adaptive sustainable agriculture in climate change adaptation in rainfed regions of maharashtra,...

Wel Come To This presentationBy J R Pawar,

WOTR/SIED, INDIA

7th International conference on

Community Based Adaptation To Climate ChangeCommunity Based Adaptation To Climate Change

April 22-25, 2013 Dhaka

Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) 1

Adaptive sustainable agriculture in Adaptive sustainable agriculture in

Climate Change Adaptation Climate Change Adaptation

in in RainfedRainfed Regions of Regions of Maharashtra, Maharashtra,

Madhya Pradesh and Andhra PradeshMadhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh

An Overview

Sustainable Agriculture

• Agro Metrology-for tracking weather patterns at the

village level leading to generation of advisories to farmers on what steps to take in emergency conditions.

• Water budgeting- To use water judiciously for humans,

agriculture and livestock with a view to optimizing agriculture and livestock with a view to optimizing benefits in a context of climate variability, erratic rainfall and possible drought.

• Adaptive Sustainable Agriculture-System of Crop Intensification , Promotion of organic fertilizers and low external inputs ensures high productivity as well as soil health.


Agro Metrology

• WOTR’s Agro-Meteorology component of Climate Change Adaptation Project -includes locale-specific Met-advisories and Agro-advisories for timely weather information to help farmers plan their agricultural activities. Also a web based initiative, it is marked by its unique farmers plan their agricultural activities. Also a web based initiative, it is marked by its unique automated platform and software to provide village wise weather trends that can be widely up scaled.

• The advisories and met-forecasts are shared with the communities through phone and smses.


What problem is being addressed?

• Agriculture is weather dependent at the local level. Yet, currently, farmers do not have access to reliable locally relevant meteorological and agricultural information by which to plan and manage their farming operations. Information presently available is based on inputs from weather stations that are located at taluka places and which are manually obtained. In the monsoon-driven weather system that is ours, local agro-meteorological conditions, especially rainfall, vary within even a kilometer; and such distantly located weather stations are not able to provide data and such distantly located weather stations are not able to provide data that can generate locale-specific knowledge and advisories. In earlier days, before technology drove our lives, the elders of the village planned their agriculture activities based on how they sensed the forthcoming weather and what they observed in the surrounding flora ( plants and trees) and fauna ( insects, birds and animals). Most of this indigenous knowledge is now lost.

• It is, thus, important to retrieve, document, analyse, utilize and disseminate practices that are promising and useful.


The Agro-meteorology ensures:

• Local weather data is available to the farmers.

• Local community understands and uses weather information for


weather information for agriculture planning and management.

• Agro-advisories are provided based on local weather data.

Key Achievements (2012-13)

Automate

d

Weather

Stations

Indian

Meteorological

Dept., New

Delhi

Weather-Based Crop Advisories through SMS

Preparation of

Crop Advisories

Krishisalla by

Experts

Automated

content

Management

system &

Crop

Weather

Calendar

Software

SMS

Advisories

Water budgeting

• WOTR’s conceptualization of Water Budgeting

is geared towards ensuring optimum and most

efficient use of water. This involves gaining an

understanding of water availability, understanding of water availability,

community’s existing needs and requirements

of water, crop-planning based on water

availability, optimizing irrigation, equitable

sharing of excess water, and considered

decisions on groundwater withdrawals.


Water budgeting

• This kind of integrated approach and exercises help the village community understand the implications of the different patterns of water use that are prevalent. By obtaining village level water availability data (from the rainfall and that obtained from the well data), the people are able water availability data (from the rainfall and that obtained from the well data), the people are able to assess the water available at their disposal for the coming months, plan the judicious uses of water and decide on the crops accordingly, after taking into consideration the needs of households and livestock.


Water budgeting

• This consideration of various local claims on

water resources in the village provide a strong

basis for making decisions regarding the

different and appropriate cropping patterns, different and appropriate cropping patterns,

area to be taken for cultivation, the method of

application of irrigation water, imposition of

water use charges, if any, that arrives at not

only equitable sharing of waterbut

also optimizing output per drop of water.


Water-budgeting in Gram Panchayats

Key Achievements (2012-13)

Pan-evaporimeter

Stone Bunds

Land Treatments: Catching Rainwater Everywhere!Land Treatments: Catching Rainwater Everywhere!Land Treatments: Catching Rainwater Everywhere!Land Treatments: Catching Rainwater Everywhere!

Adaptive sustainable agriculture

• WOTR has been extensively promoting sustainable agriculture practices as part of its adaptive sustainable development approach. The objective is to promote low external inputs, increase land productivity, use of indigenous seeds, and reduce cost of cultivation. This increase land productivity, use of indigenous seeds, and reduce cost of cultivation. This involves promotion of agricultural demonstration plots, vermi-compost pits, training farmers on better practices of transplantation, crop geometry (spaced planting), soil and manure preparation, correct tillage operations, seed treatment, better sowing methods etc.



• FFS is an effort toward bringing new technological advances in organic and sustainable agricultural practices at the village level, right to farmers’ homes. It aims at achieving maximum yield at the least cost to farmers, while also keeping in mind the long term sustainability of their lands.

• What is unique about FFS is that it has been able to bring the benefits of an existing government programme of technical benefits of an existing government programme of technical guidance for farmers directly to the community through NGO facilitation. The technical support in FFS is given by the Government Agriculture Departments at District and Taluka

• The farmers collected in groups once a week and were guided by various experts on different subjects- preparation of the land, sowing of seeds, spacing of the crop, kinds of pests, the correct time and amount of fertilizers and pesticides to be used, weeding etc. They were also taken on exposure and training visits and to see the work of other group farming endeavours.



• Through FFS, farmers now have an effective platform which they can now use to avail information about relevant schemes and also for the overall development of their villages. FFS also has a very strong social impact by being open to all levels of farmers and bringing them together as a group with common bringing them together as a group with common concerns. The farmers have now realised the potential of coming together as a group. One can also see a gradual change in the attitude of young farmers. The trend of rising disinterest in agriculture has been replaced with greater enthusiasm and dreams for the future.


Systematic Application of Organic

Inputs

Soil Preparation

and Management

System of Crop Intensification

Micro-nutrient

foliar spray and basal

applications

Crop Geometry

4 step approach to enhancing productivity of both soil &

crop yields

FOOD & WATER

Co

nse

rva

tio

n,

Ma

na

ge

me

nt,

Use

Eff

icie

ncy

Adaptive Sustainable Agriculture

Water Budgeting

Water ��

Cropping Pattern

Water Sharing

Pilot Crop Demos/

Farmer Field Schools

FOOD & WATER

Co

nse

rva

tio

n,

Ma

na

ge

me

nt,

Use

Eff

icie

ncy

Water Budgeting Agro metrology

Sustainable agripractices

Water Conservation Technologies

Integrated Water-

Nutrient Mgmt

Integrated Pest

Management

Farmers Field

Schools

Crop

Demos training with

visual documentation

& exposure visits

on-site technical support

Market meets , Drip systems ,

Agro-advisories

Field Schools

scientific data

recording &

dissemination

incentivisation

enterprise promotion

Systematic Application

of Organic Inputs

Improves soil fertility,

microbial and organic

content

in the soil, maintains soil in the soil, maintains soil

texture

and most critical for dry

areas is "increases the

soils water holding

capacity,

Low cost

Crop Demonstrations

• Live demonstrations make a huge difference

Who we areWho we areWho we areWho we are

• No. of People directly impacted - >1,100,000

• No. of Watershed Villages - 1145

Vision: "Communities, especially the poor within, are empowered to live in dignity and secure their livelihood in sustainable eco-systems"

• No. of Watershed Villages - 1145

• No. of Project Villages - 2516

• No. of States Operating In - 6

• Total Area Covered (ha) - ≈696,000 ha

• No. of People Trained - > 310,000

• Support provided to Projects in Somaliland, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi .

Kachner Cluster

LEGEND

Project States

Project Districts

Project Blocks

Total Villages : 65

Districts / Blocks : 6

Area ha. : 40,734

Population : 63,282

WOTR’s Climate Change Adaptation ProjectWOTR’s Climate Change Adaptation Project

Narayanganj Cluster

(Niwas Tehsil, Mandla District)

Total Villages : 8

Area : 2,859 ha.

Tallakondapally Cluster

(Mahboobnagar District)

Total Villages : 3

Area : 2,290 ha.

Atmakur Cluster

(Kurnool District)

Total Villages : 3

Area : 2,041 ha.

Akole – Sangamner

(Ahmednagar District)

Total Villages : 41

Area : 29,142 haa.

Kachner Cluster

Aurangabad /

Paithan Taluka

(Aurangabad

District)

Total Villages : 10

Area : 4402 ha.

Tools and Methodologies

Successfully tested and finalized various tools to aid bottom-

up project planning, design and execution

Vulnerability Assessment ToolVulnerability Assessment Tool

Disaster Risk Reduction Methodology

Methodology for implementing the PBRs

Livelihood assessment tools – CASDAAT and LM3

Thank You.

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