Sustainable Water Harvesting for Improving Food Security and Livelihoods of Smallholders under Different Climatic Conditions of India

Pankaj Panwar, Deepesh Machiwal (), Vandita Kumari, Sanjay Kumar, Pradeep Dogra, S. Manivannan, P. R. Bhatnagar, J. M. S. Tomar, Rajesh Kaushal, Dinesh Jinger, Pradip Kumar Sarkar, L. K. Baishya, Ningthoujam Peetambari Devi, Vijaysinha Kakade, Gaurav Singh, Nongmaithem Raju Singh, S. Gojendro Singh, Abhishek Patel, P. S. Renjith, Sharmistha Pal, V. K. Bhatt, N. K. Sharma, O. P. S. Khola, Sheetal K. Radhakrishnan, V. Kasthuri Thilagam, P. L. Bhutia, Kouberi Nath, Rekha Das, Dhiman Daschaudhuri, Arun Kumar, G. S. Panwar, S. V. Dwivedi, Sanjeev Kumar and B. K. Singh
Additional contact information
Pankaj Panwar: ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Centre, Sector 27-A, Chandigarh 160019, Uttar Pradesh, India
Deepesh Machiwal: Division of Natural Resources, ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur 342003, Rajasthan, India
Vandita Kumari: Division of Natural Resources, ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur 342003, Rajasthan, India
Sanjay Kumar: College of Forestry, Banda University of Agriculture & Technology, Banda 210001, Uttar Pradesh, India
Pradeep Dogra: ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Centre, Sector 27-A, Chandigarh 160019, Uttar Pradesh, India
S. Manivannan: ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Centre, Fern Hill (POST), Udhagamandalam 643004, Tamil Nadu, India
P. R. Bhatnagar: ICAR-Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal 132001, Haryana, India
J. M. S. Tomar: ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, 218 Kaulagarh Road, Dehradun 248195, Uttarakhand, India
Rajesh Kaushal: ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, 218 Kaulagarh Road, Dehradun 248195, Uttarakhand, India
Dinesh Jinger: ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Centre, Vasad 334603, Gujarat, India
Pradip Kumar Sarkar: ICAR-Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Tripura Centre, Lembucherra, West Tripura 799210, Tripura, India
L. K. Baishya: ICAR-Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Nagaland Centre, Medziphema 797106, Nagaland, India
Ningthoujam Peetambari Devi: ICAR-Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Umroi Road, Umiam 793103, Meghalaya, India
Vijaysinha Kakade: ICAR-National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Baramati 413115, Maharashtra, India
Gaurav Singh: ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, 218 Kaulagarh Road, Dehradun 248195, Uttarakhand, India
Nongmaithem Raju Singh: ICAR-Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Umroi Road, Umiam 793103, Meghalaya, India
S. Gojendro Singh: ICAR-Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Umroi Road, Umiam 793103, Meghalaya, India
Abhishek Patel: Regional Research Station, ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Bhuj 370105, Gujarat, India
P. S. Renjith: Regional Research Station, ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Bhuj 370105, Gujarat, India
Sharmistha Pal: ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Centre, Sector 27-A, Chandigarh 160019, Uttar Pradesh, India
V. K. Bhatt: ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Centre, Sector 27-A, Chandigarh 160019, Uttar Pradesh, India
N. K. Sharma: ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Centre, Sector 27-A, Chandigarh 160019, Uttar Pradesh, India
O. P. S. Khola: ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Centre, Sector 27-A, Chandigarh 160019, Uttar Pradesh, India
Sheetal K. Radhakrishnan: Regional Research Station, ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Bhuj 370105, Gujarat, India
V. Kasthuri Thilagam: ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore 641007, Tamil Nadu, India
P. L. Bhutia: ICAR-Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Nagaland Centre, Medziphema 797106, Nagaland, India
Kouberi Nath: ICAR-Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Tripura Centre, Lembucherra, West Tripura 799210, Tripura, India
Rekha Das: ICAR-Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Tripura Centre, Lembucherra, West Tripura 799210, Tripura, India
Dhiman Daschaudhuri: ICAR-Research Complex for North Eastern Hill Region, Tripura Centre, Lembucherra, West Tripura 799210, Tripura, India
Arun Kumar: College of Agriculture, Banda University of Agriculture & Technology, Banda 210001, Uttar Pradesh, India
G. S. Panwar: College of Agriculture, Banda University of Agriculture & Technology, Banda 210001, Uttar Pradesh, India
S. V. Dwivedi: College of Horticulture, Banda University of Agriculture & Technology, Banda 210001, Uttar Pradesh, India
Sanjeev Kumar: College of Forestry, Banda University of Agriculture & Technology, Banda 210001, Uttar Pradesh, India
B. K. Singh: College of Agriculture, Banda University of Agriculture & Technology, Banda 210001, Uttar Pradesh, India

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 12, 1-31

Abstract: In India, the per capita availability of water is projected to be 1465 m 3 and 1235 m 3 by the years 2025 and 2050, respectively, and hence, India would be a water-stressed country as per the United Nations’ standard of less than 1700 m 3 per capita water availability. India is predominantly an agricultural-dominant country. Rainfed agriculture in the country contributes 40% of food grain production and supports half of the human population and two-thirds of the livestock population. The country has 15 different agro-climatic zones, and each agro-climatic region has its own constraints of water availability and management along with the potential for their optimum utilization. Such situations warrant the formulation of regional-level strategies. Efforts were made to integrate and evaluate the feasibility of water harvesting and its utilization at twelve different sites representing six different agro-climatic conditions spanning pan India. It was found that water harvesting through tanks/ponds is a feasible approach and can increase the crop production as well as diversification. The results reveal that the range of crop diversification index increased from 0.49–0.85 to 0.65–0.98; the crop productivity index increased from 0.28–0.66 to 0.66–0.90; the cultivated land utilization index increased from 0.05–0.69 to 0.34–0.84; and the crop water productivity index increased from 0.20–0.51 to 0.56–0.96, among other production and diversification indices, due to additional water availability through rainwater harvesting intervention. Moreover, the gross return increased from INR 43,768–704,356 to INR 220,840–1,469,108 ha −1 , representing a 108 to 400% increase in the returns due to the availability of water. The findings of this study suggest that the water harvesting in small ponds/tanks is economical and feasible, requires less technological intervention, and increases crop diversification in all the studied agro-climatic conditions, and hence, the same needs to be encouraged in the rainfed areas of the country.

Keywords: water harvesting; crop diversification index; crop production index; crop land utilization index; crop water productivity index (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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