If you ask a farmer in Uttar Pradesh or Maharashtra what worries them most, the answer is no longer seeds or rising costs but water, something they probably didn't have to give a second thought to about 10 years ago, according to an opinion piece by Sunil Nanda in The Hindu BusinessLine. Groundwater is dropping fastest in the most food-growing districts of these states, rivers run thick with industrial and municipal discharge, and the monsoon no longer arrives on schedule.
Water: The foundational issue
While most agri-conversations jump to soil health or fertiliser efficiency, Nanda writes that water must be the starting point: "Soil recovery and better inputs are both downstream of water quality." Treated water — recovered from municipal systems, industrial effluent, or polluted rivers — can go straight back into irrigation, taking pressure off groundwater and providing a reliable source even when rains are late. The science to treat water without harmful residue is proven; the bottleneck is logistics and pricing — getting water from plant to field at a cost farmers can afford.
Soil health follows clean water
Years of contaminated irrigation and heavy chemical use have left large stretches of farmland saline, sodic, or biologically exhausted. Nanda argues that swapping bad water for clean water stops the damage almost immediately. Adding nano-scale and biological soil treatments speeds up recovery. But doing soil work first while still using bad water is "refilling a leaking bucket." The sequence matters: get the water right, and the soil follows.
Smart inputs work better with clean water
The same logic applies to inputs. Nano nutrients and biological alternatives to chemical fertilisers only work when the water carrying them is not fighting them. With clean water, "the same rupee of input spend goes noticeably further: better yield, better quality, less waste." Nanda emphasises that this is not just theory — it has been proven in projects in India and abroad.
Adoption requires affordability and proof
None of this matters if it does not reach farmers at a cost they can afford. Nanda recommends decentralised treatment near farming clusters, honest pricing, and a clear sequence: clean water → healthier soil → better-performing inputs. Indian farmers adopt what genuinely helps them; they reject untested or opaque solutions. Companies and innovators must make water the central design principle, not an afterthought.
The author, Sunil Nanda, is Managing Director of JS Water Energy Life.
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