Publication: India : Power Supply to Agriculture, Volume 3. Andhra Pradesh Case Study
Loading...
Date
2001-06-15
ISSN
Published
2001-06-15
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
After almost a decade of high-level effort to bring the charges (tariffs) that farmers pay for electricity more nearly into line with the costs of supply, India has barely made a dent in the longstanding and increasingly uneconomical practice of subsidizing power to agricultural consumers for irrigation. Progress has been slowed by the understandable but misplaced concern that higher tariffs would harm farmers--and that the injured parties would take political revenge on the reformers. This study seeks to dispel that anxiety. It is the result of a joint effort by the Bank and the states of Haryana and Adhra Pradesh , both of which have begun raising the price of electriicity to agriculture. Its central contribution to policy discussion is the detail in which it documents the costs--ususally neither acknowledged nor clearly defined--to farmers in those states of subsidies that actually harm agricultural operations more than they help as well as the benefits that the farmers would get from improved quality of electricity services. The costs--in power outages, damaged pumping equipment, irrigation foregone because of power losses, distorted investment patterns, among others--exact a heavy toll from ordinary farmers. In the form of deficits, the subsidies also sap state budgets of funds that could otherwise be invested in rural infrastructure, extension services, and advanced agricultural technology. As unrecovered costs, they starve suppliers of funds for maintenance and improved service. On the other side of the coin lie the benefits that reliable flows of power and good quality of other electricity services could deliver to rural India.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2001. India : Power Supply to Agriculture, Volume 3. Andhra Pradesh Case Study. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15279 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication India : Promoting Agricultural Growth in Maharashtra, Volume 1. Main Report(Washington, DC, 2003-06-30)Fostering more rapid rural development, particularly raising the productivity and competitiveness, and accelerating the growth of the agricultural and rural non-farm sectors, and critical elements to achieving faster overall economic growth, and hence, poverty reduction in Maharashtra. This policy note focuses on examining the constraints to promoting more rapid agricultural growth in Maharashtra. It aims to: 1) review the recent status and performance of the agricultural sector in the State, focusing on selected key areas such as cotton, sugar, water, and the rural non-farm sector; 2) examine the major policy and regulatory impediments in these sub-sectors that hinder their contribution to more rapid and sustained agricultural growth and rural poverty alleviation; and 3) propose options for improvement in these areas as well as identify areas requiring further study. A second volume provides more detailed discussion on the Government of India Sugar Policy (Annex A), development schemes of the National Horticulture Board (Annex B), and basic principles for supply chain development and additional statistical tables.Publication India : Revitalizing Punjab's Agriculture(Washington, DC, 2003-09-01)Punjab has played a pioneering role in Indian agriculture. Three key challenges face Punjab agriculture - restoring growth, promoting sustainable use of natural resources, and rationalizing fiscal outlays on the sector. The main content of this paper includes: development and outcomes; policies, public expenditures and provision of public services; and options and recommendations. The options and recommendations include: enterprise options for growth and diversification; conceptual matrix for analyzing policy and institutional options; reforming price policy and public expenditures; and institutional reform characterized by revamping agricultural research and extension, regulation and reform of canal irrigation and groundwater management policies, reforming the marketing system, and contract farming.Publication An Impact Evaluation of India's Second and Third Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Projects : A Case of Poverty Reduction with Low Economic Returns(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2008)Irrigation has made a major contribution to poverty reduction in the past decades, enabling higher yields and better nutrition. Despite these achievements, large-scale irrigation schemes have usually yielded low returns and attracted negative publicity because of their adverse environmental and social impacts. As a result, the Bank has largely switched its support for irrigation away from new construction toward rehabilitation and policy reform. This evaluation supports the need for reform but shows that there are substantial benefits from further investment in infrastructure. This study analyzes these issues through an impact evaluation of one of the last "old generation" of projects in which the Bank directly supported creation of a new irrigation scheme: India's Second and Third Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Projects (AP II and AP III). Together these projects created a new command area, the Srisailem Right Branch Canal (SRBC), and rehabilitated an existing one that had been constructed with Bank assistance, the Sriramasagar Project.Publication Stories of Impact : Agribusiness(Washington, DC, 2014-06-01)By 2050, it is estimated that the world s agricultural system will need to produce approximately 50 percent more food to feed an estimated 9 billion people. In emerging markets, agriculture is the most important economic sector and source of employment; more specifically, 75 percent of the world s poor live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their incomes. With volatility in food prices putting additional pressure on social and political systems, increasing global demand for scarce resources, widespread droughts, and rising concerns over food safety issues, sustainable agricultural development is an urgent priority. IFC also contributes to transforming agribusiness at the country level by working with groups of smallholders and industry associations. For instance, IFC has helped to upgrade the operations of Cambodian rice farmers and millers so that their national industry can compete on an international level. In the following pages, there will be numerous illustrations of the work that we do with our private sector clients, typically combining finance and advice. This powerful combination of money and knowledge helps our clients not only sustain but also grow their businesses, thereby paving the way for robust job creation, growth, and positive environmental and social benefits.Publication Pakistan : Promoting Rural Growth and Poverty Reduction(Washington, DC, 2007-03)This report shows that after a decade of moderate growth but little or no long term change in rural poverty in Pakistan, agricultural output, rural incomes, rural poverty and social welfare indicators all showed marked improvements between 2001-02 and 2004-05. However, longer term trends suggest there is little reason for complacency. The agricultural GDP per capita growth rate (1999- 2000 to 2004-05) was only 0.3 percent per year; rural poverty rates in 2004-05 are still at levels that approximate those of the 1990s; and social welfare indicators in Pakistan remain significantly below those of other countries in south Asia. Moreover, problems related to timing and availability of water for irrigation, inadequate rural infrastructure, a skewed distribution of assets, and low levels of health and education continue to slow the progress of economic growth and poverty reduction. Nonetheless, Pakistan has made important strides in the last several years to promote rural growth and poverty reduction. The study concludes that a comprehensive rural growth and poverty reduction strategy is needed, predicated on four main pillars: 1) Promoting efficient and sustainable agricultural growth to raise incomes of small farmers and to generate growth linkages in the rural non-farm economy; 2) Creating an enabling environment for the rural non-farm sector to enhance employment and incomes, and improving rural public-service delivery in infrastructure, health, education and population to serve as a foundation for growth and to increase household welfare; 3) Improving the effectiveness and governance of rural institutions through the decentralization and strengthening of local demand for enhanced accountability as well as through more proactive use of public-private partnerships; 4) Empowering the poor and protecting the most vulnerable through social mobilization, safety nets and facilitating access to productive assets for income generating activities.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.