Groundwater irrigation has grown rapidly over the past 50 years
and now supplies over one-third of the world’s irrigated area.
About 70% of this is in Asia where groundwater irrigation is
making a substantial contribution to agriculture and food security, and has
lifted many millions of households out of poverty. It can stabilise smallholder
farming by buffering droughts, intensifying cropping, and allowing farmers
to diversify and access markets for high-value crops that require year-round
on-farm water control. As a result, Bangladesh is now a net exporter of rice
and Viet Nam is one of the largest exporters of pepper and robusta coffee. In
India, well-owning families substantially increased their income from the sale
of milk, eggs, chickens, and livestock.