Political

This fact-sheet by FAOWater titled “Water at a glance” traces the relationship between water, agriculture, food security and poverty. People who have better access to water tend to have lower levels of undernourishment.

System of rice intensification (SRI) is a improved method of rice cultivation that was developed in 1983 in Madagascar and has now spread to many parts of the world. There is a notion that what has been done in research plots and by scientists is modern and desirable.

The World Bank Institute has developed this multimedia toolkit in two parts, to help disseminate information and create awareness about SRI.

Part A: Improving rice productivity and achieving water savings (12 minutes)

AquaCrop is a crop water productivity simulation model, developed by the water unit at the FAO, to simulate yield response to water of several herbaceous crops, and is particularly suited to make decisions, in conditions where water is a key limiting factor in crop production.

Introduction

Hardness of water

Training module at block level

Dilemma facing NGO action

Watershed development is not merely a matter of harvesting rainwater. Its success crucially entails:

• working out collective protocols of equitable and sustainable use of surface and ground water

The report is divided into four parts. Part I speaks about the overall context of rice cultivation in Orissa (of which Nuakhai is a part) and the crying need for change by most actors involved. In part II the background of SRI in India is sketched broadly and in part III the SRI work in Orissa is situated within the overall context of rice in the state.

The study by IWMI deals with a case study of urban wastewater as a valuable resource for agriculture in Haroonabad, Pakistan. Farming communities in water-scarce regions increasingly practice the use of urban wastewater in agriculture. Untreated urban wastewater is generally considered unacceptable for direct use because of potential health risks.