The Prospects of Irrigation Technology in the Tribal Districts of Odisha

Abstract: Odisha has always been competitive when it comes to mining and industrial activities, thanks to its abundant mineral content. Little does anyone know that agriculture is also an equally important sector which contributes around 19% to the Gross State Domestic product (GSDP). According to the Odisha Economic Survey 2018-19[1]GSDP grew at a rate of 8.4% as compared to 7.4% in the previous year. The mining, manufacturing and services sector have contributed significantly to the GSDP by about 10.8%, 18.5% and 41.6% respectively.Staterose up from 26th rank in 1996-97 to 16th in 2016-17. This also tells us about the growing development process in the State which is occurring along the lines of Prof. Boeke’s Dual economy model where the agriculture as well the manufacturing sector co-exist in an economy.But disappointinglythe pace of agricultural growthis gradually declining as compared to the other sectors. The major fallacies in the growth of the primary sector in the last few years are deficit rainfall, lack of proper infrastructure, low financial inclusion and low literacy level of farmers, sharecroppers and labourers.Undoubtedly theseaberrations can adversely impact farmer’s economic and social wellbeing. According to the Odisha Economic Survey 2018-19 the monthly farm household income in 2012-13 was INR 4976 but when compared to India’s average monthly farm household income of INR 6426, it seems inadequate. About 10.8 million people which is approximately 61.8% of the total workforce are involved in agricultural activities. The entirety of this agricultural workforce is responsible in contributing about 18-19% to the GSDP which seems a little disproportionate. In this process of developmentthe most affected communities are the backward tribes who do not have much of a say in the economy. This paper aims to find out the dependence between the productivity of crops on rainfall and how technology such as drip and sprinkler irrigation system can further help in alleviating this inconsistency in the tribal districts of Odisha.