Irrigation

Agricultural extension and advisory services facilitate the transfer of knowledge, information, improved technologies and practices to farmers, farmer organizations and market actors. Research has shown positive effects of extension access when it came to knowledge, adoption, productivity, and economic returns for farmers. The high cost associated with face-to-face extension constrains effective service delivery to farmers, who are often widely distributed spatially.

P Sainath has been documenting stories from rural India for over three decades now. He is the founder-editor of People's Archive of Rural India (PARI), a digital archive dedicated to people whose voices and stories don't always find space in mainstream media. Sainath previously covered the rural beat at The Hindu, and his on ground reportage has drawn significant attention to the country’s farmers and the challenges they face.

Maharashtra is reeling under drought this year too, with the situation in Marathwada particularly bad. As high as twenty four out of thirty six districts in the state are facing deficient monsoons and about 4,920 villages and 10,506 hamlets are now completely dependent on water tankers for drinking water.

Regionally and globally, soil erosion is a major contributor to total land degradation. Its impact is more pronounced in rainfed areas and it is a major threat to agriculture in India, with a significant economic cost amounting to about 0.35% of GDP in 2014-15 as per estimates by TERI (2018).

Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister alluded to gaon, garib and kisan as the centre of all policies of this government, while announcing a clutch of schemes aimed at the rural and urban poor. Her budget speech last week reiterated the government's commitment to ensuring piped water supply to all households in India.

Crop production is highly influenced by the sensitivity of crops to variations in climate and can have major implications for food supply and rural livelihoods. The effects of climate change are increasing in India, where extreme rainfall events have become more frequent and spatially more variable. On the other hand, there has also been an increase in the severity and frequency of droughts.

Prime Minister Modi pitches for a collective effort to overcome water crisis in the country

India is witnessing the second driest pre-monsoon season in the last 65 years. As the country eagerly eyes the monsoon clouds, the delay so far has now widened the rain deficit to 43%.