The Economic Survey 2018-19 has suggested that focus should shift from 'land productivity' to 'irrigation water productivity'. Devising policies to incentivise farmers to improve water use should become a national priority.

Thrust should be on micro-irrigation that can improve water use efficiency”.  In India, according to the Asian Water Development Outlook, 2016, almost 89 percent of groundwater extracted is used for irrigation.

"There is a major concern whether the present practice of ground water use can be sustained as the depth of ground water level continues to drop.  The cropping pattern in India is highly skewed towards crops that are water intensive. The incentive structure like MSP, heavily subsidized electricity, water and fertilizer have played a significant role in misalignment of crop pattern," it said.

With fragmentation of agricultural land holdings and depletion of water resources, the adoption of a resource efficient ICT-based climate smart agriculture can enhance its productivity and sustainability.

With decline in size of landholdings in agriculture, India has to focus on resource efficiency especially in smallholder farming to attain sustainability.

The Economic Survey has proposed that a combination of resource efficient method, dynamic cropping patterns, climate change responsive farming and intensive use of ICT should form the backbone of farming in India.  For a safe and food secured future, the agriculture sector has to undergo tremendous transformation from the philosophy of 'green revolution' led productivity to 'green method' led sustainability.

Highlighting the importance of bringing resource efficiency in smallholder agriculture, the Economic Survey enumerates several important factors and also lays down the main policy changes required.  These include increasing Irrigation Water Productivity (IWP) by adopting improved methods of irrigation and irrigation technologies, increasing sustainability through organic and natural farming, economising the use of fertilizers and pesticides, improving infrastructure and access to markets and adopting appropriate technology for smallholder farm.