Rainfed Agriculture

Featured Articles
August 10, 2022 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 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 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 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 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 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)
Using water sustainably in agriculture: Increasing productivity and farm income
Better water management in agriculture will go a long way in improving our crop productivity and thereby total output to feed the masses, not only of India but also of other parts of the world. Posted on 29 Aug, 2009 01:29 PM

Agriculture is a vital sector in India with about 60% of the population engaged in agricultural vocations and contributing to about 30% of the GDP. It consumes about 80% of water used in the country and 76% of the net irrigated area in the country is from ground water sources.

Efficiency of water use in Indian agriculture - Madras Institute of Development Studies
This working paper by the Madras Institute for Development Studies informs that the increase in the demand for water in all sectors especially in agriculture, and dwindling nature of the per capita availability of its supply in recent decades has induced scientists and researchers to focus their attention more on efficient use of available water. However, informed discussion of the problem and its solutions is impeded by the lack of adequate and reliable knowledge of how much water is used, where, for what purpose and how efficiently. This paper is a modest attempt to fill this gap. Posted on 29 Aug, 2009 01:10 PM

This paper by the Madras Institute for Development Studies presents estimates of the ‘consumptive use’ of water in crop production; the ratio of consumptive use to gross water utilization; and productivity per unit of consumptive use.

Summary for policymakers: Synthesis of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report
A brief overview of the sector-wise projected impacts of climate change on agriculture, water resources, human health as well as industries and settlements Posted on 25 Aug, 2009 03:43 PM

Altered frequencies and intensities of extreme weather, together with sea level rise, are expected to have mostly adverse effects on natural and human systems.

How does melting ice caps and changing climate affect us? Impact of climate change on major crops
Climate change and increasing population could trigger a global food crisis in the next half century as countries struggle for fertile land to grow crops and rear animals. Posted on 21 Aug, 2009 03:51 PM

The UN Panel on Climate Change is informing the world on what damage global warming can cause. But a recent study shows how temperature changes have already hit the global economy and Indian agriculture is suffering the brunt of it.

Impact of climate change in India: An agro - ecological zone level analysis
A detailed look at the possible impacts of climate change on the different agro - ecological zones demarcated in India Posted on 20 Aug, 2009 06:04 PM

India is gifted with heterogeneous landforms and variety of climatic conditions such as the lofty mountains, the raverine deltas, high altitude forests, peninsular plateaus, variety of geological formations endowed with temperature varying from arctic cold to equatorial hot, and rainfall from extreme aridity with a few cms (<10 cm) to pre humid with world's maxim

Fed by rain - India's rainfed and poorest areas overlap
India's rainfed areas are agriculture intensive - 85% of the employed people in these areas are engaged in agriculture. Posted on 20 Aug, 2009 03:52 PM

Consisting mainly of arid and semi-arid areas and the country's 200 backward districts, these rainfed regions are concentrated in 13 states.

Annual average availability of water for agriculture in India as of 1991
This map shows the river basin-wise annual average availability of water (in m3) for agricultural cultivation, as of 1991 Posted on 20 Aug, 2009 02:50 PM

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Rashtrita Jal Chetna Yatra: Efforts of Tarun Bharat Sangh and Rajendar Singh in addressing water related concerns across the country
A detailed write up about the aims, aspirations and achievements of the Rashtriya Jal Chetna Yatra Posted on 20 Aug, 2009 02:20 PM

Tarun Bharat Sangh and Rajendar Singh started a massive campaign to spread awareness of traditional water harvesting structures in order to restore the water resources of arid Rajasthan. The aim was to popularize the use of such traditional structures across the country.

Collection of articles on climate change with special reference to India
The following documents address various issues related to climate change, particularly highlighting the Indian context Posted on 20 Aug, 2009 12:36 PM

Climage Change, Indias perceptions, positions, policies and possibilities, written by Jyoti K Parikh and Kirit Parikh, Indira Gandhi

Half full, Half empty: A WaterAid publication on the drought and drinking water crisis in Bundelkhand
The paper presents a situational analysis of the crisis and challenges of drinking water in Bundelkhand in the overall context of the drought spell in 2007 Posted on 11 Aug, 2009 01:44 PM

This paper on Bundelkhand from their Water and Sanitation Perspective series of WaterAid presents how ecological degradation and faulty policies make drinking water scarce and less accessible.

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