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)
Ripples of Sukhomajri
Sukhomajri village, the model of watershed development, is today a witness to man's changing priorities which is separating him from his environment. The video tells the full story.
Manu Moudgil
Posted on 25 Jul, 2014 11:46 AM
Sukhomajri village has long been a reminder of people's participation in ecological preservation and in turn, greater economic good.
The main irrigation tank at Sukhomajri
June 2014: The driest June in 113 years!
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 08 Jul, 2014 09:40 AM

India receives only 85.8 mm of rain this June
June 2014: driest since 1901
More crop per drop in the predicted weak monsoons
The monsoon is often regarded as the driver of Indian agriculture. What farmers need are simple solutions to reduce their vulnerability to the fickle rains.
Kamal Vatta and Romit Sen
Posted on 15 May, 2014 03:28 PM

Water and agriculture are closely linked in our country where 60% our net sown area is rain-fed. Indian agriculture is undoubtedly dependent on the monsoon where good rains have meant enhanced agricultural production, and a weak or bad monsoon has lowered production thereby impacting the economy.
Water and agriculture ( Source: Wikipedia)
80 countries agree to save oceans in UN-backed summit
News this week: 80 countries join hands to save the world's oceans; Panel blames hydel projects for 2013's devastating floods; Tumkur drought destroys more than 50% of coconut crop
Swati Bansal
Posted on 05 May, 2014 12:25 PM

80 countries join hands to save world's oceans
Oceans of the world (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Below normal' rainfall for India this monsoon: IMD
News this week: IMD predicts a below average monsoon this year; Himachal villagers reject govt's Assessment Report on Sutlej basin; Six years post-construction, Narmada canals breach every ten steps.
Swati Bansal
Posted on 28 Apr, 2014 10:18 PM

'Below normal' rainfall for India this monsoon: IMD
Monsoon in India (Source: journeys@remember)
Goa-Karnataka dispute over Kalasa-Banduri project resolved
Policy matters this week: Tribunal resolves Goa-Karnataka dispute over water project; TN protests Karnataka's water scheme in Cauvery basin; Resolve Delhi-Haryana water dispute: HC to Centre.
Swati Bansal
Posted on 22 Apr, 2014 11:07 PM

Tribunal's order over Kalasa-Banduri Project brings respite to Goa and Karnataka
Mahadayi River in Goa (Source: Wikipedia)
Maharashtra reels under hail storms and unseasonal rainfall
News this month: Maharashtra faces the impact of climate change; Developing El Nino raises fear of a weak Indian monsoon; India's water crisis to worsen in the coming years, says UN.
Swati Bansal
Posted on 31 Mar, 2014 11:23 PM

Maharashtra reels under hail storms
Unseasonal rainfall in Mumbai (Source: Wikipedia)
A village becomes water secure
Implementing rooftop rainwater harvesting, treating the catchment and building a community water tank are some reasons why Patkhori village is starting to sail through its water crisis.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 23 Mar, 2014 10:12 PM

Mewat, a historical region comprising of the present Mewat district of Haryana and parts of Alwar, Bharatpur and Dholpur districts of Rajasthan, lies in a semi-arid belt. It experiences variable rainfall annually and receives, on average, 336 mm to 540 mm, as per the Mewat Development Agency.
Water scarcity in Mewat
A multi-pronged approach to improve livelihoods in MP
Out-migration of residents and inefficient agricultural practices in Baldeogarh, MP have been partially resolved by an NGO's intervention, which focused on conserving water.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 17 Mar, 2014 03:46 PM

A little less than 40 km away from the district headquarters of Tikamgarh in northern Madhya Pradesh lies a watershed, which is an area of land where all of the water that is under it or drains off of it goes into the same place (US Environmental Protection Agency).
Farmer looks at the water conservation efforts
Technology and public awareness to combat climate change
Using community radio, messages about adapting to climate change and methods to do it were communicated to farmers in Bundelkhand.
Amita Bhaduri
Posted on 16 Mar, 2014 10:30 PM

In Jhansi, Bundelkhand farmers experience great uncertainties in agriculture due to erratic rainfall. Covering 13 districts of southwest Uttar Pradesh and Northern Madhya Pradesh with a population of approximately 21 million, Bundelkhand is a typical semi-arid region.  Around 83% of the area is rural and more than one third of the households are considered to be below the poverty line.
Crops appropriate to deal with climate change
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