‘Best Practices’ under Integrated Watershed Management

Programme (IWMP)

Suhas P Wani, Kaushal K Garg and Team

ICRISAT Development Center

Mission

To reduce poverty, enhance food

and nutritional security and protect

the environment of the semi-arid

tropics by helping empower the

poor through science with a human

face

Our locations

ICRISAT’s Vision and Mission

Vision

Improved well-being of the poor of

the semi-arid tropics

Per capita water resources availability

is decreasing Example India case

Source: CWC, Government of India

Groundwater use status in India

Details Values

Total Agricultural Land 142 Million ha

Rainfed area ~ 60%

Irrigated area ~ 40%

Surface water irrigated area 21 Million ha

Groundwater irrigated area 27 Million ha

Total groundwater withdrawal (1960) 25 Km3

Total groundwater withdrawal (2009) 250-300 Km3

Number of bore wells (1960) 1 Million

Number of bore wells (2009) 20 Million

Source: Government of India

Importance of Rainfed Agriculture

Contributes 60% of

world’s food fro % of cultivated land

Ho e of world’s poor a d malnourished people

Yields from rain-fed

agriculture are low in

semi-arid tropical agro-

ecosystems

Green revolution drove

away food shortage of

’s ut at a ost

Poverty

Population explosion

Energy Security

Water scarcity and upcoming climate

change

Land degradation and depleting ESS

Human health

Common Challenge:

Eliminating rural poverty and sustainable development Emerging Issues

Curre t far ers’ yields are lower y to folds tha the achievable yields

Vast potential of rainfed agriculture needs to be

harnessed

Huge untapped potential exist in rainfed

areas: Need for Sustainable intensification

Sustainable Intensification, Watershed-

based Land Use Planning, Increased

Efficiency of Resources

Land

Water

Energy

Nutrients

Labor

Convergence

Collective action

Capacity building

Consortium for

technical backstopping

Consortium Approach for Community

Watershed Management

Formation of Community-based

Organizations

• Representation of community including

land less and women

• community mobilization and rapport

building

• Knowledge based entry point

• Collective action and transparency

Far ers’ Ce tri Watershed as an Entry Point

Holistic livelihood approach

Sustainability, empowerment and Knowledge sharing

Social inclusion (equity & gender)

Identifying watershed and suitable

interventions: Use of advance technologies

•Google earth image

•Delineation of stream network using DEM

• Landuse details using remote sensing

•Simulation modeling

Groundnut on BBF, Kurnool, A.P.

Field-based Soil and Water Conservation

Measures Benefited Farmers

Contour cultivation

Broadbed and furrow

Flat on grade

Conservation furrow

Border strips

Field bunds

Vegetative bunds

(Gliricidia and Vetiver plants)

Conservation furrow system, Mahaboobnagar, A.P. Contour cultivation, Xiao Xincun watershed, China

RWH protocol should be reconsidered with

changing climate situation

• There is no defined protocol for rainwater harvesting as per agro-ecosystem

• Most of RWH design protocols are based on medium rainfall zone but not for low and high rainfall regions

• This over capture or under capture the potential of rainwater harvesting

• Need to be reconsidered the capacities of RWH structures with upcoming extreme events

To mitigate dry spells, recharge groundwater,

enable off-season irrigation and permit multiple

uses of water

Low cost structures throughout the topo-sequence

helps in addressing equity issue

Decentralize approach of water harvesting

addresses equity issue and enhance

number of ecosystem services

Low-cost mini percolation tank

Water harvesting and aquifer

recharging How Much ?

Monsoonal Water Balance at Kothapally: Jun to Oct

Rainfall

(mm)

Outflow

(mm)

GW

Recharge

ET

(mm)

Other

(mm)

750 60 (8 %) 120 (16 %) 540 (72 %) 30 (4 %)

Watershed interventions enhanced groundwater

recharge by 50-80 %

Water balance in Kothapally watershed

No Int. vs. Max Int.

Hydrological

Parameters

No Intervention

stage

After AWM

interventions

Rainfall (mm) 750 750

Runoff (mm) 143 (19 %) 60 (8 %)

ET (mm) 512 (68 %) 540 (72 %)

GW recharge (mm) 70 (9 %) 120 (16 %)

Change in SMC (mm) 25 (3 %) 30 (4 %)

Soil loss reduced by 3 to 5 folds after implementing

AWM interventions in Kothapally watershed

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0 50 100 150 200 250 300

Daily rainfall (mm)

Soil

loss

(to

n/h

a)

Post w/s development

Pre w/s development

Water saving/crop Intensification

through Demand management

Enhancing green water use efficiency

Land form management

In-situ interventions

Enhancing blue water use efficiency

Supplemental irrigation

Improved method of irrigation

Irrigation scheduling through WIC

Waste water treatment thru low cost

technologies/ Constructed Wetlands

Productivity enhancement thru

Participatory cultivars selection

• Identify cultivar

• Farmers selection

• Farmers participatory demonstrations

Pearl millet and pigeonpea with micronutrients amendment (left) and with farmers practice (right)

Productivity enhancement thru various

improved agronomic practices

Integrated Nutrient

Management

Integrated Pest

Management

Improved crop

varieties

Agro-forestry

Fodder availability

Bhoochetana: Mean yields of

ragi, maize and soybean from

farmers’ fields in different districts of Karnataka during

kharif season 2009

Improved Livestock for

Livelihoods

Micro-enterprises: Improved Livelihoods

in Benchmark Watershed

• Vermicomposting

• Value addition: Daal mills

installed

• Village-based seed bank

• Nursery raising by SHGs

In Adarsha watershed, Kothapally 100 farmers send 10 t fresh vegetables everyday directly to supply chain with +2000 Rs t-1

Involvement of Youth

Example: Bhoochetana in Karnataka

Farm Facilitators (FF) and Lead Farmers (LF)

Every 500 ha one FF and 2-3 LFs

Knowledge Sharing

Innovative Extension Systems

Monitoring and Evaluation

Data monitoring:

• Baseline characterization

• Hydrological Monitoring

• Soil loss and water quality

• Socio-economic data

Analyzing impact:

• Understanding hydrology

Groundwater recharge

Upstream-downstream

interaction

• Technical and economical

feasibility

ICRISAT is a member of the CGIAR Consortium