Soumya Balasubramanya
Biographic Data
| ID | 6315969 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Soumya Balasubramanya |
| GIVEN NAMES | Soumya |
| FAMILY NAME | Balasubramanya |
| SIGNATURE | BALASUBRAMANYA S |
| AFFILIATIONS | World Bank |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8035-7306 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 4 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 13 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
The role of community‐level institutions in smallholder land restoration
This review focuses on the role of community‐level institutions in the adoption of land restoration practices by smallholder farmers. Based on a systematic review of 72 peer‐reviewed articles from 33 low‐ and middle‐income countries, the review synthesizes recent empirical evidence on the various roles these institutions play in supporting smallholders. Four roles are highlighted: (1) collective action, (2) representation, (3) market services and…
Adoption of land restoration activities in Ethiopia
Solar-powered irrigation in Nepal
In recent years, use of solar-powered irrigation pumps (SIPs) has increased significantly in the agricultural plains ( terai ) of Nepal. Federal and local governments there have subsidized the pumps in an effort to expand irrigated agriculture using renewable energy. We use data from a cross-sectional survey of 656 farming households in the terai to examine how SIPs affect fossil fuel use and groundwater extraction. We find that most SIP users co…
Can perceptions of reduction in physical water availability affect irrigation behaviour? Evidence from Jordan
Frequent droughts and rapidly depleting groundwater reserves have deepened the water scarcity crisis in Jordan. Even though most farms use ‘water-saving' technologies, groundwater depletion continues at an alarming rate. We investigate how farmers' past experiences of physical water availability are related to their current behaviour, by examining the frequency of irrigation and how farmers determine irrigation needs. Data came from a primary sur…
A systems perspective on water markets
Garrick, Dustin; Balasubramanya, Soumya; Beresford, Melissa; Wutich, Amber; Gilson, Gina G; Jorgensen, Isabel; Brozovic, Nicholas; Cox, Michael; Dai, Xiaoping; Erfurth, Sophie; Rimšaitė, Renata; Svensson, Jesper; Jones, Julia Talbot; Unnikrishnan, Hita; Wight, Charles; Villamayor Tomás, Sergio; Mendoza, Karla Vazquez
Migration, gender labor division and food insecurity in Tajikistan
The role of social identity in improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene (Wash) and health services
Positive incentives for managing groundwater in the presence of informal water markets
Groundwater is rapidly declining in India. A history of subsidized well-drilling, pumps, and energy with minimal restrictions on well installation, in a landscape characterized by millions of smallholder farmers renders standard ‘market-based’ approaches such as water pricing and quotas on abstraction challenging to introduce from a cost, political and institutional perspective. Instead, federal and state governments are experimenting with positi…
Price, credit or ambiguity? Increasing small-scale irrigation in Ethiopia
Governments in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are keen to expand irrigation to improve food security and are placing particular emphasis on adoption and use of smallholder private groundwater irrigation. Yet private irrigation is a multi-stage technology, the adoption of which is affected by fiscal support and extension services offered on different investment stages but also by uncertainties around actions that need to be undertaken in th…
Electric Pumps, Groundwater, Agriculture and Water Buyers
Irrigation with electric pumps is cheaper than with diesel pumps in West Bengal where electricity and diesel are unsubsidised, and where pump owners typically irrigate their winter rice crop and often sell water to farmers who do not own pumps. Using purposefully selected primary data, we examine whether electric-pump owners have greater water access and rice production during the monsoon and winter seasons compared to diesel-pump owners and wate…
Chronic kidney disease and household behaviors in Sri Lanka
This paper examines whether there are systematic differences in the historical behaviors of households that are affected and unaffected by chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Sri Lanka pertaining to their water source choices, water treatment practices, and agrochemical use. This analysis is motivated by the Sri Lankan government's largest policy response to this epidemic - to encourage communities to switch from untreated well water to publicly prov…
Viewpoint
Understanding the complex relationship between water, agriculture and poverty (WAP) is essential for informed policy-making in light of increasing demand for scarce water resources and greater climatic variability. Yet, our understanding of the WAP nexus remains surprisingly undeveloped and dispersed across multiple disciplines due to conceptual (biophysical and economic) and measurement issues. We argue that water for agriculture will need to be…
The effect of irrigation service delivery and training in agronomy on crop choice in Tajikistan
The aim of this paper is to analyze the effect of irrigation delivery services and agricultural extension services on crop choice in southern Tajikistan. This analysis is motivated by the government’s recent efforts to address the country’s severe malnutrition problem by supporting changes in irrigation service delivery and agronomy to increase diversity in agricultural production and consumption, in an environment where the cultivation of cotton…
Viewpoint
Understanding the complex relationship between water, agriculture and poverty (WAP) is essential for informed policy-making in light of increasing demand for scarce water resources and greater climatic variability. Yet, our understanding of the WAP nexus remains surprisingly undeveloped and dispersed across multiple disciplines due to conceptual (biophysical and economic) and measurement issues. We argue that water for agriculture will need to be…
Migration, gender labor division and food insecurity in Tajikistan
The effect of irrigation service delivery and training in agronomy on crop choice in Tajikistan
The aim of this paper is to analyze the effect of irrigation delivery services and agricultural extension services on crop choice in southern Tajikistan. This analysis is motivated by the government’s recent efforts to address the country’s severe malnutrition problem by supporting changes in irrigation service delivery and agronomy to increase diversity in agricultural production and consumption, in an environment where the cultivation of cotton…
Chronic kidney disease and household behaviors in Sri Lanka
This paper examines whether there are systematic differences in the historical behaviors of households that are affected and unaffected by chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Sri Lanka pertaining to their water source choices, water treatment practices, and agrochemical use. This analysis is motivated by the Sri Lankan government's largest policy response to this epidemic - to encourage communities to switch from untreated well water to publicly prov…
Viewpoint
Understanding the complex relationship between water, agriculture and poverty (WAP) is essential for informed policy-making in light of increasing demand for scarce water resources and greater climatic variability. Yet, our understanding of the WAP nexus remains surprisingly undeveloped and dispersed across multiple disciplines due to conceptual (biophysical and economic) and measurement issues. We argue that water for agriculture will need to be…
Electric Pumps, Groundwater, Agriculture and Water Buyers
Irrigation with electric pumps is cheaper than with diesel pumps in West Bengal where electricity and diesel are unsubsidised, and where pump owners typically irrigate their winter rice crop and often sell water to farmers who do not own pumps. Using purposefully selected primary data, we examine whether electric-pump owners have greater water access and rice production during the monsoon and winter seasons compared to diesel-pump owners and wate…
The role of social identity in improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene (Wash) and health services
Positive incentives for managing groundwater in the presence of informal water markets
Groundwater is rapidly declining in India. A history of subsidized well-drilling, pumps, and energy with minimal restrictions on well installation, in a landscape characterized by millions of smallholder farmers renders standard ‘market-based’ approaches such as water pricing and quotas on abstraction challenging to introduce from a cost, political and institutional perspective. Instead, federal and state governments are experimenting with positi…
Price, credit or ambiguity? Increasing small-scale irrigation in Ethiopia
Governments in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are keen to expand irrigation to improve food security and are placing particular emphasis on adoption and use of smallholder private groundwater irrigation. Yet private irrigation is a multi-stage technology, the adoption of which is affected by fiscal support and extension services offered on different investment stages but also by uncertainties around actions that need to be undertaken in th…
Can perceptions of reduction in physical water availability affect irrigation behaviour? Evidence from Jordan
Frequent droughts and rapidly depleting groundwater reserves have deepened the water scarcity crisis in Jordan. Even though most farms use ‘water-saving' technologies, groundwater depletion continues at an alarming rate. We investigate how farmers' past experiences of physical water availability are related to their current behaviour, by examining the frequency of irrigation and how farmers determine irrigation needs. Data came from a primary sur…
A systems perspective on water markets
Garrick, Dustin; Balasubramanya, Soumya; Beresford, Melissa; Wutich, Amber; Gilson, Gina G; Jorgensen, Isabel; Brozovic, Nicholas; Cox, Michael; Dai, Xiaoping; Erfurth, Sophie; Rimšaitė, Renata; Svensson, Jesper; Jones, Julia Talbot; Unnikrishnan, Hita; Wight, Charles; Villamayor Tomás, Sergio; Mendoza, Karla Vazquez
Migration, gender labor division and food insecurity in Tajikistan
Solar-powered irrigation in Nepal
In recent years, use of solar-powered irrigation pumps (SIPs) has increased significantly in the agricultural plains ( terai ) of Nepal. Federal and local governments there have subsidized the pumps in an effort to expand irrigated agriculture using renewable energy. We use data from a cross-sectional survey of 656 farming households in the terai to examine how SIPs affect fossil fuel use and groundwater extraction. We find that most SIP users co…
Adoption of land restoration activities in Ethiopia
The role of community‐level institutions in smallholder land restoration
This review focuses on the role of community‐level institutions in the adoption of land restoration practices by smallholder farmers. Based on a systematic review of 72 peer‐reviewed articles from 33 low‐ and middle‐income countries, the review synthesizes recent empirical evidence on the various roles these institutions play in supporting smallholders. Four roles are highlighted: (1) collective action, (2) representation, (3) market services and…
Economics (10 works) · Business (9 works) · Agriculture (7 works) · Environmental Science (7 works) · Geography (7 works) · Water resources management and optimization (7 works) · Natural resource economics (6 works) · Child Nutrition and Water Access (5 works) · Irrigation (5 works) · Water resource management (5 works)