India-Israel project seeks to help farmers use water and energy more efficiently

In a bid to prevent depletion of the water table during agriculture, the governments of Israel and India, along with Pune-based BAIF Development and Research Foundation (BDRF) and other educational and research institutes, have started a project that will allow farmers to use water and energy more efficiently.

According to experts, subsidised electricity in the agricultural sector has often led to over utilisation of groundwater as farmers avoid metering their pumps. Over extraction of groundwater and subsequent depletion of the water table are often blamed on this unregulated use of electricity, and farmers often have no means to measure their water usage.