The Agricultural Water-Energy Nexus of Rural India under Climate Change: How Learning Coordination Becomes Key to Technology Adoption

Surprisingly or not, agriculture can be a crucial sector that either enables or impedes the transition towards sustainable development of urban areas. This is also the case for the emerging megacity of Hyderabad. Several rural-urban linkages support this perspective: (a) migration patterns, dependent on agricultural and rural income, and development paths; (b) the food security and provisioning dimension, especially relevant in the case of perishable agricultural commodities that cannot be traded over long distances; (c) water allocation for agricultural production versus drinking water supply in the city; and (d) electricity allocation for agricultural production versus urban consumption. This research focuses especially on the latter linkage (d), as electricity provision is one of the most crucial factors of sustainable development for Hyderabad, becoming either a driver or inhibitor. In India, electricity supply for agricultural irrigation is highly subsidised, increasing the scarcity for urban, industrial, and commercial uses. With a share of 36% of all electricity consumption in the state of Andhra Pradesh, agriculture has a very high potential for energy efficiency and mitigation measures. Based on background studies and stakeholder analyses, the thesis analyses two levels: (I) the macro level on the political economy of infrastructure regulation, and (II) the micro level of electricity distribution and utilisation in irrigation. Through this twofold approach, the level and measures enabling a transition towards sustainable resource use can be identified. At the macro level, a model of regulation and party competition is applied. This model is tested against the empirical background generated through an analysis of the law, the discourse in newspapers and semi-structured interviews with experts and practitioners. The micro level, which is the focus of this article, sets up an analysis of the agricultural production economy based on interviews and a farm-level survey. The analysis at the level of electricity distribution and agricultural production systems indicates that, although farmers do not have to pay per unit of electric energy utilised, the costs of poor infrastructure impose heavy burdens on agricultural enterprises. Adding the current kWh unit generation costs of electricity would by far exceed those for each of the other input factors of production. The absence of unit costs has led to highly inefficient groundwater irrigation and the high costs of pump-set burnouts to severe voltage fluctuations. These problems work as indirect incentivesor striking reasons for farmers to improve the electricity quality by adopting new technologies through coordinated social learning practices or concerted, joint action. These solutions can be combined with energy efficiency measures. Effective measures and new technologies are most feasible at the level of the electricity sub-station, isolating an agricultural electricity feeder and the connected distribution transformers for the installation of capacitors.

DOI: 10.1515/9783868598858-003 openalex: W3173516129 mag: 3173516129