Rainfed agriculture refers to the practice of cultivating crops in rainfed or rain-dependent areas, where agricultural activities primarily rely on natural rainfall for irrigation. It is a type of farming that does not rely on artificial irrigation methods, such as sprinklers, canals, or groundwater pumping.
Significance:
- In this regard, the Rainfed Agriculture Atlas has been published by Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture Network (RRAN).
- By mapping agro-biodiversity and socioeconomic factors, the Rainfed Agriculture Atlas strives to provide a thorough picture of rainfed agriculture areas.
- The atlas aid in the creation of more effective policies and initiatives to benefit rainfed agricultural communities by identifying gaps in government programmes and investment.
Key findings:
- In India, three out of every five farmers produce their crops with rainfall rather than irrigation. Government investment in their lands, however, maybe 20 times lower per hectare, government procurement of their products is a fraction of major irrigated land crops, and many of the government’s flagship agriculture projects are not targeted to assist them.
- Farmers in rainfed areas receive 40% less of their income from agriculture than those in irrigated areas.
- The difference in yield is not proportional to the difference in investment:
- Lands irrigated by large dams and canal networks receive a 5 lakh investment per acre.
- Spending on watershed management in rainfed lands is only Rs 18,000-25,000.
- In terms of procurement, the government spent 5.4 lakh crore on wheat and rice between 2001-02 and 2011-12.
- Coarse cereals, which are grown in rainfed areas, received only 3,200 crores in purchases during the same time.
- The government scheme lacks a customized solution:
- Government flagship programmes, such as seed and fertiliser subsidies and soil health cards, are developed for irrigated areas and simply extended to rainfed farmers without taking their requirements into account.
- Many hybrid seeds recognised by the government scheme require a lot of water, fertiliser, and pesticides to produce high yields, making them unsuitable for most rainfed farmers. The government does not have a system in place to channel indigenous seeds or subsidise organic manure in the same way.
Suggestions:
- A differential approach is required to help out farmers grow rainfed crops for successful agricultural productivity.
- A more balanced approach is required to provide rainfed farmers with the same research and technology focus and production support that irrigation farmers had gotten over the last few decades.
- There is a need to design better-structured interventions for the future so that in the long run, farmers do not leave farming as an occupation.
- As per Sabyasachi Das, coordinator of the Revitalising Rainfed Agriculture (RRA) Network, just like the ease of doing business, there is a need for ease of doing farming i.e., ease the problems of seeds, soil, and water in rainfed areas so that farmers keep engaged in agriculture.
