The Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar while addressing a National Conclave on Micro Irrigation in New Delhi stated that if the challenge to provide adequate and timely water to farmers is not dealt with then one cannot hope to increase farm production and productivity. He also stated that the country's agriculture produce export this year has touched a record level of $37 billion dollars with a fairly diverse basket of agriculture commodities.

The Union Agriculture Minister felt that in order to preserve every drop of water available there is an urgency of developing plans and missions while he was touring the drought affected states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana. The aspect of climate change, global warming and disruption in the rainfall patterns has compelled the minister to feel the urgency for this issue.

On the same occasion Ashish Bahuguna, Secretary Agriculture and Cooperation voiced out that there is a need for adopting water conservation technologies in a more comprehensive fashion as water is increasingly becoming a scarce commodity. He also expressed disappointment that large parts of the country are still untouched by dwelling on the Micro Irrigation systems.