A Ravindra, WASSAN

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Making Watershed Projects More Comprehensive and
Integrated Challenges within Common Guidelines

• -A Ravindra, WASSAN
• www.wassan.org
• September 18th, 2008

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Historical Transect of watershed development
River valley projects (1960)
??
Assets under Relief programs (1970s)
WS Livelihoods (2000s)
Drought proofing infrastructure (1970s)
Watershed approach (1980s)
Participatory watershed approach (1994)
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Must locate watershed programs within the Macro
Context of rainfed areas..
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Decelerating agriculture growth..
Economic growth leaving people behind
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Deepening Groundwater Crisis
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Mounting Food Subsidies
Procurement (mt)
But not benefiting rainfed farmers.. .
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Deteriorating soils and acute crisis related to
soil nutrition..
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Total (cumulative) investment on watershed
treatment upto 10th FY Plan
Rs.19,251 (crores)
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Increasing cost of inputs impacting profitability
of agriculture.
More than 1,50,000 farmers have committed
suicides in the last decade.
Rainfed areas and rainfed farmers facing the
brunt of the crisis.
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Imperatives of Climate Change

• Uncertainties in rainfall -irregular onset,
  drought spells, high intensity un-seasonal
  rainfall events, and reduction in rain (in some
  places) are general predictions
• increasing vulnerabilities in rainfed areas

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Summarized in the Common Guidelines An insight
into the rainfed regions reveals .

• a grim picture of poverty,
• water scarcity, rapid depletion of ground water
  table
• fragile ecosystems.
• Land degradation due to soil erosion by wind and
  water,
• low rainwater use efficiency,
• high population pressure,

• poor livestock productivity,
• underinvestment in water use efficiency,
• lack of assured and remunerative marketing
  opportunities
• and poor infrastructure
• . . . . .are important concerns of enabling
  policies.

Source Common Guidelines, 2008
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The challenge in rainfed areas, therefore . . . .

• .. is to improve rural livelihoods through
  participatory watershed development with focus on
  integrated farming systems for enhancing income,
  productivity and livelihood security in a
  sustainable manner.

Chasing the objectives of income, productivity
and livelihoods through integrated/ sustainable
farming systems approach is the preamble set in
the common guidelines.
Source Common Guidelines, 2008
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Present Orientation of watershed programs (by and
large)

• Emphasis on soil conservation and water
  harvesting structures (gt90 of the work budgets
  spent)
• Soil fertility did not receive any attention
• Biomass improvement at the periphery mostly did
  not survive
• Livelihoods as an adjunct WS activity
• Poor institutions that did not survive
• Cursory initiatives in dealing with livestock
  (mostly confined to credit for dairy animals and
  distribution of stylo seeds)

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• What must be the new orientation?

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The required orientation

• Improving Soil health is the key increase
  organic matter in the soils
• Reduce costs through sustainable agriculture
  approaches (NPM, composting, SRI etc.)
• Improve productivity
• Diversify farming systems (establish support
  systems for diversification)

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The required orientation contd..

• Build irrigation development into the scope of
  watershed programs
• Protective irrigation for all (water for all)
  could be the driver
• Innovative approaches for social regulation on
  digging of new borewells or sharing existing ones
  (through incentives and sanctions) can be the
  approach.
• Focus on livestock
• Streamlining preventive healthcare systems
• Better support systems for sheep, goat and back
  yard poultry that survives climate adversities
• Fodder security (production and institutional
  arrangements)
• Focus on draught power.
• Complete investments on the poor their
  livelihoods
• 9. Development of sustainable institutions is the
  key

? All these not as WS activities but, must
occupy the centre stage of the watershed
development programs.
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Opportunities opening up

• A. External to Watershed program
• NREGS ? regular open-ended budgets available at
  district level for labor works
• Why not take up all earthworks under NREGA (as a
  1st preference) and other investments in
  watershed development
• RKVY / BRGF ? Sizeable budget allocations at
  district level based on decentralized planning

Needs a creative convergence framework at the
district level
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Opportunities opening up

• B. Internal to watershed program
• State specific process guidelines decentralised
  institutional structures for approval
• Cluster based watershed selection (large compact
  area)
• Creation of productivity enhancement and
  livelihoods budget node
• Scope for partnership with civil society
• Substantial increase in the budget outlay
• Establishment of NRAA as a node for innovation
  and policy

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What needs to be done ...

• Increase budget outlays () on facilitation and
  capacity building.
• Make the reorientation as the core of the
  program build these elements into planning and
  budget sanction processes.
• Establish examples of the new paradigm on a large
  scale creative partnerships could be a useful
  learning ground

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What needs to be done.

• Converge with NREGA for soil and water
  conservation works and rainfed farming becomes
  core of watershed development.
• Create a budget node on improving rainfed
  farming with x allocation in addition to
  livelihood fund (x allocation)- or create
  flexibility within works / PE budgets
• Develop framework for improving rainfed farming
  systems/ priorities for each Agro Eco Systems /
  states lay down the processes of planning and
  action as a part of process guidelines.
• Increased allocation for capacity building,
  campaigns, community organisation and
  facilitation costs (by about 10). Invest on
  institutions.
• Promote support organisations to backstop PIAs.

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