Diesel price hikes and farmer distress: the myth and the reality

FuelsDiesel oilPricesFarmers attitudesPumpingCostsGroundwater irrigationWellsOwnershipEconomic impactWater productivityFarm incomeMilk production

Pro-poor intervention strategies in irrigated agriculture in Asia: poverty in irrigated agriculture: issues and options: India

Irrigated farming / Poverty / Institutions / Irrigation programs / Performance evaluation / Irrigation management / Water distribution / Water rates / Cost recovery / India

New Agendas for Agricultural Research in Developing Countries: Policy Analysis and Institutional Implications

This article argues that the goals of agricultural research in poor countries have changed substantially over the last four decades. In particular they have broadened from the early (and narrow) emphasis on food production to a much wider agenda that includes poverty alleviation, environmental degradation, and social inclusion. Conversely, agricultural research systems have proved remarkably resistant to the concomitant need for changes in research focus. As a result many, at both the national and international level, are under great strain. In terms of public policy the article goes on to suggest that shortcomings of existing conceptual approaches to technology development could be supplemented by adopting analytical principles that view innovation in systemic terms. An approach where flows of knowledge between institutional nodes is a key to innovative performance (the “National Systems of Innovation” approach) is suggested as one such conceptual framework that might help supplement conventional policy analysis. An earlier version of this paper was presented at a workshop “New Policy Agendas for Agricultural Research: Implications for Institutional Arrangements” held on 28 March 2000 at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, India. The workshop was supported by the UK Department of International Development (DFID) Crop Post-Harvest Programme as an output of the project “Optimising Institutional Arrangements.

Diesel price hikes and farmer distress: the myth and the reality

The issues being addressed in this paper are as follows. Has there been significant change in cost of groundwater pumping due to diesel price shock in regions where it matters? If so, how that has impacted millions of irrigation water buyers? How farmers respond to increase in irrigation costs? Such responses include: how the well owning farmers change their farming enterprise, including the farming system itself; how their willingness to take risk changes, and finally, how the economic prospects of irrigated farming itself changes as a result? It is found that the impact of diesel price on irrigation cost incurred by diesel well owners is not significant. One reason for this is that the regions which are heavily dependent on diesel pumps for irrigation have shallow groundwater table. Also, this burden is not passed on to the water buyers owing to increasing competition and reducing monopoly power of pump owners. The analysis of the farming enterprise of irrigators under differential cost (irrigation) regimes presented here shows that farmers would be able to cope with very high rise in irrigation costs through irrigation efficiency improvements and allocating more area under crops that give higher returns per unit of land and water, that enhance the farming returns from every unit of water and energy used. By doing this, they are able to maintain almost the same net returns from farming as in the past. This means, that the rise in cost of diesel in real terms had not made any negative impact on economic prospects of diesel well irrigators, including water buyers