The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) aims to improve water-use efficiency and yield through micro-irrigation. This study assesses the influence of PKMSY on agricultural production, utilizing a sample of 1,227 groundnut farmers and 683 banana farmers across seven agro-climatic zones in Tamil Nadu. The study included both beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of the program. The outcome appears statistically legitimate with the application of propensity score matching (PSM) and common support analysis. Results show that PMKSY beneficiaries obtain significantly better yields compared to non-beneficiaries, and the estimated ATT of micro-irrigation subsidies on crop yields is 158.52 kg/ha in groundnut and 1,560.76 kg/ha in banana ( p = 0.001), hence confirming the presence of a significant and positive impact of micro-irrigation subsidies on crop yield. Participation in programs is significantly influenced by farm-level characteristics, such as the cropping land, income, family size, and PM-KISAN beneficiary, whereas the high overlap of the treated and control groups also confirms the validity of the causation estimates. The results underscore the efficacy of PMKSY in enhancing crop performance, particularly regarding water-intensive and high-value crops. This paper’s novelty stems from the utilization of a dual-crop comparative design, using extensive and geographically diversified data alongside rigorous causal inference methodologies, so enhancing the limiting scope of micro-level empirical evaluations of PMKSY.
Mansingh et al. (Fri,) studied this question.