Irrigation

Featured Articles
August 10, 2022
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.
Recurrent droughts and the struggle for survival (Image Source: Gaurav Bhosale via Wikimedia Commons):
August 9, 2022
MGNREGS becoming the quintessential scheme for tribal agriculture
Ensuring irrigation through farm ponds in tribal Chhattisgarh
Many tribal farmers opted for individual farm ponds under MGNREGA ensuring protective irrigation. (Image: Meenakshi Singh)
April 8, 2022
Water for all, still a dream?
Lack of governance and six toothless irrigation acts have done very little to change the water situation on the ground in Maharashtra, argues water expert Pradeep Purandare.
Peanut irrigation in India (Image Source: Seratobikiba via Wikimedia Commons)
March 11, 2022
Making every drop count: Micro-irrigation for tribal farmers of Gujarat
Subsidies enable tribal farmers to adopt micro-irrigation systems providing them assured irrigation
A key mitigation strategy to deal with water scarcity due to climate change is on-farm management of water using techniques like micro-irrigation (Image: India Water Portal Flickr)
September 17, 2021
Villagers’ shramdaan revives canal, enhances area under cultivation
Benefits of well-managed commons on livelihoods
Collective efforts revived the canal structure of Bichhiya dam bringing water to the village (Image: Foundation for Ecological Security)
August 29, 2021
Diversion-based irrigation systems
Experience of Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India) in revitalizing the traditional phad irrigation system in hilly tribal villages of Western Madhya Pradesh
Community members contribute voluntary labour required for laying the pipeline network and tank construction (Image: Anjali Aggarwal)
Managing tanks - a bottom-up approach
Governance by the government must give way to governance by the community if we are to preserve the tanks of Tamil Nadu, which are fast disappearing.
Seetha Gopalakrishnan
Posted on 12 Mar, 2014 10:31 AM

Our day-to-day dependence on fresh water is tremendous, whether for domestic or agricultural use. Theoretically, we know that it is a finite resource and that it can't be taken for granted but in practice, we do. India has an average rainfall of around 1150 mm but lets out nearly 1263 billion cubic metres of water into the sea unutilized. 
Chengalpattu Eri
Integrated Farm Development: A user guide
This user manual on Integrated Farm Development by MYRADA is based on experiences at their farms. It will help extended functionaries, NGOs and farming communities adopt this practice effectively.
Seetha Gopalakrishnan
Posted on 08 Mar, 2014 10:29 AM

Integrated Farm Development (IFD) is an innovative concept in farming where various resources (farm waste) are integrated and utilised in order to reap maximum benefits. 
Integrated farm development: A user guide (Source: Seetha Gopalakrishnan, IWP)
Krishi Vigyan Kendra to the rescue!
To combat the water shortage caused by irregular rainfall as well as crop rotation patterns, the village of Nidhan in Madhya Pradesh implemented options suggested by the local Krishi Vigyan Kendra.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 07 Mar, 2014 10:27 AM

Nidhan is about 30 km away from its district headquarter Morena, Madhya Pradesh. The village receives an annual average rainfall of 450 mm concentrated in the months of July and August. While much of the village depends on rainfed agriculture, the main source of irrigation in the rabi (winter) season is borewells.
The farmer got bumper crop of pigeon pea
Princely' private ponds
The 'Apna Talab Abhiyaan' programme promotes the building of private talabs on peoples' lands to help improve groundwater recharge in Bundelkhand.
Amita Bhaduri
Prabhat Jha
Posted on 07 Mar, 2014 10:14 AM

Charkhari, a princely state of India in the colonial period was once a beautiful settlement founded by Saurabh Singh Bundela, a Rajput King. Acceded to India post-Independence, the town is now located in Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh. The place was home to intricate water management systems in the past.
A talab in the fort city of Charkhari
Wildlife Board approves controversial irrigation projects in Maharashtra
Policy matters this week: Maharashtra's controversial irrigation projects approved; DJB asked to discard metal pipes; SC notice to Centre, UP and Haryana over flow in Yamuna and Ganga.
Swati Bansal
Posted on 05 Mar, 2014 11:23 PM

Maharashtra's controversial irrigation projects get a green signal
Irrigation canal in Maharashtra (Source:Wikipedia)
A school for 'dropouts'
Vigyan Ashram, a vocational education school in Pabal, Maharashtra, gives all students a second chance. It teaches innovation and creativity and encourages them to learn by doing.
Hamsa Iyer
Posted on 24 Feb, 2014 04:29 PM

'Development through Education and Education through development’ is the motto of Vigyan Ashram, a residential school situated in Pabal, Maharashtra. Dr.Kalbaug founded Vigyan Ashram on the principles of natural systems of learning.
An Ashram built by its students, for its students
Adapting to a changing climate
In recent years, Meghalaya has begun to face the effects of climate change. Watch how local farmers have adapted farming techniques and type of crops to accommodate these changes.
Usha Dewani
Posted on 24 Feb, 2014 04:24 PM

Meghalaya, the wettest place in the world till date, has started facing the consequences of climate change. In the recent past, the state has seen pronounced variability in rainfall. This has given rise to myriad problems in the predominantly agricultural state.
Arecanut is susceptible to climate change impact
Farm like the rishis!
Raju and Shalini Titus have been engaged in no-till farming for over 23 years. Contrary to pop wisdom, their net income has gone up because of increased yields and a reduction in input costs.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 09 Feb, 2014 08:20 PM

It all started in the eighties when Friends Rural Centre, a group of Gandhian Quakers in Rasuliya village, near Hoshanagabad, Madhya Pradesh came in contact with Masanobu Fukuoka.
Results of no till farming; Image: Titus
Pooling borewells and opportunities
Groundwater use is synonymous with individual rights. Malkaipeta Thanda, a village in Andhra Pradesh, has shown the opposite-that a community can share and benefit from it too.
Harshvardhan Dhawan
Chicu Lokgariwar
Posted on 03 Feb, 2014 12:48 PM

Gamalibai is a farmer in Malkaipeta Thanda, a small tribal hamlet of the Lambadi community in Ibrahimpur village, Ranga Reddy district in Andhra Pradesh. She does not have much in common with the image of the hearty, prosperous farmer that beams at us from posters selling agricultural machinery.
Gamalibai on her farm
Power corridors for each river basin in Himachal
Policy matters this week: Expert team moots plan to develop power corridors for each basin; Maharashtra govt to make drip irrigation a must for cash crops; DJB to formulate policy to treat greywater.
Swati Bansal
Posted on 29 Jan, 2014 12:28 PM

Plans to create power corridors for each river basin on its way
Hydropower transmission (Source: Wikipedia)
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