The last 20-30 years have witnessed a ’global boom’
in groundwater use for irrigation in areas subject to
extended dry seasons and/or regular droughts
(Llamas, 2005). In India, for example, the
groundwater-irrigated area has increased 500%
since 1960 (Shah, 2009). Satisfactory global
statistics for groundwater irrigation are now
available from a UN-FAO survey
Today
irrigated agriculture is the largest abstractor and
consumer of groundwater, with almost 40% of all
cultivated land under irrigation being ‘waterwell
equipped’ – with large groundwater-dependent
agroeconomies in South & East Asia. The nations
with the largest groundwater-use areas are India
(39 M ha) and China (19 M ha).