Irrigation deficits and farmers' vulnerability in Southern India

Land ownership does not prevent vulnerability in less developed countries' agriculture and it is demonstrated that land assets do not necessarily imply livelihoods security in areas where irrigation water is scarce and in irregular supply. To capture both the vulnerability and risks that farmers are involuntarily taking in farming, irrigation deficits applied in cash crops cultivation in an irrigation system in the south of India are calculated. Results show that landowners' exposure to lower returns from land, due to irrigation deficits, increases towards the tail of the irrigation system as water availability is insufficient to satisfy the crops physiological needs. In spite of its simplicity, irrigation deficit is a useful indicator of the benefits that irrigation systems can bring to farmers, as well as of the environmental uncertainty in which they operate. The indicator investigates vulnerability linked to an income generating activity, not to the lack of an asset, as commonly used in livelihoods analysis. Conventional top-down irrigation development is discussed and initiatives to improve poverty alleviation through improved irrigation management are suggested. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.