Caitlin Henry

Taming water - Irrigation and drought protection in colonial India and the present

The irrigation at all costs mindset and narrow policies for drought protection during the colonial rule ignored rainfed agriculture and local practices that sustained agriculture in the Bombay Deccan. This continues even today.

Arianna Tozzi

Stefan Bouzarovski

Posted on 10 Aug, 2022 07:12 AM

Following independence and with the advent of the green revolution, agriculture in India has been based on input intensive farming, and agricultural policies and investments continue to support irrigated agriculture. This excessive focus on irrigated agriculture has led to the neglect of rainfed agriculture.

Recurrent droughts and the struggle for survival (Image Source: Gaurav Bhosale via Wikimedia Commons):

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