"Agricultural Transformation under Irrigation Expansion in Shevgaon Tehsil of Ahilyanagar District MH, India'.

Abstract: The agricultural development of the semi-arid region of Maharashtra has witnessed remarkable changes owing to increased irrigation, which has improved the productivity of agriculture and resulted in changes in cropping pattern. The current study analyzes the impact of irrigation development on agricultural development in the Tehsil of Shevgaon, Ahilyanagar district, Maharashtra. The data used in the present study are secondary in nature and have been sourced from the Directorate of Economics & Statistics, Government of Maharashtra, District Statistical Abstracts, Department of Agriculture, Irrigation Department, and primary survey data for the agricultural year 2022-23. Percentage analysis, trend analysis, and comparative analysis have been used as techniques of analysis to analyze the distribution of irrigation, sources of irrigation, and changes in the cropping pattern. There is a great deal of variation regarding irrigation development in the tehsil in terms of spatial distribution. In the cultivated area, there is permanent irrigation in 17.1%, seasonally irrigated area constitutes 23.9%, and the remaining 59.0% is non-irrigated area. Groundwater irrigation forms the mainstay of irrigation, which includes wells (53.8%) and borewell irrigation (23.0%). Only 6.3% of irrigation is done through canals. Due to increase in irrigation, there has been an increased preference for commercial crops like cotton, sugarcane, and wheat in place of rain-fed crops such as jowar and bajra in revenue circles like Bhatkudgaon and Erandgaon. This research has shown that there is a positive association between the increase in irrigation and agricultural transformation.