Globally area under rainfed agriculture is estimated at 1.75 billion hectares which is 5.5 times more than the irrigated areas. India ranks first among the rainfed agricultural countries in terms of both extent (86 M ha) and value of produce. Rainfed areas in India are highly diverse, ranging from resource-rich areas with good agricultural potential to resource-constrained areas with much more restricted potential. Some resource-rich areas are highly productive and already have experienced widespread adoption of modern technology. On the other hand, traditional farming systems in drier and less favored areas are more of a survival mechanism rather than a growth-oriented activity. Earlier, the rainfed farming systems, because of their risky nature were dependent upon locally available inputs (seeds, manures, animal draft) and used to grow a number of crops, which were able to withstand the drought-like situation. But over time, the cropping systems have changed and presently farmers in these rainfed areas have limited options and have started cultivating high-value crops which require intensive use of costly inputs (chemical fertilizers/ pesticides, hybrid seeds, lifesaving irrigation, farm energy etc.) and find it difficult to manage the resources on their own (Sharma et al, 2006).Â
About 21% area of the country receives rain less than 750 mm and comes under dry land farming. Water availability is limited and moisture conservation is very important in dry-land farming. A majority area (64%) receives rainfall in the range of 750 to 1500 mm. These areas come under rainfed farming. Proper crop management along with moisture conservation measures can provide satisfactory yield. About 15% of the area receives rainfall in excess of 1500 mm. These are the favourable areas from water availability and crop production viewpoint. However, high rainfall combined with low topography invites flood problems and damages crops. The problem in the waterlogged ecosystem is low productivity due to excess water stress in the wet season and deficit water stress in the dry season.
Rain Water Programme including Waterlogged Area strives to develop management practices for addressing the challenges faced by this ecosystem. Few promising research technologies/activities developed under this programme are provided. The future activities under the programme include ITKs on Rain Water Harvesting/Management and Validation, Water availability based crop diversification, IoT Enabled Sensor Based Critical Irrigation in rainfed ecosystems, Science-based Watershed Management, and Management of coastal waterlogged areas and Flood affected areas.
