Open Forum
New Delhi, 1 December
2021
Dryland Farming
TECHNIQUES
NEED CHANGE
By
Dhurjati Mukherjee
Notwithstanding that
COP26 was largely seen as disappointing, the UN in one of its statement said ‘significant
progress’ was made in both reducing the impact of climate change on the
agriculture sector and lowering the sector’s contribution to global warming.Indeed,
governments recognised that soil and nutrient management practices and the
optimal use of nutrients lie at the core of climate-resilient, sustainable food
production systems and can contribute to global food security. In this
background, perhaps there is need to popularise concepts leading to wider use
of dryland agriculture and possible experimentation in various crops.
Various studies
carried out have warned that its the poor and impoverished who will be hit the
hardest by climate change and it’s specifically true for communities who live
in dryland areas, where water scarcity is a grave problem, forcing a reliance on
dryland agriculture for their livelihood.
As is well known,
dryland farming uses special agricultural techniques for the non-irrigated
cultivation of crops and is used in low rainfall areas across the globe. Agriculture
in drought prone areas with scarce water resources can be challenging, but
issues can be tackled with dry farming methods. Dry farming is dependent on
natural rainfall and is used by farmers to continually adapt to the presence or
lack of moisture in a given crop cycle. In India, dryland agriculture occupies
nearly 75% of cultivated area, supports 40% of the human and 60% of the livestock population, and
produces 44% of food requirements.
Obviously, it will
have to play a critical role in India’s food security. Dry farming may be
divided into three categories based on the amount of rainfall received:one, dry
farming in areas with less than 750 mm of rainfall per year; two, dryland
farming in areas with rainfall exceeding 750 mm per yearand three rain-fed
farming in regions with rainfall above 1,150 mm per annum.
Rainfed agriculture
is dominant in the country with over 60% of the total cultivated area and
supporting around 40% of India’s food demand of 1.6 billion people. According
to latest data available, coarse cereals (87.5%), pulses (87.5%), oilseeds (77%),
rice (48%) and cotton (66%) are
predominantly grown in rainfed areas. But for the remaining 60% of the
country’s food requirements, the contribution of drylands is, no doubt,
crucial. In future, the significance of drylands in food security is expected
to increase due to the growing population pressure and competition for land
from non-agricultural uses. However, aberrant behavior of monsoon rainfall
results in frequent droughts that impact resource poor farmers.
In the drylands of
Asia and Africa crop production is presently plagued with various problems such
as land degradation and low soil fertility, poor supply of agri inputs, weak
technology dissemination system, low capacity of farmers etc. Moreover, the
vulnerability of climate change has had devastating effects in certain parts of
Asia, including India, and Africa. Thus, it is necessary to evolve climate
change mitigation regions of the country so that food production does not
suffer.
In view of the fact
that about 84 districts in India are rain areas, 42% of the food grain, 75% of the oilseeds, 90% of the di-cot grams,
sorghum and peanuts as well as 70% of cotton and more than 60% of the rice
fields of the total agricultural production originate from dry and rain fed
farming. This means a large chunk is able to provide for India’s food reus,
dryland agriculture occupies nearly 70% of India’s cultivated area and produces
44% of food requirements. This means it will continue to play a critical role
in India’s food security, both now and in the future.
Eroded and degraded
soils with low water-holding capacity and multiple nutrient deficiencies,
declining groundwater table, etc. contribute to low crop yields that lead to
further land degradation. Managing land resources through a multidisciplinary
approach in devising the most remunerative and environmentally appropriate land
use has been the approach and strategy of the Central Research Institute for
Dryland Agriculture's (CRIDA). It has characterised bio-physical and
socio-economic resources, integrated watershed development, improvement of
rainwater use efficiency, contingency crop planning, diversification of
agriculture through livestock farming,
Thus technologies
have to be made available to farmers which respond well to climate change
effects and give greater resilience against shocks. Growing early (maturing)
photo-insensitive high tillering with optimal root traits and tolerant to
abiotic and biotic stresses; mulching with crop residues; planting more seedling
per hill for heat stress; better soil nutrient and water management and
lifesaving irrigation with stored rainwater for mid-season drought are a few
strategies recommended by ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for
Semi-Arid Tropics) to cope with climate change and variability on dryland
agriculture.
As dryland soils are
low in organic matter, there should be more emphasis on improving soil organic
matter status, which is an important driving force for biological activities in
the soil, the source of food for flora and fauna.
Conservation
agriculture, which consists of zero minimum tillage, soil cover through crop
residues or cover crops and suitable rotations is being promoted in the
country, though in a limited way, as another strategy for climate change
mitigation and adaptation as well as sustainable crop production through soil
and water conservation and other associated ecological benefits.
Crop diversification
options by including crops, multi-purpose tree species, medicinal and aromatic
plants etc. is being experimented in the country for quite a few years and
there are expectations of positive benefits to the degraded agriculture to adapt
to climate change and variability. It is recognised by experts that crop
intensification and diversification with high-value crops have helped
households achieve production of staples and surplus for modest incomes in
model watersheds adopted by ICRISAT.
With technical
support from the government, it is expected that dryland farming would spread
to different parts of the country. This is imperative, more so due to the
impending water crisis which may accentuate in the coming years. From
cereal grains to grain legumes to leafy vegetables, a variety of arable crops
can be cultivated under dryland conditions. Also, root crops and some fruit
vegetables are quite suitable for dryland farming in the near future.
Managing land
resources through a multi-disciplinary approach in devising the most
remunerative and environmentally appropriate land use has characterised the
approach of Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture’s (CRIDA) for
maximising crop productivity, profitability, and sustainability of dryland
agriculture. Characterising bio-physical and socio-economic resources,
integrated watershed development, improvement of rainwater use efficiency,
contingency crop planning, diversification of agriculture through livestock
farming, alternate land uses, integrated soil-nutrient-water-crop management,
and efficient farm implements can ensure long-term sustainability of dryland
agriculture in India.
This apart, there is
need to evolve an institutional framework, improving credit availability and
input supply systems, extension of crop insurance and launching of on-farm
research-cum-pilot projects in farmers’ participatory mode. The focus needs to
be sharp and a concerted effort to ensureinclusivity through knowledge sharing
between decisions makers and farmers.---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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