Rethinking -
Rainfed Farming
Beyond
Perfunctory Rhetoric and Helplessness towards
A Bold and New
Supportive Action
|
Rainfed Farming systems |
Watershed Development |
Conjunctive use of Moisture, Surface and Groundwater |
'Rainfed' Irrigation |
|
Horticulture |
Food &
Nutritional Security |
Soil
Fertility |
Pest
Management |
|
Seed
Systems |
Livestock in Rainfed Areas |
Infrastructure |
Institutions are KEY |
A New Deal for Rainfed
Areas
-
Differentiate
agriculture policy into irrigated areas policy and rainfed areas
policy
-
Ensure parity of
investments between irrigated areas and rainfed areas
-
A shift from
farm-policies centered around production growth to farmer centered
policies
Rainfed areas
needs a special dispensation:
-
Farming systems
that integrate the needs of soils, livestock and households into
farming need to be supported
-
Cost reduction
is the critical objective of research than response to external
inputs
-
Critical
irrigation extended over large areas securing farms and farmers
providing greater incremental production per unit of water
-
Creative credit
systems built on recurring cycles of rainfall failures and excesses
rather than crop-based scale of finance
-
Focus on
integrated livestock systems, support systems for resilient small
ruminant
production
systems
-
Markets,
community institutions to manage natural resources and production
systems
-
Knowledge based
systems rather than Input based extension systems
-
From National
Food Security to Household Food Security
In the crisis
lies an opportunity,
Let us discover
a new deal for Rainfed Areas and
evolve a new
deal for Indian Agriculture!!
Incremental
changes does not help; Requires a BOLD NEW LEADERSHIP!!
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