Sustainable Water Harvesting for Improving Food Security and Livelihoods of Smallholders under Different Climatic Conditions of India

In India, the per capita availability of water is projected to be 1465 m(3) and 1235 m(3) by the years 2025 and 2050, respectively, and hence, India would be a water-stressed country as per the United Nations' standard of less than 1700 m(3) per capita water availability. India is predominantly an agricultural-dominant country. Rainfed agriculture in the country contributes 40% of food grain production and supports half of the human population and two-thirds of the livestock population. The country has 15 different agro-climatic zones, and each agro-climatic region has its own constraints of water availability and management along with the potential for their optimum utilization. Such situations warrant the formulation of regional-level strategies. Efforts were made to integrate and evaluate the feasibility of water harvesting and its utilization at twelve different sites representing six different agro-climatic conditions spanning pan India. It was found that water harvesting through tanks/ponds is a feasible approach and can increase the crop production as well as diversification. The results reveal that the range of crop diversification index increased from 0.49-0.85 to 0.65-0.98; the crop productivity index increased from 0.28-0.66 to 0.66-0.90; the cultivated land utilization index increased from 0.05-0.69 to 0.34-0.84; and the crop water productivity index increased from 0.20-0.51 to 0.56-0.96, among other production and diversification indices, due to additional water availability through rainwater harvesting intervention. Moreover, the gross return increased from INR 43,768-704,356 to INR 220,840-1,469,108 ha(-1), representing a 108 to 400% increase in the returns due to the availability of water. The findings of this study suggest that the water harvesting in small ponds/tanks is economical and feasible, requires less technological intervention, and increases crop diversification in all the studied agro-climatic conditions, and hence, the same needs to be encouraged in the rainfed areas of the country.