Changing Cropping Patterns and Irrigation Practices: Implications for Promoting Sustainable Growth of Agriculture in West Bengal, India

The relationships between availability of irrigation facilities and changes in cropping patterns, especially in an agrarian economy like India, require deeper investigation for rational use of water and promoting sustainable growth of agriculture sector. The existing studies generally focus on how access to irrigation can change cropping patterns. Accordingly, policy changes and institutional arrangements are suggested to provide the farmers greater access to irrigation facilities. While this is imperative to promote inclusive agricultural growth, ensuring its sustainability requires exploring how changes in cropping patterns subsequently affect extent and patterns of irrigation. For example, cropping patterns dominated by cereals have different irrigation requirements as compared to when it has concentration of pulses and vegetables. In this perspective, the present paper attempts to understand how changes cropping patterns have affected irrigation requirements and its structures in the Indian state of West Bengal. The rationale for carrying out the study in the context of West Bengal lies in its agrarian nature with highly fragmented landholdings, existence of large number of small and marginal farmers and increasing emphasis on minor lift irrigation. The study uses both secondary and primary data to address the research objective. While the secondary data are compiled from various official sources, the primary data are collected through focus group discussions and semi-structured questionnaire. The paper finds that there has been significant shift of cultivated area towards boro paddy, although aman paddy still remains the most important crop in the state. Further, while area under high yielding paddy, jute and potatoes as proportion of gross cropped area has increased, that under pulses has declined sharply. Such changes in cropping patterns coupled with drying natural water bodies with high siltation, degraded environment and ecosystem, erratic rainfall and deterioration in quality of surface water seem to have created further pressure on groundwater level. While deeper investigation at micro level is necessary to draw more robust conclusions, initiatives should be taken towards guiding the farmers towards choice of appropriate cropping patterns for more judicious use of water. The local level institutions like water users’ association should play a crucial role in this regard.