Articles from General Knowledge Today

Rainfed Agriculture in India

2014- 01- 05 15:01:04 GKToday

Cont ent s
Basic Fact s- Ext ent of problem of Rainf ed Agricult ure
Charact erist ics and issues wit h Rainf ed Agricult ure
Issues Relat ed t o Rainf ed Farming
Issue -1 : Farmer suicides in Rainf ed areas
Issue 2: Green Revolut ion Rainf ed Areas Groundwat er Problem
Issue 3: Green Revolut ion Rainf ed areas - Change in t he
Cropping pat t erns
Issue 4: Groundwat er level
Nat ional Rainf ed Area Aut horit y (NRAA)
Rain-dependent areas can be broadly split int o t wo: 'dry lands', which receive
less t han 750 mm of rain a year; and rainf ed areas, which receive more t han
750 mm. Comprising arid and semi-arid ecosyst ems, dry lands st ret ch f rom
Gujarat in t he west t ill East ern Madhya Pradesh; and f rom Rajast han t ill t he
sout hern t ip of India.

Basic
FactsExtent of
problem
of Rainf ed
Agriculture
In India,
about 60%
of t ot al net
sown area
comes
under
rainf ed
lands.
Rainf ed
crops
account f or
48 percent
area under
f ood crops and 68 percent under non-f ood crops.

T he remaining 60%, which account s f or a subst ant ial part of agricult ural
out put , is rain-dependent .
India ranks f irst among the rainf ed agricultural
countries of t he world in t erms of bot h ext ent and value of produce. Due t o
populat ion pressure on agricult ural lands, t he poverty is concentrated in rainfed
regions. T he climat e in India's rainf ed regions is charact erized by complex
climat ic def iciencies, manif est ed as wat er scarcit y f or rainf ed crop
product ion. T he climat e is largely semi-arid and dry sub-humid wit h a short
(occasionally int ense) wet season f ollowed by long dry season. Rainf all is
highly unreliable, bot h in t ime and space, wit h st rong risks of dry spells at
crit ical growt h st ages even during good rainf all years. T he f luct uat ions are
due t o numerous f act ors af f ect ing t he monsoonal climat e including t he
at mospheric circulat ion and st rong links t o ENSO phenomenon in t he Pacif ic
Ocean.
Characteristics and issues with Rainf ed Agriculture
Rainf ed areas in India are highly diverse, ranging f rom resource rich areas t o
resource-const rained areas. Some of t he resource rich areas are highly
product ive and have experienced widespread adopt ion of t echnology.
However, most of t he areas are resource const rained and dry areas.
In t he resource const rained and dry areas, t he f arming is a survival
mechanism rat her t han a growt h orient ed act ivit y.
Rainf ed agricult ure is pract iced under a wide variet y of soil t ype, agro-climat ic
and rainf all condit ions ranging f rom 400 mm t o 1600 mm per annum.
Rainf ed Crops are prone t o breaks in t he monsoon during t he crop growt h due
t o wat er st ress. T his wat er st ress may be due t o variabilit y of rainf all, delay in
sowing, diversit y in crop management pract ice and variabilit y of t he soil t ype.
T he prolonged breaks can result in part ial o r complet e f ailure of t he crops.
Issues Related to Rainf ed Farming
Issue -1 : Farm e r suicide s in Rainf e d are as

In past , t he Rainf ed f arming syst em was mainly dependent upon t he locally

available input s (seeds, manures, animal draf t ) and used t o grow a number of
crops, which were able t o wit hst and drought -like sit uat ion. However, in recent
t imes, t he cropping syst ems have changed and current ly t he f armers in t hese
rainf ed areas have limit ed opt ions. Many of t he f armers in t hese regions
st art ed cult ivat ing high value crops which requires int ensive use of cost ly
input s (chemical f ert ilizers/ pest icides, hybrid seeds, lif e saving irrigat ion, f arm
energy et c.) and f ind it dif f icult t o manage t he resources on t heir own. T his is
t he major reason of growing f arm suicides in rainf ed areas.

Issue 2: Gre e n Re vo lut io n Rainf e d Are as Gro undwat e r Pro ble m

Green Revolution bypassed the less-favored rainfed areas which were not t he
part ners in t his process of agricult ural t ransf ormat ion. Green Revolut ion was
designed around growing high-yielding variet ies of wheat and rice, which
needed plent y of wat er and chemical input s. T he ent ire agricult ural research
f ramework, incent ive st ruct ure, price support , input subsidies, ext ension
syst em were designed t o 'f low' along wit h irrigat ion.
In t he f loodplains of t he nort h, t he f armers, realising rainf all risk was a t hing of
t he past , swit ched t o HYVs because canals were t here f or irrigat ion. However,
t he st ory was dif f erent in t he drylands. Here, seeds and f ert ilizers reached but
wat er did not reach. T hose who wished t o adapt t o t he new seeds and
f ert ilizers, creat ed t he predict able wat er supply f or t hemselves. When
elect ricit y came, t hese f armers invest ed in groundwat er pumps. T he result
was t ube wells became t he mainst ay of irrigat ion in India.
According t o a Planning Commission report , t it led 'Synopsis of Groundwat er
Resources in India', in 1960-61, canals and t anks account ed f or 61% of non-rain
wat er f or irrigat ion, compared t o 0.6% f or t ube wells. In 2002-03, t he share of
canals and t anks was down t o 33%, while t ube wells had increased t o 39%.
Issue 3: Gre e n Re vo lut io n Rainf e d are as - Change in t he Cro pping pat t e rns

T o reduce t heir vulnerabilit y t o rains, f armers in some areas grew crops such
as jowar, bajra and pulses. T hese crops are low-yielding, but less af f ect ed by
variat ions in rainf all. T his saved t he f armers f rom t he risky nat ure of f arming in
rainf ed and dry areas.
In t he same f ield, t hey plant ed mult iple crops. For inst ance, Jowar or pulses,
bot h drought -resist ant , would be plant ed alongside wheat , which gave high
yields in normal rains. T hey also maint ained livest ock or, if f orest s were in t he
vicinit y, gat hered minor f orest produce.
However, wit h t he advent of green revolut ion and advent of elect ricit y and
groundwat er t ube wells, t he cropping pat t erns also changed.
For example, t he f armers of Malwa (MP) used t o grow jowar during t he rains
and Malwi Ghehu , a local wheat variet y, af t er t hat t ill t he advent of Green
revolut ion. However, once t he pumps came in, f arming became a year long
act ivit y. Cash crops like soya displaced jowar. HYVs of wheat displaced Malwi
Ghehu. T his is t he st ory of almost all part s of India, and t hat is t he reason t hat
cotton, maize and soya remain the major crops of the rainfed areas of India.
Issue 4: Gro undwat e r le ve l

T he t oo much exploit at ion of t he groundwat er by t ube wells led t o t he

deplet ion of t his f init e resource. For example, in some part s of Madhya

Pradesh, t he groundwat er levels have plunged f rom 50 f t in t he 1970s t o 700 f t

now. T oday, it has t aken a shape of acut e crisis in six st at es of India.
Not e: If t he rat io of groundwat er ext ract ion t o groundwat er recharge is less
t han 70%, it is considered saf e; 70-90 %, semi crit ical; 90-100 %, crit ical; and
more t han 100%, overexploit ed.
Bet ween 1995 and 2004, t he proport ion of dist rict s in semi-crit ical, crit ical and
over-exploit ed has grown f rom 5% of t he agricult ural area and 7% of t he
populat ion t o 33% and 35% respect ively.
T he six st at es where t he level of groundwat er is unsust ainable are Punjab,
Rajast han, Haryana, T amil Nadu, Gujarat and Ut t ar Pradesh. Ironically, t hese
six st at es account ed f or half t he f ood-grain product ion in 2008-09.
National Rainf ed Area Authority (NRAA)
It was est ablished in 2006 t o give f ocussed at t ent ion t o Rainf ed areas of t he
count ry.
T his advisory body f ormulat ed some common guidelines f or t he Wat ershed
Development Project and is in consult at ion wit h all t he St at es f or it s
implement at ion