Rainfed Agriculture

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):
June 19, 2022
Hidden treasure: Adivasi’s traditional food diversity
Odisha Millets Mission is trying to bring back the glory of millets in tribal areas
A range of millet recipes and ready to cook items are sold by Millets on Wheels in Jashipur block in Mayurbhanj district. This initiative is supported by Odisha Millets Mission (Image: Odisha Millets Mission)
May 25, 2022
Non pesticide management – a viable alternative
A study assesses the impact of the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming programme
The APCNF policy promotes zero synthetic chemical inputs (Image: Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming Facebook Page)
April 24, 2021
Scaling up sustainable agriculture critical to improve farm incomes
Study by CEEW proposes several measures for promoting sustainable agricultural practices and systems, including restructured government support and rigorous evidence generation
SRI rice field (Image: Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 4.0)
April 1, 2021
COVID-19 and social protection: Impact in the agriculture sector
Lower transaction costs, minimal leakages, and immediate delivery make a strong case for direct cash transfers, says study.
Access to credit increased farmers' expenditures on farm-related activities. (Image: Pixy.org)
March 12, 2021
Strengthening the frontline for water security
Challenges and aspirations of community champions and how programs can address them
Kalyani Dash works with 150 households in the village directly and trains them on chemical-free farming techniques, water secure crop production, efficient water use in agriculture for a sustainable farming future as well as kitchen and nutrition gardening. (Image: FES)
Flawed embankment strategy converts Bihar into a watery grave
The engineering solutions put in place to tackle the issue of floods has created more problems than solutions in Bihar, says Dinesh Mishra in an interview.
Dinesh Mishra
Posted on 27 Jul, 2015 02:31 PM

Dr. Dinesh Kumar Mishra of Barh Mukti Abhiyaan, an authority on the river network of North Bihar speaks to India Water Portal about the flood problems, the skewed flood control policy of the Government, the Kosi breach of 2008 and the gargantuan interlinking of rivers project.
Floods in Bihar (Source: Usha Dewani, IWP)
Maharashtra's plan to seed clouds may sprout nothing
Altering cropping patterns and improving water management processes are better ways for the state to deal with drought than experimenting with inconclusive science.
Manu Moudgil
Posted on 15 Jul, 2015 10:19 PM

History tells of various methods by which people called upon the rains -- music, dance and religious rituals. The government of Maharashtra, however, plans to try out cloud seeding.
A Cessna 210 with cloud seeding equipment (Source: Wikipedia)
Living rivers, dying rivers: Ganga and the river systems of Bihar
The first lecture was on the Ganges by Rama Rauta and K C Sivaramakrishnan, and the third on the river systems of Bihar--Kosi and Bagmati--by Dr. Dinesh Mishra.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 10 Jul, 2015 11:11 AM

Introduction: The Ganges

The first discussion was on June 4 2011, in which Rama Rauta and K C Sivaramakrishnan shared their experiences of working with the government and people’s organisations to save the Ganga.
Kosi river, Bihar (Source:Wikipedia)
Integrated watershed management and public health
According to this study, implementing a watershed management programme in water scarce areas can lead to both improved water availability and health outcomes.
Sandeep S. Nerkar
Ashish Pathak
Cecilia Stålsby Lundborg
Ashok J. Tamhankar
Posted on 09 Jul, 2015 07:37 AM

Declining groundwater levels and increasing stress on water resources in rural areas in India is a major concern for development since the livelihoods of a majority of the rural population depends on agriculture and the availability of sustainable water resources. More productive use of rainwater is necessary to help mitigate the impact of water scarcity.
Velvety green mountains, catchment areas for the Khadakwasla dam near Pune
American Journal of Water Science and Engineering Papers published in the journal could be included by the following indexing databases: Google Scholar, CrossRef, JournalSeek, WorldCat, EZB, WZB, AcademicKeys, Researchbib, DRJI, etc.
Detailed information about author guidelines is available at http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/journal/guideforauthors.aspx?journalid=369
Posted on 06 Jul, 2015 08:50 PM

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Can MGNREGA come to the rescue of rainfed agriculture?
With water harvesting, conservation, drought proofing & renovation of traditional water bodies as core activities, MGNREGA has the potential to improve rainfed agriculture in India.
Niteen Kumar
Posted on 30 Jun, 2015 10:29 PM

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), which continues to be the largest public employment program involving Rs.34,600 crore in a period of just five years since its implementation, was enacted on August 25, 2005 and renamed as the
The future of rainfed agriculture in India
The link between climate change, drought and migration in Chhattisgarh explained
Erratic rainfall is forcing farmers to migrate to urban areas but officials under-report drought-induced migration due to the fear that this would be viewed as a failure of government mechanisms.
Janakaraj Muralia and Tamer Afifib
Posted on 29 Jun, 2015 09:59 AM

Climate change has resulted in drastic seasonal fluctuations leading to erratic rainfalls and prolonged droughts in India. This has been posing an increasing threat to the agriculture and food security of the country, with increasing stress on rural livelihoods and resources such as land, soil, water and forests.
Climate change, poor rainfall and drought (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Farmers field school in Jharkhand shows the way in integrated farming
The School has taught farmers how to use waste from their farms as inputs in their farming system. Other organic practices have improved the soil profile and water holding capacity of the fields.
Sharat Singh
Sanjay Gorai
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 14 Jun, 2015 03:38 PM

Chedua Bedia is a 47-year-old marginal farmer from Dubulabeda village, Angara block of Ranchi district. In addition to being a successful farmer, Chedua has founded a school and motivates other farmers from his village to attend classes!
A farmers field school at Angara
Yet another expert body formed to review Uttarakhand hydel project
Policy matters this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 08 Jun, 2015 08:30 PM

Centre constitutes third expert body to review Uttarakhand dams
River Ganga at Kaudiyala, Uttarakhand
The Maharashtra Groundwater (Development and Management) Act 2009
Shashank Deshpande, Deputy Director GSDA, talks to the India Water Portal on the background and features of the recently passed Maharashtra Groundwater (Development and Management) Act 2009.
Aarti Kelkar- Khambete
Posted on 25 Apr, 2015 02:16 PM

Please provide us some background on the hydrogeology of Maharashtra and its special features, which make it stand out as compared to the other parts of the country.
View of an open well
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