DEVELOPMENT OF DRYLANDS FOR CONSERVATION OF
BIODIVERSITY AND FOOD SECURITY
By
Dr. Narayan G. Hegde, President
BAIF Development Research Foundation, Pune
Background
Drylands in India contribute to over 70% of the total cultivated area and about 50%
of the total geographic area is affected by desertification. Drylands are not static. These
are subject to various pressures, which lead to further deterioration. Hence, drylands when
neglected, may slowly turn into deserts. Desertification is the result of many factors such
as low rainfall, poor water conservation measures, heavy soil erosion and harsh climatic
conditions.
Biotic pressure further accelerates the process of desertification.
Unfortunately, most of the arable drylands are owned by poor farmers who are unable to
earn sustainable livelihood from such lands.
Major crops grown on drylands are minor millets, pulses and oilseeds, which are
drought tolerant and withstand moisture stress, nutritional deficiencies and biotic pressure.
Crop production on drylands is risky and the chances of failure are almost 2-3 times in a
block of 5 years. Therefore, in the absence of assured income from agriculture, most of
the families living in dry regions maintain different types of livestock for supplementary
income.
Apart from arable drylands, there are wide stretches of community pastures, village
common lands and degraded forest lands, falling under the category of drylands. Out of
the total wastelands spread over 135 million ha, at least 50% of the area is suffering from
moisture stress and unable to support plant growth. Thus, these wastelands owned by
public institutions, also fall under the category of drylands. As the drylands are closely
associated with poverty, food security and backwardness, neglect of drylands will not only
turn these valuable assets into deserts but also invite disaster for our ancient civilised
society. Therefore, development of drylands deserves priority.
Causes of Dryland Formation
Lack of moisture to support the growth of plants and micro-organisms is the
primary cause of dryland formation. Areas receiving less than 300 mm of rainfall per
annum, face severe moisture scarcity during a major part of the year. It is very difficult to
take up profitable agriculture on such lands without supplementary irrigation. There are
many such regions where shrubs, herbs and grasses grow profusely and dry out in autumn.
Sahelian region of Africa located on the edge of Sahara desert, receives only 250-300 mm
rainfall and provides livelihood to millions of families through livestock husbandry. Even
in Western India, the families living in Thar region of Rajasthan and Banni region of
Gujarat are dependent on animal husbandry for their livelihood, only because of good
growth of seasonal grasses and herbs. Such lands may not support perennial shrubs due to
severe moisture stress in summer.
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Arid lands, receiving an annual rainfall of 300-500 mm can easily support one
crop. Such areas are found in the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Some of these areas are now receiving irrigation and
yielding 6-8 times more. With irrigation the employment potentials will also increase by
3-4 folds. The remaining dry areas still experience frequent crop failures, forcing the
farmers to live in chronic poverty. Such poor farmers neither have resources to invest in
critical agricultural inputs nor are they interested in taking any risk due to high chances of
failure. Thus, the crop yields remain suppressed even in good years. It is a vicious cycle.
Therefore, it is necessary to develop a sustainable model by introducing a mixed farming
system with high stake in livestock husbandry to reduce the risk of failures. In such a
system, even the failed crop residues turn out to be a boon for feeding livestock.
Apart from the lands suffering from moisture stress in arid regions, there are several
other types of drylands located in different parts of the country. These are:
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Deep sandy soils with poor water holding capacity;
Shallow and rocky soils which cannot absorb rain water;
Deep soils with undulating surface, unable to hold rain water;
Cold regions where plants cannot absorb water due to severe cold
Sodic and saline wastelands, where plants cannot survive due to high salt content.
Problems of Drylands Development
Among various types of drylands, it is only the arid regions where the productivity
is affected by moisture stress. The other types of drylands are remaining idle due to lack
of our interest and attitude and posing a threat to our livelihood, eco-system and
biodiversity. Lack of technologies, limitation of resources and biotic pressure contribute
further in conversion of these drylands into deserts.
Land has tremendous potential to support plant life. In India, there is hardly any
location where the rainfall is less than 300 mm. Hence, there is no excuse for letting over
100 million ha drylands remain idle. This reflects on the lack of interest to manage these
precious resources.
Fortunately, we have good success stories from India and abroad, where traditional
land use practices have been providing sustainable livelihood to the local communities.
Looking to these experiences, we need to develop a strategy for developing the drylands
for generating gainful employment to our rural poor, while enriching the environment.
In semi-arid regions where the rainfall is over 600 mm, retention of rainwater in
the field is the major problem. Increased infiltration of rainwater, assures good moisture
to the soil to support plant growth. Thus, water is the lifeline not only for the survival of
human civilisation but also for keeping the land resources in good health. Unfortunately,
water is becoming a scarce commodity. We have already been witnessing inter-state
disputes for sharing river water. Thousands of villages are dependent on tankers for water
supply in summer. Rural women still spend several hours to fetch water every day.
Drinking water is costlier than milk in cities. It has been predicted that in future, the world
wars will be fought for water. This reflects a grave situation.
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However, in India, we have been witnessing the negative impact of water, where
water is a curse for many. Over 8 crore people are affected by floods every year in the
country. Last year had the dubious record of many mega cities like Mumbai, Chennai,
Baroda and Kolkata sinking in floods. This is an indication of heavy soil erosion and
runoff of rainwater in the catchment areas. Hence, floods are warning signals of dryland
formation in the catchment areas. Our inability to harness the precious water resources
should be a cause of serious concern for all those involved in community development.
Development of Drylands
Therefore, for the development of drylands, the primary step is to initiate a very
efficient method of soil and moisture conservation. These include establishment of
contour bunds, land shaping to retain rainwater, formation of farm ponds and percolation
tanks. With efficient harnessing of rainwater, there will be a check on soil erosion, apart
from recharging of the ground water table. The immediate benefit will be assured supply
of potable water for the local population.
Farm ponds play a very effective role in recharging of groundwater, particularly in
sandy and loamy soils. In Karnataka, BAIF has established a network of farm ponds
covering a watershed of 3-4 villages. These farm ponds were inter-connected to ensure
that the overflow of water from the upper level pond will go to the lower level pond
through the channel. This network could prevent soil erosion to a great extent while
facilitating the ponds to retain water for over 6-10 months in a year. As a result of
effective recharging of ground water, the rivulets located on the lower evaluation in the
network area could retain water throughout the year. This encouraged the farmers to
establish plantation crops in the catchment area of the watershed, which was otherwise
remaining idle. Another significant impact of the programme was revival of hundreds of
borewells, which had dried out several years ago. This proved to be an excellent
demonstration to motivate farmers to take up water conservation measures for their
economic sustainability.
With the availability of water, drylands can be brought into various uses. At
Urulikanchan, where the soil is very shallow, it was possible to support a wide range of
crops. However, the economics of growing such crops is dependent on the quantity of
water available to ensure optimum growth. In sandy desert areas of Kutchh, farmers have
taken good initiative in establishing fruit crops like date palm and ber, using brackish
water. Establishment of trees as windbreaks on the field bunds and borders further help in
conservation of moisture by maintaining a low temperature.
Thus, depending on the
water availability and economic viability, a suitable agri-horti-forestry system can be
established on drylands.
In the absence of any sources of water for irrigation, BAIF has promoted
community pasture development in the semi-arid regions of Rajasthan. Under this
programme, the primary step was to establish contour bunds to prevent runoff of
rainwater. The other important activity was to dig the trench-cum-bund on the border and
establish a live hedge fence to prevent biotic pressure. Subsequently, seeds of Dhaman
grass (Cenchrus setigirus) and Stylos (Stylosanthus hemata) were sown after tilling the
land lightly, using tractor-drawn tillers. This could help in revival of the pasture along
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with a wide range of native tree species. The local community could harvest 4-6 tons of
grass per ha. The critical factors for success of this programme were people’s
participation, their willingness to control stray animals and share the resources equally
among the members.
With assured sources of water, developed through watershed development, it is
possible to establish good horticultural plantations in the areas, where the annual rainfall is
above 800 mm. This programme will not only provide an excellent opportunity for
employment generation for the rural poor, including the landless, but also help in
conserving the eco-system and biodiversity. Based on this experience, BAIF has initiated
the Tribal Development programme, popularly known as Wadi. Under this programme,
drought tolerant fruit trees were selected as the main crops and the inter-space was used
for cultivation of food crops, which not only ensured food security, but also provided
gainful employment till the trees started bearing fruits. The borders were used for
cultivating different types of multipurpose tree species useful for fodder, fuelwood, timber
and herbal medicines. They also served as windbreaks and protection to the orchards.
This programme, which enabled each target family to develop horticulture on 0.4 ha, was
also able to provide a net income of Rs.20,000-25,000 per annum after 4-5 years. The
programme is now recognised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India and
NABARD for wider replication.
Role of Industries in Dryland Development
BAIF also had a unique experience of establishing industrial greenbelt on degraded
lands in different locations. At Ghansoli village, in the Thane-Belapur industrial belt in
New Mumbai, BAIF has reforested 150 ha degraded forest lands with the support of
NOCIL. Although this area receives more than 2000 mm of rainfall, most of the hill
ranges of the Western Ghats are heavily eroded and barren. Such lands are worse than
drylands. These barren hills are causes of flash floods. Hence, staggered trenches were
dug across the slope to facilitate percolation of rainwater. Looking to the water shortage
during the summer, treated affluent from the petrochemical industry was used for
irrigating the plantation. This gave a tremendous boost to the plantation and in three years
time, the entire barren hill was converted into a popular spot for eco-tourism. Over 2000
people, from a radius of 50 km come to this spot for picnic on weekends. Our experience
of working at Gokak Falls with the support of Gokak Mills, covering 150 ha was also very
interesting. We could develop tree plantations without any irrigation. More interesting
was the natural growth of neem trees, which have established into a thick grove over a
period of 5-8 years. BAIF has taken up similar greenbelt development work with the
support of other industries, such as L&T at Hazira, IPCL at Nagothane and Bharuch,
Hindustan Lever at Khamgaon, INDAL at Belgaum and NPCL at Kakrapara near Surat
and Tarapur. These industrial greenbelts have created an excellent ambience in the
surroundings and a very positive feeling among the staff working in the industry. The
Managements of these establishments were able to appreciate the value for the money
spent.
Reclamation of Degraded Lands
Ravine lands are also a type of drylands, where soil is sandy and the water
retaining capacity is very low. These lands, being deprived of vegetation are prone to
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heavy erosion causing deep gullies. The major problem was the attitude of the local
people, who did not consider it necessary to protect the community lands, adjoining their
agricultural lands, which accelerated the formation of ravine lands. BAIF was able to gain
confidence of the local community and demonstrated the need for restoration of
community lands. Contour bunding and gully plugging could help in retaining rain water
in tanks. As a result, the groundwater table could increase and the farming families were
able to drill group borewells for irrigating their crops in two seasons. Today, these people
are taking care of the ravine lands because they are aware that without protecting the
common lands, they will not be able to harvest bumper crops on their agriculture lands.
Even the sodic and saline lands can be considered as drylands because they cannot
nurture any greenery. The formation of sodic land is due to excessive use of water for
irrigation without any provision for drainage. Unfortunately, we have 9 million ha of
fertile lands with assured irrigation to grow 2-3 crops per year, which have turned into
sodic lands. This indicates that we have wasted precious water, which otherwise could
have brought additional 10 million ha under irrigation. This is an indication of the
mismanagement of water. It is high time that the local communities are assigned the
responsibility of sharing water and other natural resources equally and efficiently to ensure
high productivity and social justice.
Call for Action
It is clear that most of the drylands in our country are our own creation. They can
certainly be brought under productive use, which will not only conserve our eco-system
and biodiversity and generate employment, but also ensure food security for millions of
rural poor. This is not an exaggeration. In Israel, farmers and scientists have made
excellent efforts to introduce many drought tolerant fruit trees in sandy deserts. In large
parts of Europe, the hilly terrains are like drylands. Nevertheless, the farmers are making
sustainable use of such hilly areas for livelihood through dairy husbandry.
Unfortunately, inspite of good rains and assured sources of water, we are not able
to develop our drylands in many parts of the country. Local communities feel helpless
because they lack technology, resources and measures to reduce the biotic pressure. It is
due to our apathy and neglect that the drylands are in the process of desertification. We,
therefore, need to initiate the development of these drylands through a mission mode with
pilot projects, which can serve as models for wider replication.
If the Government of India is prepared to take initiative and permit agencies like
BAIF to develop drylands including the degraded forest lands, and if Corporate houses
come forward to sponsor such development programmes, we can certainly bring a change.
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