Rainfed Agro-Ecosystem Annual Report 2001-02

Abstract

The rainfed agro ecosystem occupies the largest cultivated area in the country representing 67% of the net sown area. The importance of the rainfed agriculture is obvious from the fact that 55% of the rice, 91% coarse cereals, 90% pulses, 85% oilseeds and 65% cotton are grown in rainfed areas. Despite concerted efforts made in the past to improve the productivity of these areas by introduction of improved planting material, efficient cropping systems and sustainable management of natural resources, gains in terms of higher yields and incomes have not been spectacular as in irrigated system, due to associated risks like aberrant weather, land degradation and poor socio-economic base of the farmers. Small and marginal farmers in rainfed areas have little surplus income to invest in new technology and inputs and hence the technology adoption has been slow. With the productivity of the irrigated areas plateauing, rainfed areas in future need to contribute a larger share to the national food basket. The productivity has to be increased from the current level of 0.8 to 1.5 – 2.0 t/ha to met the growing requirement of food and fodder. Though many research and extension gaps were identified in the past, the much needed holistic farming systems research approach in a participatory mode has been lacking. After a detailed prioritization exercise on target areas and identification of problems in major states of the rainfed agro ecosystem, 103 network projects have been initiated under five production systems. The unique feature of these production system research projects is that most of the experiments are conducted on farmers fields in a participatory mode. It is hoped that the technologies and recommendations emerging from such onfarm adaptive research will be more readily acceptable to the farmers. In addition to the PSR, 24 projects have been taken up for Technology Assessment and Refinement (TAR) under Institute Village Linkage Programme (IVLP). I am happy to note that these projects have started making good progress and promising results are already available. This report gives a detailed account of the salient achievements under PSR under Rainfed Agro Ecosystem for the year 2001-02. I wish to compliment Dr. H.P. Singh, AED and Dr. B. Venkateswarlu, PPSS and other staff for compiling and bringing out this valuable report.