vulnerable sections of the population, through more efficient and sustainable use of scarce water resources”.