A Detailed Overview of Micro-irrigation Industry by Deepali

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O v e r v i e w o n M i c r o - I r r i g a t i o n I n d u s t r y a n d
i t s p r o c e s s o p p o r t u n i t i e s a n d c h a l l e n g e s ,
a n d h o w a g g r e g a t i o n c a n b e a g a m e c h a n g e r

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CHALLENGES FOR INDIAN AGRICULTURE
Water scarcity
54% of India faces high to Extremely high water stress
United Nations projected that nearly 3.4 bn people would be living in ‘water-scarce’ countries by the year 2025 and India
would be at the center of it.
Feeding a growing population
Agriculture is the largest consumer of water in India. It accounts for approximately 90 percent of
7,61,000 bn litres of annual freshwater withdrawals in the country.
India’s population stands at 1.27 bn and is estimated to rise at a steady pace to 1.6 bn by the year 2050,
(A/c to the World Bank). The population continues to grow and ensuring food security for the population is
a major challenge ahead for the government
The twin challenge has increased the need for sustainable use of water to irrigate the growing demand for food

3. MICRO IRRIGATION AS A SOLUTION
02
04
03
01
Increased water
use efficiency
Overall reduction in
the cost of input
Increased productivity
of the crop
Addressing the
growing need of food
and water scarcity
 Drip irrigation overall
increases WUE by 70-90%
 Sprinkler irrigation overall
increases WUE by 50-70%
 As a result of the controlled
and targeted application of
water, soil moisture can lead to
an increase in the productivity
of the crops.
• Targeted application of
fertilizers at the root zone
reduces its consumption by
28% (appx)
• There is a reduction in overal
cost of water
• To meet the need of the
burgeoning population

4. Overview of Micro – irrigation industry in India
Drip (Mn ha),
6.27, 53%
Sprinkler (Mn
ha), 5.56, 47%
Total area under sprinkler and drip
Drip (Mn ha) Sprinkler (Mn ha)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
Top 10 states under micro-irrigation
Drip in (Mn ha) Sprinkler in (Mn ha) Total area under micro irrigation in (Mn ha)
Major Players in Irrigation Industry
TOP GLOBAL PLAYERS TOP INDIAN PLAYERS
Jain Irrigation Jain Irrigation
Netafim Netafim
Lindsay Corporation PlastoPlaston
Ruvulius Irrigation System Nagarjuna
The Toro Company Premier Irrigation
 Total Area Covered under micro-irrigation in India is 11.84 lakh
Ha, with a CAGR of 15.49%
 Major Crops covered are Horticultural Crops, Sugarcane, cotton
and pulses
 Government Schemes/Subsidy and focus on water conservation
are playing major role in penetration of micro-irrigation system
in India

5. 2005
• National Horticulture
Mission
2007
• National Food Security
Mission
2010
•National Mission on
Micro-irrigation
2014
•National Mission on
sustainable agriculture
2015
•Pradhan Mantri Krishi
Sinchai Yojana whose slogan
is per drop more crop
• Intention was to encourage
micro irrigation
Government schemes for Micro-Irrigation to address the upcoming problem of water scarcity
Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Program: Loan assistance to states to help them complete the incomplete major/
medium-sized irrigation projects
•PMKSY (Har Khet ko Pani): This refers to increase the cultivable land area under assured irrigation, and also
increase the physical access of water on the farm.
•PMKSY (More Crop Per Drop): Improving water use efficiency
•PMKSY (Watershed Development): Prudent utilization of water and land resources,.
Through the micro-irrigation subsidy proposition that falls under the Per Drop More Crop element of PMKSY, both
state and the central government, on an average, contribute to 55% and 45% of the total finances incurred in
setting up irrigation systems for small and marginal farmers and for other farmers respectively. Nevertheless, state-
specific variations exist

6. Lack of focus on Micro Irrigation
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02
Delay in subsidy disbursement
The delay in subsidy disbursement is a major problem which leads to unavailability of funds. This
occurs due to approval of installation of equipment where subsidy aren’t yet available leading to an
uncertainty of suppliers of micro irrigation
03
Absence of convenient financing to farmers
The initial cost of installation of MIS is very high. The Indian farmers being small and marginal find
challenges in securing financing.
04
Inefficient execution of schemes
The implementation of schemes at the grass root level becomes a lengthy process often
coming into action after the season gets over impairing the farmers to understand the benefits
of installing micro-irrigation equipment
C h a l l e n g e s
o f M i c r o -
I r r i g a t i o n
I n d u s t r y i n
I n d i a
Very few states have a dedicated team to implement micro-irrigation hence diluting the seriousness with which it
should be implemented and deceleration in growth with which it should be implemented
05
Lack of IT backed operation
The process from application to installation of micro-irrigation equipment is a long one and cannot be
tracked online in majority of states. Hence monitoring becomes the transaction and ensuring
efficiency becomes challenging

7. Growth Opportunity
4.32 4.26
5.73
8.4
10.49
11.58 11.84
2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
Area
in
LAkh
Ha
Year
YEAR WISE GROWTH IN AREA
The annual growth trend has a CAGR of 15.49%
90
78
65
55
52
10
5.5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
I S R A E L R U S S I A S P A I N U S A B R A Z I L C H I N A I N D I A
Penetration
%
Countries
PENETRATION %
The penetration % of India in comparison to other
countries of the is too low
Having a penetration % of just 5.5 but a CAGR of 15.49 % gives huge potential of Micro
Irrigation in India

8. Process of Micro Irrigation
Cas h and
Carr y
PHASE II
The Dealer safter survey of the field
registers the farmers on government
website and uploads all his details like
field detail, Identity Card , bank details
etc.
PHASE IV
After the installation is done full amount is paid to the dealers and
installation photo and accurate GPS location of the field is uploaded on the
government website
PHASE I
A Farmer approaches a dealer or the
company representative for Micro
Irrigation System.
.
PHASE III
Post - verification the subsidy is released
under DBT which takes three months at an
average.

9. Service Via Government Projects
. Service via government
projects is provided
generally as community
irrigation system under
PMKSY or state
government projects
MIS companies work in
collaboration with EPC
companies
EPC companies does the
civil engineering work like
lifting of water from big
canals, setting up the
electricity grid and taking the
water till zones and sub
zones after which the MIS
service is provided by the
MIS Companies.
.
. It is done for a larger
area with aggregation
of farmers
The MIS
companies work
as secondary
vendor to the
government , EPC
being the primary
vendor.
.

10. F I N A N C I A L
I N C L U S I O N
C O M M U N I T Y
D E V E L O P M E N T
M A R K E T L I N K A G E
R E D U C E D
I N P U T C O S T
I N C R E A S E D
P R O D U C T I V I T Y
O V E R A L L
B E N E F I T T O
F A R M E R S
• MIS have a high initial cost of installation
• This model will help the farmers to avail
• collateral free loan
• Small and marginal farmers with fragmented
landholding might not be able to install MIS
• A group of farmers can utilize the same in a larger
landholding
• A group pf farmers purchasing inputs in
bulk can get it at overall reduced cost
• In addition MIS reduces the need for
increased fertilizers and water
• With proper training and increased WUE the
productivity and quality of crops increases
enabling the farmers to fetch better market
price
AGGREGATION AS A GAME CHANGER
• Aggregators have a better bargaining power
while selling their produce in market unlike
single farmers who might have to sell the
same at throwaway price
• In addition there is an assured price for the
harvest
• This model will overall benefit the
farmers and MIS industry by
enabling them to pay off the cost
of inputs incurred