Fighting drought, Improving lives

farmers in the field in Latur district of Marathwada region

Oxfam India shares its experience on how community's collective efforts can help build a community's resilience to tackling droughts in perpetually drought-prone regions of India

-- Ms. Manisha Sharma, Communication Officer

While people in drought hit areas of the country are finding it hard to survive in the wake of shrinking food, water and livelihood options, farmers in five drought-hit regions (Bundelkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Marathwada, Western Rajasthan and Gujarat) are able to cope up with the difficulties created by drought thanks to the ongoing disaster mitigation and livelihood interventions of Oxfam India.

The focus of these interventions are on helping farmers develop sustainable agriculture practices, transform barren land and integrating them with government schemes for multiple livelihoods thus increasing their ability to adapt to drought like situations. 

Consider, for example the Bundelkhand region which has been facing severe drought for the past five years but the situation has worsened this year. To mitigate this situation and to reduce the vulnerability of drought, Parmarth Samaj Sevi Sansthan, an Oxfam India partner working on natural resource management, livelihood options and empowering disadvantage communities in nine blocks and four districts of the region, has been helping people to adopt various types of coping mechanism to ensure their food, water and livelihood security in 15 villages of Jalaun district.

Grain bank, an effective coping mechanism

Grain Bank concept has been considered as the most effective tool to deal with the food security in the communities. The communities of the project area have formed a Grain Bank in each village to help vulnerable families. When the Grain Bank was set up, every family of the village contributed a fixed amount of grain at the time of harvesting. This grain was distributed to the most vulnerable families and the beneficiary repays back the grain support with addition of 25 per cent extra food grain after crop reaping. A total of 674 communities in 15 villages benefited by the grain bank in 2008-2009 ensuring food security to mitigate their vulnerability.

They have also undertaken natural resource management activities. ''What is interesting is how this community has revived the 'old' system of agriculture", says Anil Singh of Parmarth Samaj Sevi Sansthan. We helped the community, mainly dalits, to built up a set of natural resource maps, outlining every detail about their plots and the topography of the area so that each dent and slope was accounted for. ''

With 40 per cent of 'shramdan' or unpaid labour from the community and 60 per cent of money raised through government schemes or donor grants, it took the community about one year to get the land back into shape for cultivation by the underlying principle of recharging the groundwater through check-dams, spillways, contour bunds and channels. In the rains water flows through these waterways like small streams and spill either on to the fields on into ponds and wells.

The community now uses its own system of diversified cropping, growing bajra with 'mung' dal or red channa with mustard, the principle being that while one consumes nutrients, pulses such as nitrogen-fixing legumes restabilise the soils.

In Andhra Pradesh, agriculture and agriculture-based livelihoods are under deep crisis, which is reflected in the form of distress migration and farmers committing suicides. Farmers considered small holder agriculture viable without considering that the present technologies, policy and support systems favour only the big. The situation is further worsened as majority of them are tenants and do not have access to resources and government support ending up in day-to-day struggles.

NREGS brings hope for farmers

In Anantpur district, farmers are able to better manage drought with the strong presence of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) that is guaranteeing farmers at least 150 days of employment. It is helping them to focus on multiple livelihoods reducing their dependency on agriculture'', says Balram, a member of APPS (Anantha Paryavarana Parirakshana Samithi), an Oxfam India partner working in Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh. APPS is a collective of 13 NGOs based in Anantapur district and it is working with more than 30000 households from 230 villages.

Under NGEGS, works like water conservation, deepening of small water bodies and soil conservation in a way are preparing us to face severe drought in coming months. Taking advantage of the NRGEGS, one of the NGOs mobilized 130 activists and played a watchdog role on NREGS with support from APPS. As a result, 43767 households earned Rs 21, 67, 00000 during 2007-08, adds Balram.

APPS formed village level committees, later federated as district level organizations. These organizations have a total paid membership of more than 30,000 who have regenerated 75,000 acres of revenue hillocks (common land) by protecting from fire, theft, felling of trees, overgrazing, encroachments, etc. It provide ideas and support in creating permanent assets and infrastructure development through NREGA funds. In the next 3 years, APPS and people's organizations plan to cover at least 100,000 families.

Disaster Mitigation Plan comes to Thar farmers' rescue

People in the Thar Desert region of Rajasthan are also facing the brunt of drought due to erratic rainfall and crop failure. Traditional water-harvesting systems have been neglected and are in need of repair. Drought communities in this area face acute shortages of food, water and fodder but the ongoing Drought Mitigation Plan in Thar Desert region implemented by Oxfam India partners has enabled vulnerable people to face the situation.

Oxfam has been supporting communities in this region in the Thar Desert Programme in 43 villages focusing on components of improved food and income security for the poor people through development of drought resilient models, reducing discrimination on the basis of caste and gender. Works like construction of rain water harvesting structures in Jodhpur and Barmer, developing model for fodder development on private land in Bikaner, the intervention is on common land in Pali and agro horticulture interventions in Jodhpur has been the focus of this programme.

In the agro horticulture model, dalit families in villages are being included which involves the development of a horticulture plot. In order to harvest rainwater and provide essential water during the dry period farm ponds and tankas have been constructed to protect the saplings. During low rainfall, tanks are used as a storage structure for water from water tankers. In each plot 100 horticultural species including Ber, Amla, Gunda etc. were planted in rows to allow intercropping. After a period of 3-4 years these plots provide fruit and fodder for domestic consumption as well as for sale to the community residing in these remote villages. Various trainings, exposure visits, visits of Scientists from the Agricultural University to these plots have been organized to make these women more skilled to manage and sustain their plots. The horticulture plots are now emerging as models to be replicated in other parts of Western Rajasthan. This has also become a learning spot for various experts, organizations and Govt institutions.

Marathwada region grappling with failing monsoon 

With monsoon falling short in Marathwada region of Maharashtra, more than 50 percent of the crops have already been ruined and if there will be no rains in next fifteen days, the rest of the crops in the region will also be destroyed, says estimates collated by the NGOs.

In Marathwada, Oxfam India supports a livelihood programme called Jameen Adhikaar Andolan (JAA) which focuses on organisation of landless and resource poor Dalit families to form livelihood promotion committees. JAA engages more than 25,000 Dalit families across the eight districts. Under JAA Livelihood Programme, these families are helped to legally claim ownership rights to the land they have been cultivating, practice sustainable agriculture practices in order to improve the quality of their land and produce and develop community based microfinance institutions to have access to fair sources of credit.

Managing drought requires long term vision and sustained efforts from the Government for conservation and development of water resources. There are tested and proved techniques in soil and water conservation. Drought proofing should be given top priority in the NREGS. Along with mitigation activities, it is also very important to educate communities in efficient use and management of scarce water resources, re-look at cropping patterns to adapt to changing climatic conditions / patterns and turn to sustainable ways of farming and living. Communities should be motivated to come together to conserve bio-diversity, which will help in reducing their vulnerability in the context of climate change. Oxfam India and its partners are advocating with the State Government to immediately start drought proofing work through the NREGS.