Livelihood Augmentation in Rainfed Areas - Development Support ...

practitioners as well as academics will find this compilation a useful reference and
guide for unlocking the vast potential of rainfed areas for food security and livelihood
augmentation (LA).
The handbook is presented in four parts in order to facilitate proper coverage and
handling of key aspects of LA in rainfed areas. These introduction, which provides
the context of rainfed areas, is common to all the volumes.
Emerging Crisis of Indian Agriculture
Like most other developing economies, India began as an agrarian State. Even today
agriculture is a source of livelihood for about 60 per cent of its population and provides
employment to about 56 per cent of the country’s work force. However, the growth rate
of agriculture steadily declined from 3.2 per cent in the 80s to around 2 per cent in
the last 4-5 years. On the other hand, industrial growth has been buoyant at around 8
per cent. Such skewed growth rates are a matter of serious concern for planners and
policy makers of the country at the highest level.
An analysis of spatial growth patterns in agriculture shows that the growth in the Green
Revolution areas (Punjab, Haryana and western UP) has tapered off and in some
places it is even showing signs of decline (India Today, June, 2007). The ‘treadmill
effect’ caused by high and imbalanced external input farming, soil ‘fatigue’ and declining
soil health, dependence on a narrow base of crop varieties leading to mono-culture,
greater vulnerability to pests and depletion of groundwater resources are some of the
better known reasons for stagnation and decline in yields in the Green Revolution
areas. In addition, the cost of chemical intensive farming has been rising progressively
without a corresponding increase in the price of produce, making farming less and
less attractive as an economic activity. The growing rate of farmer suicides, which has
crossed 20,000 per year, may be seen as one of the indicators of the emerging crisis
of Indian agriculture (ibid.).
One way out of the crisis is to step up the investments in irrigation projects. However,
public investment in irrigation has declined from 23 per cent during the First Plan period
to about 5 per cent in the Tenth Plan (ibid.). According to the National Commission on
Agriculture, even if the entire irrigation potential of the country is developed, more
than 50 per cent of arable land will still remain rainfed. With productivity in the Green
Revolution areas becoming stagnant and the likelihood of expanding irrigated areas
in the short run being limited, it is unlikely that future growth will come from irrigated
areas. Rationalizing the use of water resources and focusing on water resource
efficiency, encouraging conjunctive use of chemical and organic fertilizers; promoting
integrated pest management and using chemical pesticides as a last resort measure;
The Untapped Potential of Rainfed Areas
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