Farmers want to cultivate more crops, especially vegetables and fruits, in the hilly regions of Nepal and India. They cannot do so without access to reliable water. Solutions like “integrated watershed management, water harvesting, multi-commodity farming systems, bamboo drips, and storing rainwater in plastic-lined ponds or ferro-cement tanks” were tried but only met part of the farmer’s water requirements.
The Multiple-Use water Schemes (MUS) have been developed for farmers to have improved water supplies in Nepal and India. Once rolled out, MUS meet both household and agricultural needs during wet and dry seasons. Moreover, the low set-up costs of US$ 200 per household, low maintenance costs and a return on investment of one year are clear advantages. In practical terms, MUS contributes an extra annual income of some US$ 190 per household in additional crops.
As for the design, it is a simple yet effective recipe “based on: groundwater/lake water lifting and distribution; rainwater collection and distribution; springwater distributed by gravity system; and stream/river water supply after treatment.” MUS are made so they could each cater to up to 80 households although generally it provides water for 10 to 40 households. Although priority is given to personal use in accordance with government policy, the MUS design catered to individual’s daily consumption of 45 liters and a household’s daily agricultural consumption of 400-600 liters. Mapping has also used in India to help spot the neediest locations. Women in these hilly parts of Nepal and India contributed to the MUS design, as part of the local user group requirements.
Other ripple positive effects have been found, particularly for women who are now gaining an improved standing in the community: they have taken actively participated in the implementation of the water systems projects and benefited from the supplementary income.
As for the implementation, MUS has been first set up in Nepal after which “cross-learning programs” have allowed the hilly part of India to also benefit from the innovative water system.
MUS is a well-rounded solution, developed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), the International Development Enterprises (IDE) and local stakeholders. The National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have also been highly supportive. All in all, a successful collaboration!
Read IWMI’s original publication.
For more information, kindly contact: Bharat Sharma – b.sharma (at) cgiar (dot) org
Photo credit: B. Sharma/IWMI