Optimal Use of Agricultural Land and Water Resources through Re-configuring Crop Plan for different Agro- Climatic Zones of Bihar (India)

Abstract

An optimization model has been formulated for optimal use of land and water resources and maximizing benefits using linear programming to reconfigure the crop model prevailing in the agro-climatic zones of Bihar. The study is based on data of “Comprehensive scheme to study the cost of cultivation of principal crops in Bihar” for the block period 2008-09 to 2010-11. The performance of different crops was assessed by computing net returns under three alternative scenarios (i) Market prices (MP) (ii Economic prices net of subsidies (EP); and (iii) Net income based on natural resource valuation technique (NRV). Optimum crop model for agro-climatic zones of Bihar revealed that with existing ground water use at 4.50 BCM in zone-I, the net gain to the cultivator was positive at all the three prices i.e. 9.18 at MP, 7.70 at EP and 2.98 at NRV hundred crores, respectively. In zone-II, the model was applied in two different groundwater use scenarios one at 2.12 BCM existing GW use and another at 2.65 BCM. In the first condition, the net gains were estimated to 3.50, 3.12 and 0.61 hundred crores at all alternative business prices and in other situation farmer’s gain was calculated to be positive i.e. 4.36 hundred crores on market price, whereas for rest two other prices, the gains were -0.71 and -2.19 hundred crores at EP and NRV prices. The model for zone-III depicted positive change in farmers’ revenue only in case of market price at 3.70 BCM groundwater use but gain to the society at two prices EP and NRV were calculated 9.03 and 7.13 hundred crores, respectively and the final net gain to cultivators were estimated 9.15, 6.99 and 2.64 hundred crores at MP, EP and NRV, respectively under 4.63 BCM GW use scenario