Doubling farmers income through land shaping technologies in coastal salt-affected areas

Abstract

Agriculture is the major occupation of people living in the rural areas of coastal regions in the country but it is highly complex, risk prone and entirely dependent on the vagaries of nature. The most practical and environmentally non-destructive way of creating irrigation resources in the area is through harvesting of excess rainwater that goes waste as runoff into the sea. The harvesting of excess rainwater can be done effectively through suitable land-shaping of the farm land, which involves in modifying the surface of the farm-land for harvesting of excess rain-water as well as making the land surface suitably shaped for adoption of improved cultivation of diversified crops and integrated farming. The major purpose of these land shaping are for - creating irrigation resources through harvesting excess rainwater, improving drainage congestion of land, reducing influence of brackish groundwater-table at shallow depth for soil salinity build up in during dry months, diversification and multiple crop cultivation round the year on monocropped coastal land and agriculture-aquaculture-livestock integrated farming system for higher productivity and livelihood security of poor farming communities.