ABSTRACT

Agriculture is a primary source of income in the economy, and irrigation development plays a crucial role in enhancing its growth by providing water to crops, ensuring their optimal development by micro irrigation. A multistage purposive random sampling technique was employed (120) across Athani and Gokak taluks of Belagavi district. The analytical tools including descriptive analysis, compound annual growth rate, and production function, gini co-efficient, project evaluation technique and garett ranking techniques were employed critically to analyse the objectives. The results revealed that there was a significant growth in the net irrigated area in Karnataka (3.97%) and also in the districts under university jurisdiction. The adoption of micro irrigation resulted a significantly higher cropping intensity of 254.73 per cent in drip method compared to 215.46 per cent with sprinkler irrigation method and 215.46 per cent with flood method of irrigation. The increased yield under drip and sprinkler method of irrigation over flood irrigation was to the extent of 16.16 t/ha, 6.18q/ha, 11.43 q/ha and 15.93 q/ha in sugarcane, sorghum, groundnut and maize respectively and water use efficiency of these crops in order to was an extent of 4.04 t/ha cm, 5.50 q/ha cm, 3.96 q/ha cm and 3.90 q/ha cm. Resources were efficiently utilized by adopting drip and sprinkler methods over the counterparts with traditional flood irrigation method. The increase in farm income under drip and sprinkler method of irrigation over flood method was 1,41,536 and 41,892 respectively. The investment made on micro irrigation system with positive NPV and BCR, IRR and short period of PBP found to be financially feasible and economically viable. Delay in subsidy (GS: 69.50) was the major constraint faced by farmers adopting both drip and sprinkler irrigation.