Economic assessment of paddy production under canal and tube well irrigation systems in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh

Introduction

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important food crops in Asia, while its production is strongly dependent on adequate water availability, particularly in irrigated lowland systems. At the same time, increasing competition for irrigation water has made improving water productivity and producing more rice with less water an important challenge for sustainable rice production (Bouman & Tuong, 2001) [2] . With the growing global population, increasing climate variability, agricultural intensification, and rising competition for water resources, greater investment in agriculture has become essential. Expanding and improving irrigation facilities is therefore necessary to ensure a reliable water supply and sustain agricultural production (Deepak & Choudhary VK, 2025) [3] . Irrigation source is an important component of agricultural water management because the availability, timing and cost of water influence crop productivity and resource utilization. In South Asian rice-based systems, both canal irrigation and groundwater irrigation have played major roles. Groundwater had become an important irrigation source, either independently or in combination with surface water (Erenstein, 2009) [4] . The increasing dependence on groundwater, however, raises concerns regarding long-term resource sustainability). Declining groundwater levels in the Trans Indo Gangetic Plain and emphasized artificial recharge and improved land and water management as important measures for groundwater conservation (Ambast et al., 2006) [1] . Groundwater depletion in India is closely linked with the interaction of agricultural, energy and food policies and therefore requires a broader water-energy-food nexus approach(Mukherji, 2022) [8] .

Water use efficiency has consequently become an important dimension of sustainable rice production. Alternate wetting and drying can reduce water inputs substantially while maintaining comparable or improved rice yields under appropriate conditions (Ishfaq et al., 2020) [5] . At the farm level, differences in technical efficiency and constraints were found among rice farms using canal, well and tank irrigation highlighting the importance of timely irrigation and efficient use of production resources (Balamurugan et al., 2018). Similarly, in Chhattisgarh, differences in resource use efficiency among paddy growing farm households were observed and emphasized efficient allocation of seed, labour, machinery, fertilizer and plant-protection inputs (Singh et al., 2023) [10] . Particular relevance has been seen in cost, returns and resource use efficiency of rice under assured,protective and rainfed condition in the Gangrel dam command area in the mid plains of Chhattisgarh and emphasized location specific irrigation scheduling for sustainable water resource management (Deepak et al., 2025) [3] . The efficient management of irrigation water requires not only adequate water availability but also matching irrigation supply with the actual water requirement of the crop. Crop water requirement varies according to weather conditions, crop characteristics, soil properties and crop growth stages. Therefore, location specific estimation of crop water requirements is important for improving irrigation scheduling and water use efficiency (Nath et al., 2022) [9] . Research on rice has also shown that irrigation volume, rainfall and irrigation management practices significantly influence irrigation water productivity (Monaco & Sali, 2018) [7] . Objectives 1. To assess the economic analysis and resource use and water use efficiency of paddy production in the study area. 2. To identify major constraints and suggestions for improving irrigation efficiency and promoting sustainable water use in paddy production.

Materials and Methodology

The study was conducted in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh state, which was selected purposively due to its importance of irrigated paddy cultivation. Two blocks Arang and Abhanpur were purposively selected. From each selected blocks, two villages were selected based on prevalence of the irrigation systems under study. Primary data was collected through pre tested and well structured interview schedule from 115 households which included 52 households under canal irrigation and 63 households under tube well irrigation. Secondary data was collected from CROPWAT 8.0 and CLIMWAT.

Analysis

The following tools and techniques like descriptive statistics including percentage, averages and means were used and worked out in excel.

Water Use Efficiency

WUE = Yield / Crop water requirement

Seasonal crop water requirement of rice was estimated using the FAO CROPWAT-Online tool, based on long-term climate data for Raipur, standard rice crop coefficients, and heavy clay soil conditions. The estimated seasonal water requirement was 630.25 mm (6,302.5 m³/ha) for paddy crop.

Garett ranking technique

Constraints faced by the farmers determined using garett ranking technique.

Percent position = 100 (Rij -0.5)/ N j )

Where, R ij = Rank given for ith constraint by j th respondents N j = Number of constraints ranked by j th respondents

Results and Discussion

Socio economic profile indicating differences between households under both irrigation is provided in Table 1.

Cropping Intensity of the same is calculated along with. www.extensionjournal.com

Resource use efficiency of paddy

Tables 5 and6 present the resource-use efficiency of paddy estimated using the Cobb-Douglas production function. The models showed high explanatory power, with R² values of 0.99 and 0.98 under tube well and canal irrigation respectively, indicating that 99 and 98 percent of output variation was explained by the input variables. The intercept was positive and significant under both systems.

Seed expenditure had a non-significant negative coefficient (-0.029) under tube well irrigation, but a significant positive coefficient (0.31, 5% level) under canal irrigation. Human labour expenditure was positive and significant under both systems, with a comparatively larger coefficient under canal irrigation, indicating its stronger influence there.

Water use efficiency of paddy

Water use efficiency (WUE) was estimated to compare the effectiveness of water use in paddy cultivation under canal and tube well irrigation. Table 7 contains comparative WUE for different farm sizes under canal and tube well irrigations. The results showed that tube well irrigated farms achieved higher water use efficiency than canal irrigated farmers across all farm size categories, with overall mean WUE of 0.865 kg/m³ and 0.787 kg/m³, respectively. Since the crop water requirement (ETc) applied to both groups was same, being derived solely from regional climate and crop data rather than the actual quantity of water each farmer applied, this consistent gap in WUE was attributable entirely to the differences in yield produced between the two irrigation sources. Tube well farmer's ability to apply water precisely and at the crop's critical growth stages, unlike dependence on canal release schedules, appears to translate into better crop establishment and higher yields per unit of water requirement, whereas canal farmers, being subject to rotational and often untimely water release, likely experience yield penalties during moisture-sensitive growth stages despite receiving the same theoretical water requirement. Within each irrigation system, WUE also varied with farm size. Under canal irrigation, WUE increased from 0.762 kg/m³ in marginal farms to 0.843 kg/m³ in medium farms, followed by a slight shrink to 0.833 kg/m³ in large farms. This suggested that medium sized farms may be managing available water more efficiently, while larger farms face some difficulty in maintaining uniform water distribution. On the other hand, tube well irrigation showed a steady increase in WUE with farm size, rising from 0.777 kg/m³ in marginal farms to 0.953 kg/m³ in large farms. This was due to better access to irrigation facilities, pumping equipment, capital and improved crop management among larger tube well farmers.

Constraints

Among canal-irrigated farmers, non-availability of water during the Rabi season ranked as the major constraint, followed by uneven rainfall, untimely water release, fragmented holdings, and tail-end water shortage, reflecting uncertainty in irrigation timing and availability. For tube-well farmers, labour shortage during peak seasons was the primary constraint, followed by high maintenance charges, groundwater depletion, irregular electricity supply affecting timely irrigation, and high installation costs.

To address the problems faced by canal and tube well farmers, better coordination between the two irrigation sources is needed. Canal water should be used wherever available, while groundwater use can be regulated during periods of adequate canal supply to reduce pressure on groundwater resources. Timely release of canal water, particularly during critical crop stages, along with regular desilting and maintenance of canals and field channels, can improve water availability and reduce losses. Adequate water supply during the Rabi season, along with small farm-level water storage and supplementary irrigation facilities, can help improve cropping intensity and productivity. The shortage of farm labour can be addressed by making farm machinery subsidies easier to access and creating awareness among farmers about available schemes. In groundwater-stressed areas, strengthening canal infrastructure and encouraging the conjunctive use of canal and groundwater can improve irrigation reliability and support more sustainable water use Resource use efficiency obtained using cobb douglas production function indicated that under canal irrigation, seed, machine labour, irrigation and fertilizer marked underutilization, whereas human labour and plant protection chemicals marked over utilization. On the other hand, machine labour and plant protection chemicals were found underutilized and seed, human labour, irrigation and fertilizer were found to be over utilized under tube well irrigation. Water use efficiency was found comparatively higher for tube well farms recorded

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementI sincerely express my gratitude to my advisor, Dr. V. K. Choudhary, Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, IGKV, Raipur, for his valuable guidance, encouragement, and support throughout this research work. I am thankful to Dr. Hulas Pathak, the Head, Department of Agricultural Economics and Agri Business Management, and Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Raipur, for providing the necessary academic support and facilities. I gratefully acknowledge the farmers and respondents for their valuable cooperation and information. Finally, I express my heartfelt gratitude to my parents and family for their constant support, encouragement, and prayers.

References

1. Ambast SK, Tyagi NK, Raul SK. Management of declining groundwater in the Trans Indo-Gangetic Plain (India): some options. Agricultural Water Management. 2006;82(3):279-296.
2. Bouman BAM, Tuong TP. Field water management to save water and increase its productivity in irrigated lowland rice. Agricultural Water Management. www.extensionjournal.com 2001;49(1):11-30.
3. Deepak, Choudhary VK, Verma PK. Comparative analysis of rice production under various irrigation conditions in the Gangrel Dam Command Area of Chhattisgarh, India. Journal of Experimental Agriculture International. 2025;47(9):21-33.
4. Erenstein O. Comparing water management in ricewheat production systems in Haryana, India and Punjab, Pakistan. Agricultural Water Management. 2009;96(12):1799-1806.
5. Ishfaq M, Farooq M, Zulfiqar U, Hussain S, Akbar N, Nawaz A, et al. Alternate wetting and drying: a watersaving and ecofriendly rice production system. Agricultural Water Management. 2020;241:106363.
6. Kumar N, Agrawal N, Naidu D, Jangre N. Assessment of summer paddy water requirements: an analysis at mid plains of Chhattisgarh. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 2025;24(1):37-46.
7. Monaco F, Sali G. How water amounts and management options drive irrigation water productivity of rice: a multivariate analysis based on field experiment data. Agricultural Water Management. 2018;195:47-57.
8. Mukherji A. Sustainable groundwater management in India needs a water-energy-food nexus approach. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy. 2022;44(1):394-410.
9. Nath S, Devakumar N, Nanda AA, Patra SS. Estimation of crop water requirement and irrigation scheduling of rice in Shivamogga district of Karnataka using FAO CROPWAT. Journal of Cereal Research. 2022;14(Spl 2).
10. Singh S, Gauraha AK, Chaudhary VK, Pathak H. Assessing resource use efficiency of paddy crop in tribal and non-tribal farm households: a case study of Chhattisgarh. The Pharma Innovation Journal. 2023;12(6):496-499.