NABARD ( Agriculture & Rural Development) – Micro-irrigation

🔷Micro irrigation is defined as the frequent application of small quantities of water directly above and below the soil surface; usually as discrete drops, continuous drops or tiny streams through emitters placed along a water delivery line.

✅ Need of Micro irrigation

➖To make agriculture productive,

➖Environmentally sensitive and capable of preserving the social fabric of rural communities

➖Help produce more from the available land, water and labor resources without either ecological or social harmony,

➖Generate higher farm income

➖On-farm and off-farm employment

✅ Government Policy on Micro-irrigation

All governments support micro-irrigation because of its water use efficiency. The government of India had launched a subsidy scheme for micro-irrigation called National Mission on Micro Irrigation (NMMI) in 2006. This is a centrally sponsored scheme which promotes water-use efficiency by adopting drip and sprinkler irrigation. All States and Union Territories and all horticultural as well as agricultural crops are covered under the scheme.

✅ Major, Medium, Minor Irrigation

Irrigation works have been classified as major, medium and minor, depending on their culturable command area.

1. Major Irrigation: Culturable command area (CCA) more than 10,000 hectares.

2. Medium Irrigation: Culturable command area more than 2,000 hectares but less than 10,000 hectares.

3. Minor Irrigation: Culturable command area up to 2,000 hectares.