Climate Exchange

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griculture

interventions at watershed scale have shown a win-win

situation for upstream rainfed farmers with a positive

trade-off in terms of a 30 per cent increase in incomes,

with reduced run-off to the Osman sagar providing

drinking water to Hyderabad, India with an additional

cost of US$4 million.

These interventions improved green water use effi-

ciency by 64-72 per cent, run-off reduced from 19 per

cent to 8 per cent and enhanced groundwater recharge

from 8 per cent to 20 per cent at the basin level. They

also built resilience during the drought year, as evident

from the data at Kothapally benchmark watershed. Here,

in the 2002 drought year there was no change in the

share of agricultural income to total family income in the

watershed, whereas non-watershed villages saw a drastic

reduction of agricultural income from 44 per cent to 12

per cent of family income. Families in non-watershed

villages had to migrate for their livelihoods, whereas in

Kothapally, farmers could manage their livelihoods.

ICRISAT and the Government of Karnataka have taken

a knowledge-based, bridging yield gaps mission-mode

initiative by forming a consortium and a network of stake-

holders for sharing their knowledge about the weather as

well as soil health and improved management practices

covering all the 30 districts in the state. During the 2011

rainy season, the soil-test based nutrient management

interventions along with improved seeds, seed treat-

To provide the necessary knowledge to the farmers, an ICRISAT-led

consortium comprising of national agricultural research systems,

development agencies like government line departments and non-

governmental organizations provided technical backstopping

to the community. Soil health assessment, stress-tolerant high-

yielding cultivars, water analysis and so on were used as an entry

point for building rapport with the community. Improved rain-

water management and harvesting resulted in ensuring increased

green water use efficiency as well as augmenting water resources

(ground and surface water) through low-cost water harvesting

structures. Through watershed management, groundwater avail-

ability increased in benchmark watersheds in different states of

India, Thailand, Vietnam and China.

The diagnostic participatory

soil health assessment in the watershed revealed widespread defi-

ciencies of zinc, boron and sulphur in farmers’ fields which were

holding back the potential of rainfed agriculture in the regions.

Soil-test based plant nutrient management, along with seeds

of improved cultivars, seed treatment and other soil and nutri-

ent management practices, showed up to four-fold increases in

crop yields at different benchmark watershed locations in India,

Thailand, Vietnam and China. In addition, participatory watershed

management reduced soil loss (by two to four times), increased

groundwater recharge (2-3 m rise in the water table), reduced

run-off (30-60 per cent), increased greenery cover and improved

economic gains for the farmers. Social capital – in terms of collec-

tive action, institution building and self-help groups – provided

add-on benefits from the integrated watershed management. These

Vast untapped potential of rainfed agriculture, (long term experiment at ICRISAT)

Source: ICRISAT