However, there continues to be a lack of data to support this theory in India. This study titled Micro-irrigation adoption and the Jevons’ Paradox: A study from four states of India’ authored by Gurpreet Singh, Vasant P. Gandhi and Dinesh Jain published in Agricultural Water Management explored the impact of micro-irrigation in agriculture and the incidence of the Jevons paradox or rebound effect from four states of India, namely Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra, which have implemented MI, by talking to farmers from the states.

The study found that:

Total hours of pumping per hectare reduced

There was a significant decrease in the total hours of pumping per hectare after the adoption of microirrigation for all crops by 32 percent per hectare. The highest decrease in hours of irrigation was observed in cotton (52 percent), followed by wheat (41 percent), and banana and sugarcane (39 percent).

Specific crops showed an increase in hours of pumping

Chickpea, ginger, soybean, and beans showed an increase in absolute hours of pumping after the adoption of microirrigation. This increase was highest for chickpea at 55 percent, followed by bottle gourd (27 percent) and ginger (20.9 percent).

Farmers increased their cultivation area after adopting microirrigation

Over 65 percent of farmers across all states expanded their operated area post MI adoption. The highest increases were seen in Madhya Pradesh (98 percent), followed by Maharashtra (90 percent), Telangana (82 percent), and Uttar Pradesh (68 percent). Farmers shifted towards diverse and lucrative horticultural and vegetable crops, increased the area under irrigated pulses, and reduced acreage under cereals and cotton.

Thus technology reduced the hours of pumping for irrigation and thus the per-unit area water consumption. However, with an increase in area, there was an absolute increase in pumping hours by farmers in some crops such as chickpea, ginger, soybean, watermelon, beans, and bottle gourd.

Farmers tried to maximise benefits by using saved water

Thus while microirrigation enhanced water use efficiency across a broad spectrum of crops, farmers increased groundwater extraction (measured by irrigation hours) through increasing area under cultivation, including water-intensive crops and changing their cropping patterns.

The impact of micro-irrigation adoption on water use and conservation thus hinges on the choice of allocation of the saved water by farmers—whether it is conserved or directed towards expanding cultivated areas, transitioning to more water-intensive crops, selling the conserved water, or additional non-farm activities such as animal husbandry.

Solar Irrigation in India