IWMI researchers met Chief Minister of eastern Indian states Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, on September 7 – 8, to discuss ways of improving the implementation of Government’s flagship irrigation scheme called Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana (PMKSY).
s
These meetings were arranged at the request of Dr Amarjit Singh, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, as a follow up of IWMI’s Policy Consultation on PMKSY held in May 2016 at Delhi. The IWMI team comprised of Alok Sikka, Tushaar Shah and Shilp Verma who made presentations to the minister and senior state officials highlighting IWMI’s recommendation based on the analysis done under IWMI-Tata water policy program (ITP).
IWMI’s presentations on rethinking PMKSY and other interventions were very well received. The Chief Minister of Jharkhand has directed his senior officers to pilot the suggested approach in few selected districts either under PMKSY and formulate a new project to demonstrate what has been suggested by IWMI. The Chief Minister of Chattisgarh has advised senior officers to have a relook at the district irrigation plans(DIPs) in light of recommendations made by IWMI besides focusing their efforts and prioritizing irrigation deprived districts to develop and manage groundwater, rain water harvesting and groundwater recharge interventions.
View the presentations:
Presentation made in Jharkhand: PMKSY: Implementation Pathways and Options (I)
Presentation made in Chhattisgarh PMKSY: Implementation Pathways and Options (II)
Population pressure and increasing water competition in a changing climate require us to take stock of the availability and use of water across scales. Water availability not only influences farmers’ commercial prospects but also irrigation-related enterprises and agri-businesses. Greater water scarcity could jeopardize irrigation and agricultural markets while excessive water use can lead to declining ecosystems, water quality and soil health. IWMI advises development partners and the public and private sectors on all aspects of water resource availability and use through a variety of advanced modeling and remote-sensing products and tools, including 
The ability of farmers to engage in or expand irrigation depends on the prevailing socioeconomic, ecological and political contexts, which are often complex, non-linear and changeable. Overcoming systemic barriers to farmer-led irrigation development while taking advantage of existing opportunities 
A lack of affordable credit, particularly for women and resource-poor farmers, is one of the main barriers to expanding farmer-led irrigation in low- and middle-income countries. But 
Scaling farmer-led irrigation requires strengthening human capacity and knowledge exchange among all actors and stakeholders involved. IWMI takes an action research approach, working with national and international research institutions, governments, extension agents and public and private organizations to co-develop the scaling ecosystem and strengthen capacity to drive scaling networks and collective action. We support the