Impact Evaluation of Minor Irrigation Tank Rehabilitation

Irrigated land produces 55% of agricultural output in India, and 2.4 billion people depend on irrigated agriculture for sustenance globally. Over the past 30 years, the water tables in India have declined significantly because of over-consumption of groundwater. This evaluation aims to determine whether and to what extent restoration of tanks impacts a variety of outcomes related to agricultural productivity, farmer consumption and welfare, and the environment. In partnership with the Government of Telangana, researchers will identify 400-500 tanks in villages in which no other tanks have been rehabilitated before. From this group, researchers will randomly assign 200 tanks to be rehabilitated in the next phase (phase 3) and then encourage the government’s tank selection team to implement restoration of most of the assigned tanks. Researchers will examine outcome and process indicators, including data on agricultural production and farmer consumption, measured water table levels on each farmer’s plot, as well as market and non-market prices, wages, and a survey of village amenities. In addition, researchers will use non-experimental methods to assess the impact of the first two phases of tank rehabilitation. Results forthcoming.