The document discusses the economic potential of large-scale irrigation systems (LSIS) in Nepal, highlighting their significant revenue generation ability, estimated at 288 billion USD. It also touches on groundwater usage in agriculture, specifically the situation in India where solar energy is being leveraged for smart water management amidst energy subsidies and groundwater depletion. The emphasis is on sustainable intensification and the necessity for policy reforms to improve water productivity.

1. Nepal
Don Blackmore | 27 April 2016
Global Water Challenges

2. The immediate future
Sustainable intensification– the only way forward
THE KEY QUESTION IS HOW DO WE ACHIEVE THIS?

3. Large Scale Irrigation Systems are big
business……...
Assuming a single
revenue of $2500/ha, the
total turnover provided
by 115 million ha of LSIS
can be calculated to be
288 billion US dollars.
LSIS would be 7th ranked
by revenue (above
Volkswagen, Samsung
and Toyota but below
PetroChina and BP
(Forbes Global 2000 for
May 2014).
The turnover of 150 to 250 million
dollars for a single large irrigation
system of 100,000 hectares is about
twice the size of a SME, defined by EC.

4. Water productivity improvements in China
Cities now take almost all the water…. but agricultural output
relatively steady

5. Global groundwater development and usage…….
Prominent groundwater-irrigation economies: Volume of groundwater use (billion m3/year), proportion of the
population dependent on groundwater-irrigation (%), and value of groundwater-irrigated farm output (US$/m3)

6. Smart solar pumping – water, food and energy nexus
 India on cusp of solar boom
moving 80 gigawatts in next 5
years
 Energy subsidies of $6 billion
annually driven groundwater
depletion.
 Solar power as cash crop with a
guaranteed market at attractive
price.
Addressing the energy
crisis in India

7. The reform agenda
Policy | Institutional | Instruments | Tools