Climate Change Guide for Community Radio ... - CDKN Global

Anchor script informationFor farmers that are fortunate enough to have access to water for irrigation purposes, it isimportant for them to use that water as efficiently as possible. Under climate change, usingwater more efficiently will become even more important as water availability becomes moreunpredictable. There are different forms of irrigation such as field flooding, sprinklerirrigation, and drip irrigation. Field flooding requires few resources but is a relativelyinefficient use of water, while drip irrigation requires specialized tubing and pumps but useswater much more efficiently. The appropriate technique will depend on a farmer’s resourcesand location.Important noteIn this radio programme there must be success stories of farmers who are benefitting fromusing water efficient irrigation techniques.7 th Topic: Preventing soil erosion and improving soil qualityQuestions forcommunity:Questions forpolicymakers:Questions forscientists:Ask farmers about their perceptions on soil erosion. Is soil erosion aproblem in their communities? What do they do, if anything, to prevent soilerosion on their farms? If they do not do anything, why do they not doanything? Do they not know the correct techniques or do they not haveadequate resources? How do they currently manage the fertility of theirsoil. Do they use synthetic fertilizers? Compost? Manure? Do they usespecial techniques to prepare compost or manure? How did they learnabout these techniques?What are the initiatives by the government to reduce soil loss? Are thereschemes to help farmers cope with this problem? How can farmersreceive assistance in improving soil fertility? Are there any schemes thatpromote these techniques? Are there ways farmers can accessinformation on these techniques? Do policy makers think improving soilfertility is important for Bundelkhand? Why or why not?Ask scientists about the importance of conserving soil. What is lost whentop soil erodes? What strategies would be appropriate for regionalfarmers to pursue in reducing soil erosion on their farms? What are thebest options? What are the most affordable options? What are thedifferent ways to improve soil health? Are there certain techniques thatare more suited for the semi-arid region of Bundelkhand? What is theproper way to make compost? What is the proper way to incorporatemanure into the soil? What type of cover crops promotes soil health?What are the costs of these techniques in comparison to syntheticfertilizers?11