Indian farmers grapple with drought

(Photo : Xinhua)

Water budgeting expertise sought after among farmers

Amid continued drought in rural areas in India, farmers struggle to cultivate crops with less and less water. In some rural areas, illiterate farmers use their knacks in farming with less water and their farming expertise has now become a much-requested skill among farmers.

As the mercury soars above 40 degrees Celsius, ground water level across India is dropping, making it difficult for farmers to cultivate their fields. This is the season when farmers make a special effort to save their crops from wilting. Failure would see them migrate to the city to search alternative livelihood reluctantly.

In Appireddypally village 169 km south-west of the southern Indian city Hyderabad, a 38-year-old farmer stands next to a borewell, trying to measure the groundwater level. His tape shows the level of water 17 metres from the top.

Last week, the level was 16 metres below the top. “The level of water is falling fast. We must plan cropping that won’t require much water,” a farmer told fellow villagers.

“Water budgeting basically means taking stock of the existing amount of water for irrigation and planning one’s cropping accordingly,” a hydrologist said.

Under a World Bank-funded water management initiative called the “Andhra Pradesh Community Based Tank Management project,” Ishwar Reddy oversees training of farmers like Prabhavati Reddy in groundwater monitoring. The training is crucial for people in Appireddypalli village, which is in Mahbubnagar district that receives only about 600 mm rainfall in a year – far below India’s national average of 1,183 mm.

“Knowing how much groundwater is available each season for irrigation helps the farmers plan their cropping and ensure a profit, even in the face of adverse climatic conditions,” a hydrologist added.

Monitoring groundwater is important

Teaching villagers how to monitor groundwater is important, says project consultant Joseph Plakkottam. The project was a finalist at this year’s Water for Life award presented by the UN on World Water Day for best water management practices.

“Monitoring the water situation is the most important skill a farmer who lives in a dry area can acquire. If used wisely, it can help him significantly minimise the chances of a crop failure,” one farmer said.

Another farmer named Chenna Chinna Reddy can’t read or write. But he has no problems in understanding his teachers. “There isn’t a lot of water under the earth here. So, if I sow rice, tomorrow it will wither and I will lose all my money. I must also not grow crops that will require a lot of pesticide because that will also require lots of water,” he said.

Water budgeting expertise sought after among farmers

Barely literate the farmers might be, they are now sought by many for their expertise in water budgeting. Across the 276 villages of Mahbubnagar, hundreds of farmers have been learning water budgeting.

Many of these villages have a mini weather station. So, besides goundwater mapping, villagers also learn how to monitor rainfall. They then collect and collate such data for crop planning.

Appireddypalli has a community hall. On Sundays, it is used as a makeshift school for farmers. They sit on the floor, listening intently to their teachers – the first of the villagers trained in water budgeting. The teachers use a bundle of posters that has all the rainfall and groundwater data they collected earlier.

To encourage water sharing, the project has been providing farmers in each village pipelines that connect multiple farms, and a portable water mapping device, says a farmer.