/topics/rainfed-agriculture
Rainfed Agriculture
Jharkhand's octogenarian water warrior
Posted on 28 Feb, 2016 01:39 PMIt was 1961. Simon Oraon, a Class IV school drop-out began his journey against drought in Bedo, a tribal block of Ranchi, Jharkhand. An idealistic young man, he along with his fellow villagers began constructing earthen dams to capture rainwater for recharging groundwater.
![A water body revived at Bedo, Ranchi](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/bedo-water-body.jpg?itok=AQS1hghD)
National Water Commission in place of CWC and CGWB
Posted on 16 Feb, 2016 09:28 AMGovernment proposes to set up a National Water Commission
![The Upper Lake, Bhopal (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/18952566665_7bf8a91e62_z.jpg?itok=RB4RpRFi)
Budget needs to protect food security
Posted on 15 Feb, 2016 11:01 AMWith the budget 2016-17 round the corner what are the asks from the standpoint of food security? This year’s budget is being prepared in the wake of many parts of the country being affected by drought resulting in greater distress, hunger and starvation for a large number of people.
![Children at an anganwadi centre, Mysore waiting for the mid-day meal](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/kids.jpg?itok=h_DKDfH0)
Agriculture and informal sector labour need a budgetary push
Posted on 08 Feb, 2016 08:46 AMRecent data from the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) as well as the Agriculture Census highlighted the plight of Indian farmers. Around 85 percent are small and marginal farmers with an average monthly income of only Rs. 4653, which is lesser than their monthly expenses. Debt rates are very high among farmers with an average loan of more than Rs.
![A farmer in Jhansi, Bundelkhand](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/farmer_in_bundelkhand.jpg?itok=yufC_z2C)
Odisha tribals humour changing skies with mixed platters
Posted on 11 Jan, 2016 09:18 PMBamboo trees bloomed with long wispy spikes weighing heavy on the stalks. While it might've made for a pretty picture, Loknath Nauri knew it would be a tough year. “More the density of the flowers, the more severe the drought we face,” he says. This was in March 2015 in the forests of southern Odisha.
![Aadi Kumbruka with various types of legumes, millets, oilseeds and corns grown on his farm.](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/aadi.jpg?itok=57Foqcx9)
Ultratech Cement mines limestone (and villagers) in Chhattisgarh
Posted on 13 Dec, 2015 03:38 PMParaswani village in Balodabazar district, Chhattisgarh contains vast reserves of limestone, a sedimentary rock that is a primary ingredient in the cement manufacturing process. Since 1992, Ultratech Cement Ltd. (UTCL) followed by four other similar companies, have begun excavating this rock within a 30 km radius of the village.
![A view of the Ulratech Cement factory from Paraswani](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/23242374375_229a4cd22e_z.jpg?itok=ZzRNLvKM)
Sustainable practices in slash-and-burn lands in Nagaland
Posted on 01 Nov, 2015 11:02 AMA thick smog and haze eclipse the sun all through the day when jhum areas are burnt. Jhum, known as shifting cultivation a practice practice inv
![Shifting cultivation lands (Source: Prashant N S, 2006, Wikimedia)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/jhum-prashantns-2006-wikimedia.jpg?itok=kAJF7jYq)
How much water should flow in the Yamuna?
Posted on 26 Oct, 2015 05:17 PMRivers are the not just the lifeline of our country, but life itself. We may revere them, even worship them but we continue to pollute, choke, and poison their waters. A river, its catchment area, and its floodplains have evolved over millions of years, and once damaged, may not be easy to reclaim.
![For a river to be healthy & maintain all its associated functions, free flow must be close to 50-60% of the total flow all year round (Source: Wikimedia)](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/yamuna1.jpg?itok=XaaQE0VA)
A pond comes to life
Posted on 22 Sep, 2015 10:42 AMIt had not rained for awhile and the tiny cracks in the earth in Bapugaon were opening up. This little village in Chaksu tehsil of Jaipur was yet again faced with a drought in the mid 1980s. The situation was aggravated in 1986 when the river Dhund, an important water source for Bapugaon, went dry. Since then, both the quantity and quality of water started deteriorating.
![More than just physical rehabilitation of a water body, says Kalyan ji of Bapugaon](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/kalyan-ji-vdc-president-bapugaon1_1.jpg?itok=nFlR4AiS)
Piped water scheme changes the lives of Odisha villagers
Posted on 19 Sep, 2015 05:55 PMIn India, about Rs.70,000 crore
![Anup Munda showing his functional toilet at Bandha Bhuin](/sites/default/files/styles/featured_articles/public/iwp/_dsc0155es.jpg?itok=66FjeYB7)