Climate Smart Water Technology and its Impact on Sustainable Agriculture in Maharashtra

Climate change threatens Indian agriculture, affecting food production and nutritional security. Positive and negative changes in temperature and rainfall significantly impact agricultural production. The study employed primary data from 120 farmers, divided equally into adopters and non-adopters of drip irrigation for sugarcane and cotton in 2023-24. Data were analyzed using tabular methods, Mann-Whitney's test, and logistic regression was used to evaluate awareness, adoption behaviour, and yield impacts. Chow's test checked production function changes, Bisaliah decomposition assessed productivity differences, and groundwater savings were estimated with the Eyhome formula. The result showed that transitioning to climate-smart water technology in sugarcane and cotton cultivation increased crop production by 33.10 and 42.51 per cent, saved water by 10.26 and 2.19 million litres per ha, decreased electricity usage by 1273 and 296 kWh, and reduced carbon emissions by 92.32 and 21.44 kg CE per ha. It will reduce the government's burden and encourage cultivators in Maharashtra to adopt drip irrigation.