Report

Valuating agricultural water use and ecological services in agrarian economies: evidences from eastern India

author(s) Xenarios, Stefanos - Amarasinghe, Upali A. - Sharma, Bharat R.
from International Water Management Institute (IWMI)
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themes
regions
  • Southern Asia
  • Asia
  • World
citation

Xenarios, Stefanos; Amarasinghe, Upali; Sharma, Bharat R. 2011. Valuating agricultural water use and ecological services in agrarian economies: evidences from eastern India. In Xenarios, Stefanos; Sharma, Bharat R.; Amarasinghe, Upali; Singh, A. Research analysis on the effects of agricultural water and landholdings to rural livelihoods in Indo-Gangetic Basin: with emphasis on Bihar State. [Report of the NAIP-IFAD Project on Water and Rural Livelihoods]. New Delhi, India: International Water Management Institute (IWMI); Bihar, India: Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) for Eastern Region. 21p.

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Abstract

Agricultural water use in agrarian economies is often state subsidized for the enhancement of agricultural productivity while poverty alleviation is also targeted. The Indian agricultural dependent states offer representative examples of undervalued irrigation services mainly sourced by canal networks. However, the current inefficient operation of canal irrigation systems diverts water demand to private initiatives by significantly increasing economic value of agricultural water. The additional recent acknowledgement of economic value encompassed in supportive ecological services enhances the request for reevaluation of agricultural water. The paper attempts to assess the value of irrigation and related ecological services in representative backward clusters of Bihar state in Eastern India. The effects on different landholding groups are analyzed by giving particular emphasis to marginal landholders.

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