*CA-CoP* *CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE*

*for sustainable production intensification*

Dear Subscribers,

Please see herebelow a message from Mr. Nemani Chandrasekhar of SRIINDIA
regarding no-till farming in the Haryana State of India.

SRIINDIA is a communication an information exchange platform for the System
of Rice Intensification (SRI) network, India.

More information on SRI is available at:

http://sri.ciifad.cornell.edu or http://sririce.org

*Amir Kassam *

*Moderator*




---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Nemani Chandrasekhar <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, Apr 10, 2014 at 8:27 AM
Subject: Re: Alternative farming method that cuts down on water consumption
and costs
To:


Dear All,

This is in reference to the previous mail which was circulated to all of us
regarding the The Hindu's article "On a revitalizing note" on January 27,
2013.  Armed with an alternative farming method that cuts down on water
consumption and costs, farmers in Haryana's Karnal district are enhancing
productivity.
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/agriculture/on-a-revitalising-note/article4348211.ece.


Below please find link to the article written by Amita Bhaduri (from India
Water Portal). No-till agriculture, an alternative farming method, which
helps prevent soil depletion as well as uses water efficiently, is being
used successfully by farmers in Haryana.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/farmers-show-interest-alternative-farming-method-karnal


Regards,

Chandrasekhar, Nemani...

*Program Officer (Information)*

*SRI Website: www.wassan.org/sri <http://www.wassan.org/sri>*

*RRA Website: www.rainfedindia.org <http://www.rainfedindia.org> *


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Nemani Chandrasekhar <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sun, Jan 27, 2013 at 12:49 PM
Subject: Alternative farming method that cuts down on water consumption and
costs
To:


On a revitalising note GURUCHARAN
The Hindu | january 27,
2013<http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-miscellaneous/tp-others/on-a-revitalising-note/article4349691.ece>

Armed with an alternative farming method that cuts down on water
consumption and costs, farmers in Haryana's Karnal district are enhancing
productivity
[image: Beyond traditional:Less water-consuming farming techniques should
be explored.Photo: Neha Bharti]
Beyond traditional:Less water-consuming farming techniques should be
explored.Photo: Neha Bharti

Farmers in Haryana have started looking for a way to check the ever
increasing rate of lowering of the groundwater table. For this they are
adopting not only a new, less water requiring way of growing paddy but are
also showing interest in exploring less water-consuming alternatives that
could possibly replace paddy.

Kalvehri village is only eight km from its district headquarter Karnal. The
village comprises nearly a thousand households, of which around 60 per cent
do not own cultivable land. They work as agricultural labourer either
within the village or in nearby villages. Or else they go out to adjoining
cities and towns to earn their daily wages. Around one-third of the
households own land ranging from half an acre to five acres and around five
per cent households own lands ranging 30 acres and above.

Previously, the land in the village was water-logged; farmers recall how
the water was pumped out -- carrying it away through canals. Dr. Baldev Raj
Kamboj, in-charge, Haryana Hub, Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia
(CSISA) housed in Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal,
explains that paddy was the only crop that could be grown in the given
situation and thus it found favour with farmers. He adds that because of
excess water at the time of harvesting paddy crop, the sowing of wheat gets
delayed often. This affects wheat productivity and farmers' income.

The farmers admit that they took advantage of abundant water and expanded
the paddy cultivation. But with consequent lowering of water tables, they
had to go in for tube-wells. With the increase in the number of tube-wells
and their running-hours, groundwater level went further down. Today the
level has gone down to 250 feet.

Worried at the declining water level and spike in cost of production, the
farmers started participating in meetings held at Karnal to discuss the
problems emerging in agriculture. Agricultural scientists told them that
the crisis was mainly due to deteriorating soil health and that they needed
to follow zero-till farming method. The farmers were advised to leave
residue from previous crop within the field. To combat the problem of
lowering water table, they were asked to bring changes in paddy-wheat
production cycle.

When a young farmer Harpreet Singh decided to try out the suggested method,
he found that the fellow farmers were unwilling to join him and even
ridiculed his decision. Earlier, Harpreet, like other farmers of the area,
used the method of deep ploughing and puddling in standing water for
preparing paddy fields. For wheat and other crops also, they practised deep
ploughing as they considered it good for the soil health. They also felt
that it would help in controlling harmful insects and weeds.

Shifting from the age-old method, Harpreet instead of removing and burning
the crop residue started leaving it in the field. He stopped ploughing the
field; got his fields laser-levelled to check the water ponding in any part
of the fields; started placing seeds and fertiliser in his crop
residue-carrying fields with the help of specially designed Happy Seeder.
In adopting this new method, the soil was least disturbed that helped in
modifying soil structure and would go a long way in improving soil health.

Earlier Harpreet had to irrigate his paddy fields for a total of 32 hours
whereas now he can manage it with 21 hours. Tensiometers are installed in
his fields that provide details on timing and amount of irrigation to
further bring precision in water application. He did not raise nursery for
paddy transplantation but went for direct seeded rice. He used weedicides
and insecticides/pesticides for controlling weeds and insects/pests. He
understands that with improvement in soil health there would be lesser need
of fertiliser and residue, mulch and permanent crop cover would help in
controlling weeds thereby eventually reducing the herbicide use to the
minimum.

In agriculture a major difficulty in raising crop and getting potential
production is the availability of proper growing period with appropriate
temperature and other climatic conditions so as to carry out timely
agricultural operations. Farmers are now contemplating that after
harvesting wheat if they plan for maize instead of paddy, they may get
additional 40 days of growing period in which they can possibly take pulses
and vegetables. This may help them come out of the wheat-paddy cycle and
help them introduce crop rotation which is a must for maintaining soil
productivity.

Farmers following conventional agriculture are also getting attracted
towards this new method in view of reduced cost on ploughing and irrigation
and they can foresee reduction in cost on fertilisers and chemicals
progressively with improvement in soil health and productivity. The change
in farmers' perception was expressed by farmer Raj Kumar, "Because of
programmes like MGNREGA, the in-migration of labour has become uncertain.
Thus farmers see their future in this new way of doing agriculture."

Farmers realised the significance of Harpreet's efforts when the State
Agricultural Secretary, Haryana, visited his fields and appreciated his
hard work. The State government awarded him for initiating the much-needed
changes in agriculture.

Confronted by myriad problems in carrying out agriculture, farmers
appreciate the necessity of support from the agricultural scientific
community. Dr. Kamboj, who is playing a proactive role in bringing changes
in agricultural trend among Haryana farmers, emphasises on the need for
agricultural scientists to work closely with farmers to bring desired
changes in agriculture.

*(The writer is Managing Trustee, Volunteers in Service to India's
Oppressed and Neglected [VISION], New Delhi)*

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