groundwater management: experiences of wassan

Groundwater Management In Rainfed Areas:

Requires A New Paradigm

Ravindra A,www.wassan.orgraviwn@gmail.co

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Drawing a parallel….Forestry:

– JFM / CFM : a new paradigm of managing forests, knowledge systems evolved

Soil and Water Conservation:– Participatory watershed development

These programs have brought..• Investments• decisions (relatively) into people’s domain• New actors closer to the field• new knowledge and new ways of knowledge

transfer• Had to accommodate people’s knowledgeIn all these A NEW PARADIGM HAS BEEN A DRIVING FORCE

What should be the direction of Groundwater Management

Agenda..?• Augmentation of sources?• Building more awareness on the crisis• More knowledge transfer to farmers /

communities/ community based monitoring?• Efficient use of ground water (micro-irrigation

etc.)• Regulation of use? (Acts, No-to-Paddy, ..)• More equitable distribution of access..??

Does these solve the problem..? In fact, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM..?

• Groundwater is NOT the problem of/for only those who have access to it.

• It is THE PROBLEM for those who do not have access to it.

Secure access to groundwater…

• Secures crops• Securing crops is securing investments• Higher investments leads to better crop

productivity stable incomes (if practices sustainable agriculture)

• Helps to diversify..• Reduces the climate change risks

Sl no

Farmer Name

Area in (acres)

Total produce (quintals)

Yield in Qt/acre Rate/Bag Total (Rs)

1 Balraj ** 2.00 6.50 3.25 2800.00 18200.00

2 Chinna Basappa 4.00 2.00 0.50 2800.00 5600.00

3 Pedda Kistappa ** 1.00 3.50 3.50 2800.00 9800.00

4 Chinna Kistappa 2.00 1.00 0.50 2800.00 2800.00

5 Bala Kistappa 2.00 2.00 1.00 2800.00 5600.00

Total 11.00 15.00 1.36 2800.00 42000.00

Pegionpea (redgram) :

** highlighted : with critical irrigation

In an year where crops have nearly failed due to a long dry spell:

India will still have 60% of its cultivated area as rainfed after exhausting all irrigation potential.

Substantial number of farmers depend on rainfed farming.

Subsidies flow with water:•Power subsidies•Fertiliser subsidies•Price support•Micro irrigation•Horticulture promotion.. So on..

For Rainfed farmers…

??

Are public investments driving a sustainable Groundwater Management agenda?

Investment on Wells and Borewells

0

500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Rs.

Cumulative investment on wells Cumulative investment on borewells

Investment on wells Investment on borewells

More water conservation More Borewells

Micro-Irrigation: where we are heading..?

Subsidy for Sprinklers and drips in AP (Rs. Crore)

•Driving a large expansion of irrigated horticulture in drylands

• Reallocating water use –between field crops and horticulture

•Resulting in more number of borewells

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

T im e (Ye ar )

Perc

enta

ge (%

)

Tank % Canal % Total %

Total ( means tube well, dug well & others)

GW based

PERCENTAGE OF AREA OF RICE IRRIGATED BY DIFFERENT SOURCES IN ANDHRA PRADESH

• Changing the crop-patterns• Changing the food habits

What Must Drive the Public Investments on Groundwater in rainfed

areas?• Can groundwater investments trigger

• security to various rural production systems

• Security of livelihoods• Increase Productivity of water• Create Access to Groundwater for all

households

5 borewells – pooled

5 farmers, 48 acres total land

-No new borewells for at least 10 years

-MOU signed by MRO

-Rest-one BW every day (reduce usage by about 20%)

Coverage of all rainfed lands

Common operation

Commissioned in 2007

2 seasons data available

CHELLAPUR, Daultabad, Mahabubnagar

Irrigation type2006-

07 2007 2007 2007-08 2008 2008 2008-09

season Rabi Summer Kharif Rabi Summer Kharif Rabi

Irrigated 1.25 7.00 3 9.60

irrigated dry 7.00 1.25 19.5 1.25 14.5

Rainfed-critical irrigation 12.00

Rainfed-not irrigated 35.00 16.75

Total area in acre 7 1.25 43.25 19.5 3 39.6 14.5

Planning phase for Ground Water collectivization

1)Good rains received in this season and2) Pipe line

installation phase

Initial rains are late and below average rain fall

Area restricted through farmers’consultation

Ground water sharing in ChellapurArea under different Irrigation/crop types

Increased area - both irrigated and irrigated dry crops (earlier 5 borewells were continuously pumping– now 1 borewell rested every day as per norms). No new borewells are dug.

* Area in acres

72 farmers in 370 acres

33 borewells

Entire village has agreed to collectivize

- No new borewells

- All rainfed land must be covered

- non-borewell owners must also be covered

- Cost sharing

- No new borewells

Plans ready for 3 clusters & quotations are invited.

Gorantlavandlapalli:Nallacheruvu mandal, Anantapur

ACWADAM Supported in

• Where from the Investments come?

Evolve a Proactive GW Investment Package for Rainfed Areas

• Extensive pipeline network to reach out to much of the rainfed farms

• Triggering pooling of borewells • Trigger sharing of water to rainfed farmers

for critical irrigation• Priority to security of Kharif crops• Evolve robust governance systems to

enforce norms that the community has evolved for themselves.

• Move towards integrated farming systems

Knowledge Implications

A Practical View of Knowledge Back Up for GW Management

Agenda:• Avoid excessive quantification• Heuristics based understanding of the complex

systems• Integrate local benchmarks / indicators / proxies• How to establish database support for community

level negotiations. . . is a major challenge• A language amenable for communities to discuss

and discover.• Thumb rule calculations/ projections that can be

easily passed on to local level facilitators.• Take mapping tools to people (a hybrid of GPS

base + Google Maps)

To sum up…

• Evolve a new paradigm for groundwater management

• Substantive public investments as a driver for change

• Let the state backup with comprehensive resource support

• Evolve a new knowledge system