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In the Tungabhadra Project (TBP) command area, the intensive cultivation of paddy has led to problems of salinity and waterlogging and affected the distribution of water between the head and tail ends, forcing tail-end farmers to rely on groundwater irrigation. Conjunctive use of water is the strategic option in the wake of groundwater depletion and surface irrigation-induced soil degradation as it can ensure the sustainable production of rice. The farm-level results indicate that the conjunctive surface use of water improved the economic water use efficiency and yield and, thereby, the net returns from paddy were higher than from paddy irrigated by canal and groundwater. Notably, marginal net returns realized due to conjunctive use over surface irrigation and ground water irrigation of Rs. 15, 342 and Rs. 20, 521 per ha respectively. The highest average technical efficiency recorded was 0.82 amongst the farmers who adopted conjunctive use of water as against 0.71 and 0.64 in canal and groundwater farmers respectively. The best way forward, and the best way to optimize the conjunctive use of water, is to incentivize the capacity-building of existing water user associations in command areas and concentrate on sustainable rice production.
