Book of Extended summaries ISDA

International Conference on Reimagining Rainfed Agro-ecosystems: Challenges &
Opportunities during 22-24, December 2022 at ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad
which can be harvested for conservation of water and increase crop yield through proper
integrated water policy.
The National water policy broadly describes the water allocations and utilization patterns for
major sectors of Agriculture, Industries, Domestic and environment. National Water Policy
(NWP, 2012) currently in force was drafted in 2012 and is the third such policy since 1987.
The NWP 2012 policy was the concept of an Integrated Water Resources Management
approach that took the “river basin/ sub-basin” as a unit for planning, development and
management of water resources. It states that the land, soil, energy and water management
with scientific inputs should be used to evolve different agricultural strategies and improve
soil and water productivity to manage droughts. Integrated farming systems and nonagricultural
developments may also be considered for livelihood support and poverty
alleviation. Policy intervention is also made facilitating relaxation in project clearances,
funding etc. for drought-prone areas. However, so far in the country, the rainfed agriculture is
neglected or not that much focused in the national policy document which basically contributes
to the generation of maximum runoff potential to the storage from different river basins of the
country. These rainfed grey lands suffer from extreme rainfall deficits, high intense rainfall
with soil degradation through erosion, long dryspells, but contribute to 80% of the production
of pulses, oilseeds and coarse cereals. Hence, it is necessary to rethink of or policy with proper
allocations of green and blue water in terms of On-farm rainwater harvesting and water
conservation technologies which are proved cost effective. The rainfed region is characterized
into three major groups based on average annual rainfall (AAR) of low (500 – 750 mm),
Medium (750-1200mm) and high (>1200mm). The areal distributions of rainfed area are
22Mha, 27Mha and 23Mha in the above group of AAR across the different river basins of the
country.
Policymakers need to focus on both design and development of water resources infrastructure
from a multiple-use system perspective. By doing so they can maximize the benefits per unit
of water ensuring water security. Multiple-use systems for domestic use, crop production,
aquaculture, agroforestry, and livestock effectively improve water productivity and reduce
poverty. The contributions to livelihoods, especially for poor households, of these multiple uses
are substantial. As per GOI directives, it is not only Per drop more crop but also more nutrition
per drop for food security in rainfed regions. The present paper deals with the perspectives of
rainwater harvesting, water conservation and its investments for converting these low
productivity drylands into high productivity green lands in the country for the consideration
of national water policy.
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