Gandhinagar: In today’s era of agricultural globalization and diversification, the effective use and management of water in irrigation are crucial for making agriculture more profitable. That is why, in 2005, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat and current Prime Minister Narendrabhai Modi implemented the “Micro Irrigation Scheme” through the Gujarat Green Revolution Company (GGRC). The micro irrigation system is the best option for farmers to achieve maximum farm production with limited water use. Under this scheme, special incentives are provided to farmers so that a larger number of farmers in the state can adopt advanced micro irrigation systems such as drip, fountain, rain gun, and porous pipe.

Micro irrigation can increase the irrigated area by about three times despite limited water resources. That is why, over the last two decades, the scope of micro irrigation in Gujarat has expanded, and Gujarat has become a leader in the country in this field. From May 2005 to March 2025, more than 15.76 lakh farmers in Gujarat have adopted micro irrigation systems across about 24.34 lakh hectares. These 15.76 lakh farmers have received assistance totaling over Rs. 8,864.25 crore under the micro irrigation scheme. Of this, the Gujarat Government’s contribution is Rs. 5,538.78 crore, and the Government of India’s contribution is Rs. 3,325.47 crore.

Gujarat’s Breakthrough in Adopting Micro Irrigation

In the year 2023-24, approximately 1.30 lakh hectares of cultivated area were covered under the micro irrigation system. In the year 2024-25, around 1.20 lakh hectares were covered. A total of Rs. 605.42 crore has been provided to farmers under the micro irrigation scheme, with the state’s contribution being Rs. 329.42 crore and the Government of India’s contribution amounting to Rs. 276 crore.

Banaskantha Leads in Micro Irrigation

Banaskantha district ranks first in the state for the area covered under the micro irrigation system, with 4.77 lakh hectares. Junagadh follows in second place with 1.81 lakh hectares, and Rajkot ranks third with 1.32 lakh hectares.

Middle-Class Farmers Drive Micro Irrigation

Additionally, the contribution of middle-class farmers has been crucial in boosting the micro irrigation system in agriculture. So far, 8,61,833 middle-class farmers have adopted the micro irrigation system in 15.94 lakh hectares of land. Small farmers have also played a significant role, with 4,83,922 adopting the system in 5.75 lakh hectares, 1,76,639 marginal farmers in 1.19 lakh hectares, and 53,622 large farmers in 1.45 lakh hectares.

Micro Irrigation for Groundnut

Of the total area of 24.34 lakh hectares covered under micro irrigation in Gujarat, 20.02 lakh hectares have been dedicated to agricultural crops, and 4.32 lakh hectares to horticultural crops.

Among the main agricultural crops, 10.76 lakh hectares for groundnut, 7.35 lakh hectares for cotton, and 0.16 lakh hectares for sugarcane have been covered under the micro irrigation system. For horticultural crops, 2.11 lakh hectares for potatoes, 0.32 lakh hectares for bananas, 0.18 lakh hectares for mangoes, and 0.84 lakh hectares for vegetables have been covered by the system.

Khedut Shakti Portal

Farmers in Gujarat can adopt the micro irrigation system in their fields by pre-registering from home. To pre-register, farmers can send an SMS with the format “Full Name – District – Taluka – Village” to GGRC’s mobile number 9763322211. Alternatively, farmers can register on GGRC’s website “khedut.ggrc.co.in.” After pre-registration, GGRC-approved suppliers will contact the farmers for further action or guidance. DeshGujarat