Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Dwindling groundwater supplies threaten food security and livelihoods. Farm subsidies which distort production decisions are an ubiquitous agricultural policy tool, yet their contribution to growing groundwater stress remains poorly quantified. Here we show how output subsidies that guarantee purchase of crops at higher than market prices have contributed substantially towards declining water tables in India. Overall, these policies have led to a 30% over-production of water intensive crops. In the northwestern state of Punjab, rice procurement accounts for 63% of the rise in groundwater declines over two decades. In the central state of Madhya Pradesh, wheat procurement adopted in the late 2000s has driven a 5.3 percentage point increase in dry wells and a consequent 3.4 percentage point increase in deep tubewells. The results demonstrate how well intentioned but poorly designed subsidies can impose harmful externalities on the environment and undermine long-term sustainable development.
Source: Nature Communications
Language: English
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,790
OpenAlex ID: W4403146613