Sustainable technology practices in drought-prone conditions
The topic, as such, offers interesting possibilities. It’ll have to start with taking stock of the current crop patterns and of the rain-fed crops that are grown in such drought-ridden areas. Typically millets and pulses grow better in such conditions.
If the district works out a strategic plan to increase pulses production, India has a sure market. Chicken pea, black pea and such other pulses are constantly in demand. India has a shortage of as much as 2 million tons of such pulses as against the total annual consumption of about 20 million tonnes. The country imports pulses from countries like Burma.
The other set of measures that a region can take will be to develop watersheds in each of these areas that are drought-prone. Carefully nourished set of watershed measures that address the need to increase or enhance the retention capacity of ground water in the natural catchment, field catchment, and the settlement catchment of such villages will certainly go a long way in ensuring that the water table in such areas improve. This will then help farmers to secure cultivation water for perhaps a second crop beyond the rain-fed crop that they are currently used to in farming.
In India the National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (NABARD) and ICRISAT have been doing some excellent work in the development of such watersheds across drought-prone districts of our country.
In water-scarce conditions, a strict no-no is the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Such chemical-based products increase the need for water per acre thanks to higher toxicity levels. Organic farm practices can nurse the health of the land over a couple of monsoons and increase its capacity to yield even in drought conditions.
