Programs for watershed-plus phase for Rainfed regions in India. In Agriculture and Hydrology Applications of Remote Sensing

Abstract

Feeding teeming global human population, especially in the developing world remains a huge challenge for agricultural scientists and farmers alike. In the developing world, agriculture and related activities still remain a major source of livelihood; and hence the means to alleviate poverty and assure sustenance and rural development. This is more so in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where a large part of the population depends on agriculture to provide food, feed, and fiber, and as a source of livelihoods for the rural poor. It must however, be emphasized that in the context of overall world food production, rainfed agriculture has played and would continue to play a crucial role in the global food production as a large part of agriculture is rainfed (∼80%), and contributes over 50% to the global food supply. Moreover, rainfed areas are also where poorest of the poor live, and these areas remain hot-spots of poverty and under- and malnutrition. Even a modest increase in productivity of the vast rainfed areas would result not only in a large increase in global food volume, but would also stabilize these areas with enhanced food availability and rural development. Most certainly, agricultural development is at the heart of sustainable development of dryland areas. Increasing the productivity of rainfed areas especially in the semi-arid and arid regions of the world with impoverished soil resource base and water shortages is the greatest challenge of the 21st century. Water shortage is recognized as the primary constraint in rainfed areas and remains a deterrent to the use of external inputs of plant nutrients even at a modest level, although the soil resource base in these areas are fragile and marginal compared to their irrigated counterpart. Recent research demonstrates that the soils in rainfed areas are not only thirsty (water shortage) but also hungry (nutrient deficiencies). Nevertheless, recent focus on rainfed agriculture along with concomitant enhanced investment in rainfed agriculture, a prerequisite to sustainably increase the productivity in rainfed areas, has helped to intensify research in these areas and develop technology packages that simultaneously address both water shortage and nutrient disorders that are holding back the potential of rainfed areas. These science-based interventions have provided highly encouraging results from extensive on-farm evaluation of the improved technology or through the upgradation of rainfed agriculture. Upgrading rainfed agriculture is the new mantra for an overall sustainable development of rainfed areas. This is based on the principle of addressing the constraints related to water shortage and soil infertility in a sustainable manner. xviii Preface The book “Integrated Watershed Management in Rainfed Agriculture’’ is organized in 13 chapters, which address a range of issues involved in the upgradation of rainfed agriculture for improved livelihoods of rural community using integrated watershed management as the means to implement various technologies for improving productivity and livelihoods. Topics cover technical, social, policy, and developmental issues related to integrated watershed development and management. In addition to the issues related to soil and water conservation, rainwater harvesting and efficient use, diagnosis and management of plant nutrients, up-scaling of technology, impacts of climate change on rainfed agriculture and various methods and approaches used for assessing impact of watershed projects on productivity, income and livelihood in Asia and subSaharan Africa are also covered. We hope this book will be a useful resource for various stakeholders including students, researchers, development investors and agents, and policy makers.