Human capital factors:
Age, education, caste, and gender significantly influenced microirrigation adoption. Younger and male farmers are more likely to adopt microirrigation due to the physical labour involved. Surprisingly, education showed a negative impact on microirrigation adoption, possibly due to lower technical efficiency among farmers with minimal education. Caste also influenced adoption, with OBC and general categories showing higher rates compared to SC/ST groups, due to higher maintenance costs and hardware issues.
Economic and natural capital factors:
Household income, landholding size, and irrigation sources were positively correlated with microirrigation adoption. Higher incomes and larger farm sizes motivate investment in microirrigation technologies. However, non-farm activities can negatively impact microirrigation adoption. Medium and large farmers had higher adoption rates for all microirrigation technologies compared to small and marginal farmers.
Irrigation source:
Access to irrigation via tube wells, rivers, and canals significantly influenced microirrigation adoption. Tube wells, especially, showed the highest adoption rates due to their primary use in semi-arid regions.
Social schemes:
Cooperative societies and self-help groups had mixed impacts on microirrigation adoption, providing support but with limitations. The Kisan Credit Card had a positive effect, enabling farmers to obtain credit for agricultural equipment, thus increasing microirrigation adoption rates.
Physical capital factors:
Access to electricity was crucial, with uninterrupted supply promoting MI adoption. Diesel and electric pump sets positively influenced adoption, with diesel engines preferred due to reliable power.
Regional insights:
Karnataka and Maharashtra led in microirrigation adoption, with successful schemes like the Ramthal lift irrigation in Karnataka and the Narmada canal in Rajasthan. Gujarat farmers developed an indigenous system to support crops using gravity flow during power outages.
Adoption rates:
Drip irrigation was predominantly used in Maharashtra and Karnataka, while sprinkler irrigation saw higher adoption in Rajasthan and Karnataka. Tamil Nadu showed the highest adoption rate for drip irrigation (45.8%).

Human capital factors:

Economic and natural capital factors:

Irrigation source:

Social schemes:

Physical capital factors:

Regional insights:

Adoption rates:

Hamirsarno Saad -

Related Stories