India’s rise to become the world’s largest rice producer and exporter has been hailed by politicians as a triumph of policy and farmer resilience. Exports have nearly doubled over the past decade, surpassing 20 million metric tons in the latest fiscal year and giving India control over roughly 40% of global rice trade. Yet behind this success story lies growing unease among farmers and water experts over the sustainability of rice cultivation in a water-stressed country.
Thirsty Crops and Vanishing Aquifers
In India’s rice heartlands of Punjab and Haryana, groundwater depletion has accelerated sharply. A decade ago, water could be accessed at depths of around 30 feet, but borewells now commonly reach between 80 and 200 feet. Farmers report rising costs as they are forced to drill deeper each year, a trend supported by government data and academic research. Despite healthy monsoons in recent years, extraction has far outpaced natural recharge, pushing many aquifers into “critical” or “over-exploited” categories.
Subsidies That Lock Farmers Into Rice
Government support policies have played a central role in entrenching rice cultivation. Guaranteed minimum support prices for rice have risen by about 70% over the past decade, while power subsidies make groundwater extraction cheaper. Experts argue that these incentives discourage diversification into less water-intensive crops. As a result, India is effectively subsidising the rapid depletion of its own groundwater reserves to sustain surplus rice production for export.
Rising Costs Hit Small Farmers Hardest
While larger landholders can still profit by navigating subsidy systems and affording deeper borewells, smaller and subsistence farmers face mounting financial pressure. Producing one kilogram of rice requires 3,000–4,000 litres of water—well above the global average. Annual spending on pumps, pipes and labour is rising steadily, eroding already thin margins and making rice farming increasingly unsustainable for poorer growers.
Climate Risks and Policy Pushback
Punjab and Haryana’s heavy dependence on groundwater makes farmers especially vulnerable to climate variability. Weak monsoons risk leaving aquifers unrecharged, while extraction continues unabated. Past attempts by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reform agricultural laws, including reducing reliance on guaranteed procurement, triggered massive protests and were eventually rolled back, highlighting the political sensitivity of changing farm policy.
Limited Moves Toward Crop Diversification
Some state governments have begun experimenting with incentives to shift farmers toward crops such as millets, which require far less water. Haryana introduced a subsidy to encourage diversification, but its one-season duration has failed to generate widespread adoption. Economists argue that longer-term incentives—lasting at least five years—are essential to give farmers confidence to move away from rice.
A Cheaper Alternative for Governments
Research suggests that redirecting existing subsidies could ease pressure on water resources without increasing government spending. Punjab, for instance, spends tens of thousands of rupees per hectare on rice-related subsidies. Experts say reallocating most of that support toward less water-intensive crops could preserve farmer incomes while reducing groundwater extraction and overall subsidy costs.
Personal Analysis
India’s dominance in the global rice trade has become a double-edged sword. While it strengthens food security and geopolitical leverage, it is built on an unsustainable use of groundwater in some of the country’s most fertile regions. The crisis is not driven by farmers alone, but by policy choices that reward water-intensive farming regardless of environmental cost. Without long-term incentives for diversification and politically difficult reforms to subsidy structures, India risks undermining its agricultural future. The challenge is no longer producing enough food, but producing it without exhausting the natural resources that make farming possible in the first place.
With information from Reuters.
