Extreme Risks, Vulnerabilities and Community - Based
Adaptation in India (EVA): a pilot study
Indo-Norwegian Research Collaboration on Climate Change Adaptation
Farmers in Kadwanchi village started managing their soil and water resources during 1996-2002 under the Indo-German Watershed Development Programme. They built cement bunds, CCTs (continuous contour trenches), earthen bunds, and farm bunds throughout the watershed. Even after the Watershed Development Programme was closed, farmers built farm ponds which helped them to conserve water that would otherwise have been wasted. Kadwanchi now boasts of about 300 farm ponds and intends to increase that number. Moreover, the village has collectively managed to conserve about 200 acres of pastureland as a common property resource for more than a decade. The land has been treated with trenching, afforestation and gully plug, and has helped restore the ground water table. In the drought of 2012-13, farmers concentrated on high-value horticulture crops and administered moderate irrigation only at crucial stages to their grape and pomegranate orchards. Some smallholder farmers in the village even used recycled domestic water to irrigate their orchards. As a result, even though Kadwanchi received barely 198 cm of rainfall in 2012-13, it was not severely affected by the drought, and in fact, reaped a grape harvest worth Rs 15 crores.
In addition to watershed development and rainwater harvesting, farmers in Shivni village have learnt to collectively manage their water resources through water budgeting. The village documents the rainfall recorded and takes appropriate cropping decisions. Individual farmers agree not to cultivate water-intensive crops. This kind of water budgeting helps them effectively manage their scarce water resources, as the average annual rainfall for macro-watersheds does not accurately reflect the local situation. In 2012-13, Shivni farmers used their scarce water to harvest seasonal vegetable crops. In recognition of these innovative efforts, Shri Uddhav Khedekar received a national award from the Indian Council of Agriculture Research.