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ater

ooperation

, S

ustainability

and

overty

radication

(spring) season, mostly to vegetables and flowers. Overall, in the

65 community watersheds, implementing best-bet practices with

better water management resulted in significant yield advantages in

sorghum (35-270 per cent), maize (30-174 per cent), pearl millet

(72-242 per cent), groundnut (28-179 per cent), sole pigeonpea

(97-204 per cent), and intercropped pigeonpea (40-110 per cent).

Integrated watershed management in India, primarily through

water conservation and management compounded with various

in-situ

and

ex-situ

interventions and improved practices, have

shown a significant increase in productivity, cropping intensity

and income while controlling degradation of natural resources. The

increase in cropping intensity, benefit-to-cost ratio and per capita

income ranged between 30-55 per cent, 45-88 per cent and 19-78

per cent respectively in different community watersheds after the

implementation of watershed interventions over the baseline period.

In all these watersheds, the key driver for remarkable change is an

increasing quantity of greenwater and bluewater resources in the

form of soil moisture through groundwater recharge initiatives such

ex-situ

and

in-situ

interventions. These interventions have built

resilience during drought years. As evident from the data at Adarsha

watershed in Andhra Pradesh, the share of agricultural income to

total family income remained the same in the 2002 drought year,

whereas non-watershed villages experienced a drastic reduction

in agricultural income from 44 per cent to 12 per cent of family

income. Families in these villages had to migrate to supplement

their livelihoods, whereas in Kothapally, farmers could manage their

livelihoods in the village itself.

The participatory collective action approach adopted for bridg-

ing the yield gaps in the state of Karnataka has demonstrated the

vast potential of dryland agriculture for increasing the

crop yields and incomes of millions of small farmers.

The unique mechanism of scaling-up with comprehen-

sive planning, review and monitoring along with new

institutions like Farm Facilitators, Raitha Samparka

Kendras and supporting policies enabled the consor-

tium to cover 3.73 million hectares of rain-fed area

in the state. Under the Bhoochetana programme,

soil-test-based nutrient management interventions

along with improved seeds, seed treatments and use

of biofertilizers resulted in 35-66 per cent increases

in yield levels of dryland crops during the 2009 rainy

season in different districts. During the 2011 rainy

season with an unfavourable rainfall situation, the

programme resulted in increases of 21-66 per cent

in major crop yields and 23-42 per cent in oilseeds

over farmers’ practice. For the GoK, this translated

to an annual agricultural growth rate of 5.9 per cent

during 2009/10, and 11.6 per cent during 2010/11.

During 2011, 3 million hectares were covered in the

rainy season and economic returns were to the tune

of US$130 million. In spite of an unfavourable rain-

fall situation in the state, farmers harvested increased

crop yields with improved management practices,

contributing to the economy of the state. This has

demonstrated the power of science-led interventions

to achieve sustainability in the management of natural

resources for food security and poverty reduction in

fragile areas.

Achieving food security and resilience

Water scarcity and land degradation are the main

constraints to realizing higher productivity and improv-

ing rural livelihoods in the semi-arid regions. The

integrated community watershed management approach

is a well tested strategy to address the issues of water

and soil degradation along with equity, efficiency and

environment. Scarcity of water and knowledge sharing

through the participatory monitoring of increased

groundwater made farmers more receptive towards

efficient water use technologies such as drips and sprin-

klers, and enabled them to take appropriate decisions

about suitable crops and areas to be planted. The new

common guidelines have provided a framework to bring

people to centre stage in taking decisions to improve

productivity and livelihoods through sustainable use

of natural resources. Within the watersheds, stratified

soil sampling and soil-test-based nutrient management

provides economic solutions to address soil degrada-

tion. Model watersheds and Bhoochetana in India have

demonstrated the role of a science-led approach in

changing farm-based livelihoods. However, policies and

institutional mechanisms played a greater role in opera-

tionalizing the strategy. To achieve the overall goal of

food security and resilience in the semi-arid regions,

we need to promote the adoption of science-led tech-

nologies through appropriate institutional and policy

support, increased awareness and capacity building at

different levels.

120

150

GW recharge during monsoon

GW availability at beginning of monsoon

AWM

Dry year

(following a wet year)

AWM

Dry year

(following a dry year)

AWM

Normal year

(following a wet year)

AWM

Normal year

(following a dry year)

GW availability at end of the monsoon (mm)

Groundwater availability and recharge during different rainfall and

management conditions in Adarsha watershed, Andhra Pradesh

Source: Garg and Wani, 2012