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WATER COOPERATION, SUSTAINABILITY AND POVERTY ERADICATIONedge-based approach to bridging yield gaps with a mission-modeinitiative, forming a consortium and a network for stakeholders toshare their knowledge about the weather, soil health and improvedmanagement practices across all 30 districts in the state. Theoverwhelming impact has strengthened the partnership betweenICRISAT and the GoK, and eight major Consultative Group onInternational Agricultural Research (CGIAR) centres have beeninvited, along with AVRDC (the World Vegetable Center), to worktowards improving rural livelihood systems in four benchmarkdistricts representing different agroecological zones in the state.Up-scaling the benefits of integrated watershed managementnecessitates an articulated strategy based on the main pillar ofcapacity building of all stakeholders, including farmers, researchers,development workers, policymakers and development investors.New scientific tools such as remote sensing, geographical informationsystems and crop simulation modelling for the analysis oflong-term potential productivity, need to be used as the planningtools. These tools provide the capabilities for extrapolating andimplementing the technologies to other larger watersheds.The ICRISAT consortium focused on training farmers, personnelfrom development agencies and NGOs through demonstrations ofdifferent technologies on benchmark watersheds, and acts as a mentorfor technology backstopping. The farmers’ community, throughvillage institutions, took responsibility for all activities of implementationand monitoring. Government and non-governmental agenciescatalyzed the process. The important aspect while evaluating andscaling-out this approach is that the relevant government line departmentsmust be included in the consortium along with other partners.The role of policymakers and development investors is critical, andsensitization of these stakeholders played a major role inscaling-out the benefits in Asia.Impacts and outcomesAn innovative integrated watershed management modeldeveloped by ICRISAT and its partners produced a widerange of impacts. Close monitoring of groundwaterresources in different watersheds in India confirmedthat water harvesting structures sustained good groundwateryield even after the rainy season. For instance, inthe Lalatora watershed in Madhya Pradesh, the groundwaterlevel in the treated area registered an averagerise of 7.3 metres; at Bundi watershed in Rajasthan a5.7 metre increase was observed, and at the Adarshawatershed, Kothapally in Andhra Pradesh, a 4.2 metrerise in groundwater was recorded. In Adarsha watershed,a study showed that nearly 60 per cent of therun-off water was harvested through agriculturalwater management interventions which also rechargedshallow aquifers. Water harvesting structures (WHS)resulted in a total 6 metre rise in the water table duringthe monsoon. At the field scale, WHS recharged openwells at a 200 to 400 metre spatial scale. 11 The variousWHS resulted in an average contribution of seasonalrainfall to groundwater during the normal rainfall yearof 27-34 per cent in Rajasamadhiyala and Shekta watersheds.12 In the Adarsha watershed, due to additionalgroundwater recharge, a total of 200 ha were irrigatedin the kharif (autumn) season and 100 ha in the rabiMean annual groundwater levels in wells as influenced by the water harvesting structures at Kothapally and Bundi watershedsAdrasha watershed, Andhra PradeshBundi watershed, Rajasthan0150001000Waterlevel in well (m)6121000500Rainfall (mm)Waterlevel in well (m)612500Rainfall (mm)182000 2003 2006 20090182002 2004 20060RainfallNear check damAway from check damSource: Wani et al., 2010[ 220 ]