In the semi-arid tropics water is a precious resource that often does not trickle down to small farms. Farmers who can afford borewells, save their crops during dry spells in the cropping season whilst others watch crops and investment dry up. Now, a CSR project led by ICRISAT has shown how watershed interventions contributed to a 2-meter rise in groundwater in Anantapuramu district, Andhra Pradesh state, South India. The RECL-ICRISAT watershed sites provide proof of concept for holistic solutions that improve system productivity and livelihoods. In project villages compared to non-watershed villages, even a 10-foot deep farm pond yielded quick access to irrigation water. Eighty new ponds dug during 2020-21 created extra storage capacity of around 16,000 m3 bringing the total to 66,000 m3, benefiting 1500 smallholders in the region by providing water all year through.
Remote sensing /GIS and hydrology studies coupled with ground…
Photo Credit: Arun Seshadri/ICRISAT
