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Groundwater levels are declining in many agricultural districts, and current cropping and irrigation patterns accelerate the decline.
A district that exhausts its groundwater loses its agricultural economy permanently, not temporarily.
Prioritise micro-irrigation support in districts with documented groundwater decline, and publish groundwater trend data at block level in plain language.
Advocate for targeting existing schemes by measured groundwater stress rather than uniformly, and publish the underlying data so the targeting is checkable.
Risk
Changing cropping patterns affects farmer income in the short term.
Mitigation
Never advocate a cropping change without a costed transition path. Say so plainly where no such path exists.