Socio-economic impacts of the adoption of MIS (Micro-irrigation system) among small and marginal farmers of Coimbatore district, India

Considerable attention has been given to micro-irrigation technologies by policymakers to help farmers in overcoming water scarcity problems. In this paper, the potential impacts of MIS on farmers’ livelihood and economic viability of using drip in banana cultivation were analyzed using discounted cash flow techniques. The study focused on small and marginal farmers of Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu as they were provided with 100% subsidy. Adoption of MIS increased the total cropped area (6.54%), extended area under irrigation (6.55%), increased cropping intensity (69.19%) and irrigation intensity (70.95%). Investment on drip irrigation system by farmers were found financially feasible (NPV Rs.43,851.16, BCR 1.42 and IRR 30.88%). The study also brought out the constraints faced by farmers in the adoption of MIS such as lack of technical support, the inefficiency of the system with poor quality water and damage caused by animals. The research work would be helpful in understanding the advantages of using MIS by small and marginal farmers and problems encountered by them in adoption even though the investment was economically viable. &nbsp