Does Drip Irrigation Technology Alleviate Rural Poverty? Evidence from Tamil Nadu

Abstract
The fast decline in the irrigation water potential and rising demand for water from different sectors in India, there is a require of the surfacing of small-scale irrigation technology to preserve scarce water resources. Drip method of irrigation is one such method that has been introduced to increase water saving in the agriculture sector. The development of drip irrigation is generally considered an efficient way to increase farm income, thereby reduce poverty in rural areas. Earlier studies are confirmed that DMI to saves significant amount of water, increases productivity of crops as well as reduces cost of cultivation. However, detailed studies are seldom available about the economics of brinjal cultivation under DMI. Therefore, an attempt is made here to find out the economic impact of DMI on various parameters including its economic feasibility. The study shows that cultivating brinjal under DMI provides a number of different benefits to farmers over the flood method of irrigation. The productivity of drip-irrigated brinjal is about 74 percent higher than the corresponding flood method of irrigation harvest. The profit of the brinjal crop cultivated using DMI is higher by about Rs. 107883/acre than the corresponding profit realized by FMI. As a result of the study shows that, farmers are getting higher yield and profit it leads to reduce the rural poverty in Tamil Nadu. The result of the study also shows that the farmers would be able to repay the entire capital cost of drip system from the income generated in the very first year of raising the crop yield.