Water for Farmers

Agriculture is both a victim and a cause of water scarcity. 78% of fresh water and 90% of groundwater is used for agriculture in India. Traditional irrigation methods are not water-efficient and end up using double the amount of water needed. 

On the flip side, water scarcity is the biggest problem the farmers face today, enormously impacting the production of food. With unpredictable monsoon rains and depleting groundwater, farmers fail to irrigate their farms fully. Lands are turning barren. Lands that once supported 3 crops now barely support one. Food security of the nation is in jeopardy.

‘Water for Farmers’ aims to provide technical guidance and training and 70% financial assistance in installation of sprinklers. To preserve farmer’s dignity and give him a sense of ownership, 30% of the cost will be contributed by the farmer. The project has three primary activities- 

1. Kisaan Jagriti Shivir- Water-use efficiency awareness workshop will be conducted in all the 18 villages. 10 farmers from each village will be identified during these workshops.

2. Exposure visit and training for the interested farmers will be conducted in collaboration with PUSA Institute, New Delhi

3. Installation of sprinkler system

It will reach 180 small and marginalized farmers (owning less than 2 hectare land). The project will directly benefit 180 marginalized families. In our experience a farmer shares his irrigation system with at least one farmer, extending the reach of the project to a total of 360 families impacting around 2000 lives in a year.

Anandilal Gurjar, a 60 year old farmer, supports a family of 7. Anandilal and his wife struggled to irrigate their 2 hectare land as the bore-well ran dry season after season. Anandilal registered for the TBS sprinklers program, attended training and installed sprinklers. The results were transformational. 1.2 hectare land became cultivable as compared to 0.5 earlier. Productivity increased, variety of crops improved and water saved upto 50%. It reduced expense on energy and labour by 50%.

 

Anandilal says, ‘I now grow wheat and vegetables. Without sprinklers it was impossible.’ With additional income, he bought 2 buffaloes. Anandilal now is an influencer for the program in Keetla Village, inspiring many others to adopt sprinklers.   

It yields the following benefits- 

• Saves water upto 50%
• Reduces farmer’s dependency on monsoon. Strengthens their resilience to climate change.
• Time taken by farmers in irrigation reduced by 75-80%
• Saves labor (40-50 human days for 1 bigha of land)
• Additional income from multiple crops every year
• Conversion of barren land into cultivable, producing additional income
• Improved quality of produce
• Reduced drudgery of women. Improves their and their children’s quality of life
• Reduction in water-use will lead to less water disputes leading to harmony in communities.