In an irrigated agriculture ...

In an irrigated agriculture system, the substantial losses of water are below the canal outlets i.e. in field channels( popularly known as water courses in India) and in the farmer fields. Therefore the field channels are to be properly designed and constructed by the experts in this field. In India generally the farmers are not so educated and rich, who can construct water courses/ field channels properly and they are also unable to properly maintain them. Therefore in India , filed channels must be a part of the project and must be constructed and maintained by the farmers. The policy planners in water sector has no knowledge of real problems and therefore sometimes talk of modernisation, restructuring andf now interlinking of rivers to hide their utter failure of increasing average water use efficiency, which is below fifty percent in India. In Australia and America , they have achieved above 80 percent. The agriculture department has the responsibility to advise farmers for proper preparation of agriculture fields and properly use irrigation water. But the agriculture department has no priority for this work and unable to do it. There is no possibility in India to increase water use efficiency till the field channels are constructed by the government and also agriculture department make special efforts to educate farmers for proper use of water.