Water Bank - Doubles Farm Income, secures ivelihoods and prevents farmer suicides through Rainwater Harvesting and Water Budgeting

Farmers’ suicide is a common phenomenon in our country today; if we deeply think, it is not because of debt he has borrowed but because of lack of assured irrigation. While borrowing the loan, he is very much aware how much he is borrowing @ what rate of interest and how much he will have to repay on what date. He did not commit suicide till the crop condition was good but only when he failed to provide irrigation mainly due to DROUGHT. Imagine, he could ensure single irrigation to his standing crops during this critical time, would the farmer commit suicide? This is why we are proposing to create water banks where they can store this excess water for life saving irrigation (this water not only saves the lives of standing crops but also of the farmers). Water is life in this sense is true and thus ensures livelihoods of rural farming communities.

 Sole source of livelihood: All those families from the tail end of Tungabhadra Irrigation Project having about <2ha of land and are receiving inadequate irrigation for cultivation is considered as beneficiaries of this model. They solely depend on wage-earning for their survival. Almost all families live below the poverty line (have BPL cards). The younger generation, soon after their matriculation get absorbed into construction field to support their parents in livelihood while the girls are forced to marry. Land is the sole source of livelihood while lack of irrigation is making agriculture a loss-making enterprise.

Irrigation water is a critical input for farming in most part of the nation. During rainy season, we make way for the runoff from our farms to drain out and later during peak season we blame GOD/GOVERNMENT for not getting enough irrigation water. Instead, if we can store the same runoff could be used during peak season. It is therefore generally agreed by the farming communities that the reason of farmers’ suicide is “irrigation” and they are convinced that-

• If water is given, they can feed entire nation
• Like rural godown (grameen bhandara yojana), water banks should be created by Government of India in each farm
• Like house for an urban family, create water bank for their children by peasant community in rural areas.

Issue

• Tail ends of any irrigation project is exposed to a peculiar problem i.e. two extremes of water availability.
• Inundation of standing crops due to excess water flowing through the canal during rainy season; the upper reach farmers do not require irrigation during this period.
• Drying up of standing crops due to inadequate irrigation water during the peak season; the upper reach farmers allows water to flow through the canal only after saturating their irrigation needs.
• This we call as 2-extremes of water availability – inundation & drying up of crops due to water availability. Years’ experience taught the farmers to cultivate part of the land which they can save (provide life saving irrigation) during peak season, rest (20-50%) of the land remains fallow throughout the year. As a result, the productive land reduced and thus income of the family; the family caught into debt to manage the affairs and decides to commit suicides in many cases.

On the other hand, the runoff generated from each farm @ normal rainfall of the area (581mm) generates sufficient water to cultivate 2-ha farm if harvested it systematically. But, we make way for the water to flow out of the farm during rainy season

Thus, basically this model addresses the twin problems of livelihood of the tail end farmers i.e. optimizing profit in agriculture (by diversified cropping pattern) and providing adequate irrigation by addressing 2 extremes of water availability.

In consultation with the stakeholders, we have evolved an innovative intervention to tackle 2-extremes as well as making the fallow land useful to ensure 10-securities to small holders. We shall motivate the smallholder farmers to excavate ‘Water Bank’ in fallow part of the land; harvest excess water during rainy season and use it for life saving irrigation (water security-1) during peak season. Thus, 2-extremities of water availability addressed. Cultivate fish (food security-1), plant biomass generating and fruit bearing trees on the bunds of the structure to improve soil fertility (fertility security-2) and ensure fuel-wood (firewood security-3). Grow fodder (fodder security-4) in part of the land to manage 1-2 milch animals for health management as well as regular income (financial security-5); also use the cow excreta for plant protection and soil health improvement (input security-6). Diversify cropping pattern to distribute risk of crop failure – loss by failure of one crop will be compensated by other crops (food security-7). Grow few medicinal plants in part of the land (health security-8). In order to do all these activities, the entire farm families need to engage themselves in the farm activities throughout the year (employment security-9). Cultivation in part of the land for family consumption (food security) and regular income. Further, agriculture without women is a day dream and almost all the productive units proposed in this model are labor intensive demanding women participation and return goes directly to the women (gender balance). If all these are met, the farming family will gain a social status in the society (social security-10). This is how 10 securities are ensured to a family targeted under the program.

The success of the project is measured using predefined indicators-

• Increment in productivity of the farms where water banks are created by 20%
• Additional employment generation in the farms having water banks by 25%
• Increase in land use intensity by 15% by the end of the project period
• Increase in sustainable income of the faring families after 2 cropping seasons