Community Irrigation is an innovative model that provides advanced drip irrigation technology to a large community of smallholder farmers. It is made possible by using economies-of-scale to develop the needed infrastructure at a large scale, and enables farmers to grow better crops, become less vulnerable to climate change and thus guarantees the stability and economic growth of each farmer and the entire region.Get more details at - https://www.netafimindia.com/drip-irrigation/

1. An Innovative Model to Create a Sustainable Farming
Community
When the State of Karnataka decided to irrigate the 12000 Ha area in Hungund Taluk of
the Bagalkot District with conventional canal irrigation, we approached them with the
idea of them investing in community drip irrigation rather than the traditional canal
infrastructure.
Community Irrigation is an innovative model that provides advanced drip irrigation
technology to a large community of smallholder farmers. It is made possible by using
economies-of-scale to develop the needed infrastructure at a large scale, and enables
farmers to grow better crops, become less vulnerable to climate change and thus
guarantees the stability and economic growth of each farmer and the entire region.

2. The Community Irrigation model offers key benefits to farmers:
Water saving: Water use efficiency of 81-85% compared to 30-45 % when using flood.
Fertilizer efficiency: 40% less consumption of fertilizers.
Farm productivity: More efficient water and fertilizer usage results in higher yields and
increased farm output.
Farming diversity: Access to water year-round enables farmers to add another crop
cycle each year and diversify their crops.
Social equality: Drip irrigation ensures equitable distribution of water to all farmers
regardless of their proximity to the water source.
The government also benefits from this communal model. When deploying a
community drip irrigation project there's minimal need for land acquisition as most drip
lines are underground. The cost of maintenance is significantly lower and the entire
project can be completed in under two years, as opposed to canal-building projects
which can last over 10 years.
The numbers were on our side and the government of Karnataka listened. Government
officials understood that the implementation of drip irrigation would result in more
economical use of water and improve the economic status and livelihood of farmers in
the region. In 2014, we won the tender and the largest community irrigation project in
Asia was underway.
A 360° project; Infrastructure, Irrigation & Education
from the government to the smallholders
Executing such a large and complex project involved a variety of energy, infrastructure,
and organizational challenges, and required the synchronization of activities of multiple
governmental agencies, local water associations, and third-party contractors. We
partnered with MEIL (Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited), one of the largest
infrastructure companies in India. They provided the pipes, the pumps, the heavy
equipment for getting the water from the dams to the project area. We took care of
implementing the dripline structure and delivering water to each and every farmer.

3. We quickly learned that one major challenge that we would have to face was educating
the local farmer about using the system. In a regular irrigation project, the farm owner is
the customer and the user. In the case of community irrigation projects, the customer is
the government but the users are the farmers. Many of the users weren't ready at first to
accept the gift of drip irrigation. Some feared they were actually getting less water than
they would with flooding. Others were suspicious of the technology element and the
scientific approach to irrigation. There were political agendas, social issues, and socio-
economic barriers. Handling these issues required a great deal of creative thinking and
we embraced the challenge. Establishing collaboration with the local farmers was a
fascinating process and we have learned a great deal from it.
Contact us –
Address - 268-270,271-B, GIDC Manjusar (Tal.: Savli),District: Vadodara- 391 775, Gujarat,
India
Tel - +91 2667 619300
Email id - RESPONSE@NETAFIM.COM
Website - www.netafimindia.com