ABSTRACT
Irrigation has been an important factor in the development of agriculture in India, which is clearly demonstrated by various studies. It helps not only to increase adoption of yield-increasing crop varieties, cropping intensity and productivity of crops but also to provide year-round employment opportunities and to push up the wage rates for agricultural laborers. Irrigation has significantly influenced the variables that are traditionally used in explaining the rural poverty by the existing studies. However, the relationship between irrigation and rural poverty weakens over time, which could be possibly due to relatively faster growth of rural non-agricultural income than that of agricultural income during the last 2 decades. The experiences from different regions in India also show that it is very difficult to achieve a sustained reduction in the level of rural poverty through anti-poverty programs. Improving water security should be the prime motto of the policymakers to have sustained reduction in rural poverty.
