The organization added that FAO requires USD 252.4 million to assist eight million people in Afghanistan in 2023, according to TOLO News…reports Asian Lite News
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a report that severe and widespread drought and a bitterly cold winter have impacted farmers in Afghanistan, reported TOLO News.
“Severe and widespread drought, in addition to an extremely harsh winter, have impacted farmers…,” reported the Food and Agriculture Organization. Referring to Afghanistan, the FAO added that 80 percent of Afghan families are dependent on agriculture for their livelihood.
“With 80 percent of families dependent on agriculture for their food and income, humanitarian livelihood support is critical,” FAO added.
The FAO mentioned in a report published in 2022, “Every USD $1 spent to protect rural livelihoods saved around USD $7 in additional humanitarian assistance, generated further income for Afghan families and supplied food in local markets.”
Moreover, the organization added that FAO requires USD 252.4 million to assist eight million people in Afghanistan in 2023, according to TOLO News.
Abdul Baseer Taraki, an economist, said that since the Taliban is not recognized, there is less assistance.
“Currently, our country is not recognized, the banking system is problematic, the business is down and we are forced to accept less than 30 to 40 percent of assistance,” he said.
However, Abdul Latif Nazari, the Deputy Minister of Economy, said that the main reasons for poverty are the imposed sanctions on Afghanistan and the suspension of international assistance for infrastructural projects, reported TOLO News.
“The sanctions and freezing of Afghan assets will undoubtedly have their effects on the livelihood of the people of Afghanistan,” said Nazari.
Furthermore, in June, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report said that the estimated number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan has surged to 28.8 million from 28.3 million which was recorded at the beginning of 2023, according to TOLO News.
Livestock farmers hit by drought
Livestock farmers said that due to drought in Bamyan province of Afghanistan, animal fodder has decreased which has made agriculture, especially feeding livestock, very challenging, TOLOnews reported.
Lamenting over the challenges faced by Livestock farmers on a daily basis in the province, they said that the lack of fodder is not the only problem but the occurrence of various animal diseases has also had a bad effect on livestock farming and has reduced their income, TOLOnews said. One of the Bamiyan livestock farmers is Mohammad Kazem. He claimed that while he once kept close to 60 sheep, he is now only able to feed10 sheep.
“The drought affected me so much that I was keeping fifty or sixty sheep at that time and that was easy for me. Now that I keep ten sheep, we are in trouble. Now our children are shepherding them. I give them water from the well,” Mohammad Kazem said, according to TOLOnews.
Livestock farmers claimed that in the past, their livelihoods were supported by raising livestock, but that this is no longer possible for them.
According to livestock farmer Mohammad Alim, “Drought and persistent pests have presented people with challenges, which has reduced the number of people’s livestock year by year.”
“Eighty per cent of the people have sold their livestock because of both disease and drought,” said Mohammad Baqir, another livestock farmer, as the situation remains grim in the province.
Given that the majority of Afghans live in great poverty, it is the humanitarian organisations that have navigated the way for Afghan families to get basic amenities and have provided essential relief and services to the people.
With time, the situation of people in Afghanistan has become miserable. People continue to face food shortages, and the basic amenities to live have become a far cry for all. Moreover, the situation of women in the country has only got worse. (ANI)
The visitors can expect the super-local, seasonal approach taken to the next level with the produce harvested fresh from the farm…reports Asian Lite News
More than 100 different species of natural and organic crops may be found at MharoKhet, a forty-acre experiential farm in Jodhpur that offers calming experiences in the midst of nature. The creators’ own creations, The Farm Tour and The Culinary Trail, are thrilling ways to experience everything the farm has to offer, from producing and harvesting fruit to cooking and dining.
MharoKhet offers multi-course, pre-plated, plant-forward eating as well as interactive walking excursions. MharoKhet is a majority-female, inclusive of the community, ethical agricultural business that highlights the beauty of agriculture and sustainable life. Almost every exotic crop is available to tourists, including figs, oyster mushrooms, strawberries, moringa, and Brussel sprouts. From October through March, when exotic produce is at its best, the farm is open to visitors. A range of farm-based activities are available, and one can reserve solo or group experiences.
Farm Tours: Thoroughly entertaining and educational, farm tours provide guests with exposure to sustainable farming, traditional methods of pest control and fertigation, the benefits and challenges of chemical-free agriculture, and best practices for growing native, exotic and indigenous produce. Additionally, guests can harvest some fruits or vegetables during the course of the tour.
Culinary trail: The culinary trail is a dining experience that consists of a seven-course, pre-plated, plant-forward meal, which is an amalgam of art, freshness and flavour; the open-to-sky dining has tables perched under the canopy of trees in a two-decade old guava orchard. The visitors can expect the super-local, seasonal approach taken to the next level with the produce harvested fresh from the farm.
Flagship Experience: The best of both worlds: the flagship experience at MharoKhet combines the distinct experiences of the farm tour followed by a multi-course culinary experience. Guests also have time to explore and relax at the farm, be one with nature, and soak in the surroundings. For example relaxing under the straw canopies on charpoys and observing cloud formations, fly kites etc.
Private Dining: Crafted specifically for those looking to celebrate a special occasion or wanting an exclusive, intimate setup, private dining experiences are arranged at select locations on the farm, away from where other guests are. Depending on the season one can choose to spend their time either in the chamomile fields, amongst the sunflowers, or under a blossoming Rohida tree.
The main objective of MharoKhet is to advance sustainable farming methods. MharoKhet uses regenerative techniques, such as trickle drip irrigation and rainwater collecting, to minimise the usage of plastics. The farm also aggressively promotes community involvement and women’s emancipation. In actuality, the majority of the women on the MharoKhet field team are female residents of nearby villages within a five-kilometre range.
Rajnush Agarwal, a scientist and entrepreneur with an Oxford education, runs MharoKhet with the help of his wife Vedika, a psychologist with a Columbia education. The origins of MharoKhet can be traced back to 2013, when Rajnush noticed a lack of the variety of fresh food he used to be able to find while travelling and visiting foreign countries. He started experimenting with farming at the family property, but it wasn’t until the Covid-19 pandemic that he had the opportunity to realise the farm’s potential for profit.
Initially, MharoKhet was a direct-to-consumer business that shipped fresh produce (with a focus on exotics) to Jodhpur residents within four hours of harvest. The goal was to distribute the fresh product to consumers as quickly as possible, not to become an aggregator. Customers began to understand that the produce provided by MharoKhet was of a higher calibre.
The local community had a growing appetite for crops. This increased local interest in visiting the farm, particularly among city inhabitants who wanted to experience rural life and witness how such exotic products are grown in a formerly arid region of Western Rajasthan. This inspired the creators to start providing tourists with immersive experiences, such as farm tours and authentically farm-to-table dining.
At COP26, CGIAR on Monday urged global leaders to ensure the 500 million smallholder farmers responsible for up to a third of global food production can adapt to climate change-induced loss and damage while curbing their greenhouse gas emissions…reports Vishal Gulati.
Rice is a staple crop in India as well as in many parts of Asia and Africa, but climatic extremes including rising sea levels — which causes inland salinisation — can seriously affect its production.
The adoption of ‘climate-smart’ rice has led to significant increases in yield in climate change stress-affected areas, including those inhabited by the most impoverished farming communities. The drought-tolerant Sahbhagi Dhan variety is specifically deployed in India.
At the ongoing 26th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in this Scottish city, CGIAR Managing Director (Research, Delivery and Impact) Claudia Sadoff talked exclusively to IANS in the context of how to help farmers to become “climate smart”, improving productivity and resilience while reducing emissions.
She said large-scale flooding is occurring with greater frequency in South Asia with many of the region’s most vulnerable people, who live in vast agrarian belts within the Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra-Meghna river basins, being the worst affected.
Index-Based Flood Insurance (IBFI) designed by CGIAR researchers combines satellite imagery with mathematical modeling to calculate flood damage and verify claims, avoiding the need for costly field visits and thus keeping premiums affordable and giving smallholders a valuable lifeline.
As another example, she said that a CGIAR project in Gujarat led to 3,500 farmers gaining access to solar irrigation offering excellent mitigation potential where the majority of irrigation pumps are diesel.
“Farmers also have a 25-year agreement with the local power utility to buy back surplus power, thus increasing energy access and alternative income while incentivising smart groundwater use and reducing carbon footprints.
— Canada's Ambassador for Climate Change (@CanAmbClimate) November 5, 2021
“The success of the pilot inspired a multi-billion-dollar government of India initiative to promote solar irrigation,” she said.
CGIAR is the largest global research partnership working towards sustainable and resilient agriculture and technology it has developed has helped yields triple in Europe and North America.
At COP26, CGIAR on Monday urged global leaders to ensure the 500 million smallholder farmers responsible for up to a third of global food production can adapt to climate change-induced loss and damage while curbing their greenhouse gas emissions.
Innovations are needed that can both reduce the contribution of global agriculture to climate change, and adapt to its increasingly evident consequences while also supporting livelihoods, nutrition and equality.
The call comes as the UK pledged $55 million over two years to boost commitments to CGIAR research from a steadily growing global coalition to surpass $1 billion.
The new pledges will contribute to an accelerating of research and innovation to confront rapidly intensifying climate challenges that could upend the global fight against hunger and poverty.
The first week at COP26 delivered significant support for climate innovation for farmers across the developing world. Pledges to CGIAR came from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and countries including the US, Canada, Sweden and Belgium, and now the UK.
Sadoff told that Indian rice farmers face a heavy toll from flooding just after crop sowing.
Recurring impacts of floods in India necessitate improving farmers’ knowledge of adaptation and coping methods along with improving flood-resilient infrastructure to reduce the damaging impacts on farming communities.
Swarna-Sub1, a submergence-tolerant rice variety developed within CGIAR, could play an important role in minimising the effect of flood on rice production. A recent study shows that the variety could be most beneficial for flood adaptation in districts of Bihar, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh, she said.
On the rice stubble burning in northern India that has long been a major cause of air pollution, she said CGIAR research has made a significant difference toward efforts to stop the harmful practice of rice straw burning, by providing a more ecologically friendly alternative.
“Zero tillage provides farmers with a mechanised alternative to burning and tilling land between the rice harvest and wheat planting season.
“The approach instead offers a way to sow wheat directly into unplowed paddies and rice straw, using innovative machinery and attachments that can chop the leftover rice stalks, spread the residue evenly as mulch, and plant seeds into the soil — all without the need for clearing.”
According to her, the climate crisis is exacerbating the degradation of food, land, and water systems, impacting productivity, viability and resilience.
“Business as usual will mean that zero hunger will be an unattainable goal. Food value chains that exploit natural resources beyond planetary boundaries, resulting in waste generation, deforestation, water pollution, ecosystem destruction, and biodiversity loss are a global problem.
“Combined, these impacts increase the vulnerability of the people whose lives and livelihoods depend on them — to extreme events and other shocks such as Covid-19.”
A key objective of CGIAR is to increase the resilience of smallholders who are on the frontline of climate change and there are many examples of climate smart innovations that have already been developed and many more in the pipeline.
Ramveer extended his stay and learned the farming techniques from the farmers for the next couple of weeks. After returning, he decided to experiment with the farming technique at home…reports Asian Lite News.
Ramveer Singh, an erstwhile journalist, is making headlines and this time, it is not for his write-ups. Ramveer has taken up hydroponic farming in a big way.
Hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture which involves growing plants without soil, by using mineral nutrient solutions in an aqueous solvent.
In 2017-18, Ramveer travelled to Dubai for an agriculture-related event and witnessed hydroponics farming.
“I was inquisitive about this type of farming method. It did not require soil and could be grown with less pest infestation. Moreover, it saved almost 80 per cent of water required for growing plants,” he says.
Ramveer extended his stay and learned the farming techniques from the farmers for the next couple of weeks. After returning, he decided to experiment with the farming technique at home.
He has now converted his three-storied house into a hydroponics farm that earns him lakhs.
Ramveer started using pipes and other infrastructure to set up the hydroponics systems in his balcony and open spaces. “I installed two methods for the farm using Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) and Deep Flow Technique (DFT).
“At present, the farm is spread across 750 sq meter space, hosting over 10,000 plants,” he adds.
He grows okra, chillies, capsicum, bottle gourd, tomatoes, cauliflower, spinach, cabbage, strawberry, fenugreek and green peas.
“I grow all seasonal vegetables with hydroponics. The system is designed using PVC pipes and circulates the water with the help of gravity. The arrangement ensures that about 16 nutrients such as magnesium, copper, phosphorus, nitrogen, zinc and others reach the plants by introducing them in the flowing water. The method saves 90 per cent use of water,” he explains.
Ramveer believes that the hydroponic farming technique is healthier and better than organic farming.
“I feel that the vegetables grown in hydroponics farming have better absorption of nutrients. Moreover, the method has no risk of soil pollution. Farmers practising conventional farming may expose soil or plants by spraying chemicals or pesticides. Hydroponics farming is independent of harmful chemicals,” he says.
Ramveer also has a farm about 40 kilometres from Bareilly, but he is no longer dependent on it.
“I do not need to travel a long distance for my weekly supply of vegetables. I harvest it fresh from my home farm and use it in the kitchen,” he adds.
His impressive and unique farm has attracted the attention of passers-by as they felt awed by the concrete building covered with vegetables hanging over the sides. “Many have inquired and sought to install the system in their homes. I have helped at least 10 persons by installing the hydroponic system for them,” he adds.
As for being a journalist, Ramveer continues to freelance as per his convenience.
Pooja Rana, 27, a farmer who is also Patara’s panchayat chief, said that the water taps drawn from the springs in their hamlet are functional for barely an hour or two in the morning. In summers, the taps run completely dry…reports Asian Lite News.
Over the last decade, it has become increasingly hard for Sartama Devi to source water around her Uttarkashi village home in Uttarakhand and same has been the story for the rest of her co-habitants.
“Our water sources had been drying up with the diminishing monsoons. It has affected our livestock. In our fields, the koda-jhangora (Indian barn millet) crop had been withering away,” the 55-year-old said.
Water springs in small amounts in these mountain villages and exhausts quickly as the villagers use it for daily chores and to meet their livestock’s needs. These natural springs have not been sufficient for the 300 families in Patara village that have about 275 animals.
Pooja Rana, 27, a farmer who is also Patara’s panchayat chief, said that the water taps drawn from the springs in their hamlet are functional for barely an hour or two in the morning. In summers, the taps run completely dry.
It is ironic that the Bhagirathi river runs down from its glacial origin at the foothills of Patara — just 2-3 km away. It later meets the Alaknanda river and forms the Ganga. Despite being so close to India’s most extensive river system, Patara has struggled.
“People over the decades have migrated, leaving behind their farms. Many have settled on the Delhi-Dehradun road,” Devi said.
That is exactly why these Uttarkashi population is bringing chal-khals back to life. These percolation pits are saving women the time and effort it takes to find and carry water over long distances.
In 2019, Patara ushered in change when Sartama Devi formed the Him Patara Self Group to conserve water and revive water sources closer to the village.
With the men mostly absent, having migrated in search of better opportunities, the women became largely responsible for running the village. In their interactions with the local administration, they would constantly bring up the problems they were having with water.
It was then that the village development officer, Sunil Agnihotri, motivated them to set up a self-help group and establish contact with NGOs that were working on water conservation in the area.
The women started learning more about chal-khals; these percolation pits used to be built and maintained by mountain communities but this traditional knowledge had been lost over the years. In Pauri, Garhwal, Kumaun and other regions of Uttarakhand, several NGOs have been working the past few decades toward reviving chal-khals.
However, the work often happens in isolation, with a few villages benefiting and some hearing about it through word-of-mouth while many others still removed the means to access and implement this traditional knowledge.
A few years prior, there was some attempt to build chal-khals in Patara under MGNREGA but Sartama Devi said they were done without much thought (for example, they were built at non-ideal locations or even, once, cemented at the bottom rendering it useless) and the community didn’t know how to maintain them.
This time, the 100 or so women who had joined the initiative relied on hereditary knowledge to locate and revive old chal-khals that had fallen into disuse as well as scientifically evaluate ideal locations for new ones.
These percolation pits — usually measuring eight metres in diameter and one metre deep, though the size varies — are dug on sloping grounds. They collect water from the rain which seeps into the ground, improving the quality of the soil and recharging the groundwater. On the surface, it meets the villages’ everyday needs. A single waterbody can store up to 64,000 litres of water.
“For three years, the women from Patara relentlessly worked towards water conservation. Initially, all of our five chal-khals turned barren since we didn’t know how to maintain them.” They need to be routinely rid of the silt, mud and rocks that accumulate in the pits but due to lack of collectivism people stopped doing these traditional tasks and were dependent on the administration, she rued. “But we revived them and added new ones to the lot,” Devi said. At Patara, there are now 11 chal-khals that have collected and stored an estimated seven lakh litres of water over the past three years, helped along by the unseasonal rains.
Between the monsoons in June to September, the pre-monsoon rains in March and the occasional winter rains, the chal-khals are able to ensure a steady supply of water for a large part of the year. “We have built a majority of the chal-khals near the cattle yards to quench the animals’ needs. One cannot survive rural life without the animals,” Devi said.
The conservation effort has resonated among other villages in the district, in at least eight neighbouring villages people have started digging their own chal-khals. Devi received the Women’s Water Champion award from United Nations Development Programme India earlier this year.
Relief from relentless toil
Rana reflected on how the chal-khals have brought about a dramatic change in the women’s routines. “It has saved the women from toiling all day,” she said.
Earlier, the quest for water would consume the whole day. The women would start their days by foraging in the forest for cattle fodder, while trying to find a source of water. Upon returning, they would take the animals to the water source. “Some even carried water back to their homes in their cans,” Rana said.
Ram Pyari, a resident who worked with the women on the chal-khals, remembered carrying two containers of twenty litres back each day on her shoulders for her livestock. “Now, we do not have to toil unnecessarily. The water in the percolation pits will last us the next few months. It has also benefited the vegetables and herbs that several of us have planted in our fields,” she said.
These ‘nutri-gardens’ were also part of the efforts to improve nutrition among the women, many of whom were anaemic and easily exhausted from their arduous water duties every day.
The chal-khals have also provided some measure relief to farmers like Vijay Rana (35), who is cultivating black lentils, toor dal and paddy. “The earth has been rendered soft due to moisture retention. However, that is all the help that the chal-khals can give us. We still have to rely on the rain for most of the water as our fields are in the lower reaches whereas the percolation pits are on higher ground,” he said.
In Uttarakhand, 594 of the 16,793 villages depend entirely on natural sources, and about 90 percent of the population of the Himalayan region depends on springs for drinking water. A NITI Aayog report has highlighted the issue of drying water resources in the Himalayan region. In 2018, the state water board acknowledged that over the previous three years, every one of the 500 water supply projects had seen at least a 50% decrease in water discharge, with 93 of them seeing a decline of more than 90%.
Gaurav Kumar, chief development officer of Uttarkashi, confirmed that many sources in the district have indeed dried up, while a few others have been encroached upon. “New constructions have obstructed the sources. Freezing or solidification of soil due to construction and displaced boulders due to landslides have altered the flow of the mountain streams,” he said.
In light of this, the Uttarakhand government is working on reviving the water sources under their Swajal, a World Bank-supported initiative to promote the long term sustainability of the rural water supply. “We are working on restoring the water sources to their old forms,” Kumar said.
And chal-khals can play a crucial role in this. According to Vishal Singh, executive director of the Center for Ecology Development and Research (CEDAR), “We can improve the water system in the mountains by reviving springs. It can also improve the health of the forests as forests and water are both intertwined. For this, we have to map the recharge zones of these springs and carry out water conservation works here. Covering 2-3 hectares or more, these recharge areas can benefit from the construction of chal-khals and planting broad-leaf plants like oak. This is an effective solution to solve the problem of water in the Himalayan region.”
In view of the success of this three-year project in the first year itself, the state government is gearing up to start the second phase of this project soon…reports Asian Lite News.
Organic cluster farming on the banks of the Ganga river in 11 districts in Uttar Pradesh have not only reduced the cost of agriculture, but also increased the agricultural production and income of the farmers but also cleaned the environment.
The Yogi Adityanath government has launched a concerted campaign on this regard in the 11 districts of the state. Along with the objective of cleaning the river, organic farming is also being done on both the banks of River Ganga in these 11 districts under the Clean Ganga Mission.
According to a state government spokesman, under this project of the government, 21,142 farmers of the 11 districts, located along Ganga River from Bijnore to Ballia, have formed 700 organic clusters in an area of 14,000 hectares.
The farmers included in these clusters have grown various crops through organic method in the Kharif 2020 and Rabi 2020-21 seasons.
Kamta, a farmer from Ballia, said that he received all assistance from the government in growing, reaping and packing the organic products and got good price of their produce.
These products were displayed in the stalls of fairs, exhibitions and seminars organized at various occasions. Farmers have so far sold organic products worth Rs 2.76 crore from this project.
In view of the success of this three-year project in the first year itself, the state government is gearing up to start the second phase of this project soon.
Of the total project cost of Rs 71.40 crore, an amount of Rs 21.05 crore has been spent.
It is noteworthy that the state government, in order to double the income of the farmers, has created many facilities which included impetus to organic farming, switch to profitable crops and diversification in agricultural methods.
Taking note of villagers’ objection to the participation of rural women in community outreach initiatives, especially the need to undergo training in a different district, Sunanda took the lead to convince them…reports Sunil Balasaheb Dhumal.
Sayambachiwadi in Baramati tehsil in Pune district, once stricken with drought, is now a picnic spot with a large lake and thriving agriculture. The vision of local elected representatives and aid and expertise from the Paani Foundation has helped transform this village into a water surplus one.
At the epicentre of this transformation is the village lake, spread over 6 acres of land. Manicured lawns slope down the embankment beyond which lies a massive water body in which boating activities were held before the lockdown. Crash guard and drains abutting the asphalted road, fencing, walking track, an open-air gym and benches give this tank bund a plush, well-maintained look.
Located some 60 km from Pune and 30 km from Baramati, the village is spread over 1,403 hectares with a population of 1,800. The village receives moderate rain even during the monsoon and could harvest only the Kharif crop. Post the monsoon, the villagers had to rely on water tankers even to meet their drinking water needs. Four defunct lakes in the village only worsened the issue. Sayambachiwadi had to shed many inhibitions in order to bring about this change, driven by an outlook of villagers not to be tied down by the vagaries of nature, in general, and the southwest monsoon, in particular.
The Water Cup
A gram panchayat decision to participate in the Satyamev Jayate Water Cup organised by the Paani Foundation ushered a turnaround. The competition was hosted annually from 2016 to 2019 and thousands of villages in Maharashtra took part in it. Shramadaan or donation of labour is the key point of this contest in which the villagers put into practice what they learned in the training.
The idea to pitch their names into the ring came from Sunanda Rajendra Pawar, chairperson, Sharadabai Pawar Girls’ College in Malegaon, Baramati. For seven years, NSS students from the college had been undertaking camps in Sayambachiwadi. As part of these annual camps, the students had constructed seven bunds (an earth bank used to regulate the flow of water) in the village from 2011 to 2017.
In 2018, when the gram panchayat first considered taking part in the competition, they faced a mental roadblock. The condition that an equal number of contestants had to be women who needed to undergo six-day training for the competition outside their village was met with disapproval and the proposal fell through in the gram sabha.
Taking note of villagers’ objection to the participation of rural women in community outreach initiatives, especially the need to undergo training in a different district, Sunanda took the lead to convince them. Her intervention on the importance of water conservation increased women’s participation in the project through meetings, study tours, and this collective hard work helped the village overcome their reservations.
When the proposal was again tabled in 2019, Jaywant Bhapkar and his two friends from the village volunteered. Jaywant said, “At the gram sabha with my friends when no one volunteered for training, we registered our names seeing it as an opportunity for an outing. Since the rule mandated we needed an equal number of women – friend’s wife, a GP member, and a 65-year-old tagged along.”
Training Day
“The training was in Bichkool, a village in Satara district, where the welcome overwhelmed me. Different water conservation structures were built there. They helped us understand how these structures worked through demonstrations. We witnessed how a drought-stricken village was now water surplus. All of this changed my casual attitude,” Jaywant said, remembering the training days.
The returnees shared their Bichkool experience at the gram sabha. But septuagenarian Parubai Narayan Bhapkar remembered that residents of Sayambachiwadi were lukewarm initially to the idea and didn’t commit to participating in the work, believing it would not change things. Prithviraj Lad, the coordinator of Paani Foundation Baramati taluk, helped turn their reluctance into enthusiasm by showing them films of villages that had benefited from the training.
Participants gradually increased in number. On the eve of work, a torchlight march was taken in the village. Everyone took an oath before the Swayambhu (village deity) to work honestly in the competition. The village ultimately lost out in the competition, but they won in the long term.
Out of 19 types of structures that could be built as taught in the training, the local geographical conditions permitted only seven of them to be built. Groups were formed and each group was assigned a task. Villagers built continuous contour trenches (CCT) in the barren areas and revived natural water stream paths. Mud from all four defunct ponds was removed and dumped in 50 hectares of fallow land. Absorption pits were built in every house to retain water. Eleven interlinked farm ponds were created which filled up during the monsoon.
The CCTs, around 6 feet wide and 3 feet deep, which if laid out side to side would stretch out to 9 km, have helped increase the water storage capacity of the lake. Overflow from two such CCTs during the monsoon feeds the lake and the rest recharges the groundwater, which has helped increase the irrigated area to almost three and half times what was before.
Also, bunds were constructed on 250 hectares of land. With the village receiving copious rainfall in 2019 and 2020, all the old and new water sources in the village started overflowing creating an abundance of water in this once water-scarce village. The area under cultivation in the village was 80 acres in 2017 and this went up to 300 acres in 2020, including 250 acres under sugarcane, a notoriously water-intensive crop.
“Living in a drought-affected area, I had never cultivated cash crops. But in 2012, I started planting an acre of sugarcane. At that time I had some water in the well, so I added drip irrigation. All the while I was scared about the scarcity of water. After the water conservation work was done for the foundation, my well is full of water. Now I have five acres of sugarcane crop, in which four acres are under drip irrigation. And I don’t worry about water anymore, but I know the value of water,” Appasaheb Bhapkar, a farmer from the village said.
An era of abundance
Manohar Bhapkar, a former GP member, said that currently there is plenty of water in the village, which is a great relief to the villagers even during the pandemic. During the competition, he was responsible for managing the suction pits, 260 of which were being constructed in the village. This initiative helped treat wastewater from every household there.
Suman Suresh Kamble, a former sarpanch said, “Now my village is not drought-prone. In the past, we had to undertake a long trek every day for water and rely on tankers for water. Now our wells are full in summer also. From the gram panchayat fund, we started boating activities in the lake, created a garden around it, a track for exercise and an open gym for citizens. This now attracts people from Baramati and Pune.” Bamboo is also being grown on the embankment and it is expected that these activities will increase the panchayat income.
The efforts have also helped the village to improve groundwater levels. Lad talks about the village’s water budget which was calculated by accounting for and averaging water use in every household and for each activity. “Sayambachiwadi requires 269 crore litres of water. Before the water conservation in 2018-19, the village had a water deficit of 163 crore litres. After the competition in 2019, the village is left with 53 crore litres of surplus water and water available in wells at 3 meters,” Lad said.
“This has created a peculiar problem in that farmers have turned to water-intensive sugarcane. Proper planning of available water is essential. Meanwhile, due to the pandemic and lockdown since March 2020, we could not carry out water budgeting at Sayambachiwadi. Water conservation work will be beneficial only if farmers plan their crops by available water according to budget,” Lad added.
“As part of water budgeting, we are educating farmers to opt for drip irrigation and grow crops with less water. We have drawn up a five-year plan using various sources of funds under which bunds will be constructed on 200 to 250 hectares each year and 2000 saplings planted and nurtured every year, said Pramod Jagtap, who was the interim sarpanch.”
Sayambachiwadi is now a model for other drought-hit villages with villagers from outside the Pune district undertaking study tours. Rohit Pawar, MLA of Karjat Jamkhed, who visited the village said, “I will strive to implement this project in my constituency. Two groups from Karjat-Jamkhed visited Sayambachiwadi. I like the dedication of villagers, who invest government funds properly.”
(The author is a Pune-based freelance journalist and a member of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters)
