THE BAIF JOURNAL
Vol. 40
July-October 2016
Climate Change and Sustainable Development
BAIF Trustees
The BAIF Journal
Mr. Hrishikesh A. Mafatlal
A quarterly Journal of
BAIF DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Chairman
Dr. M.S. Swaminathan
Vol. 40
July-October 2016
Vice Chairman
Mr. Hasmukh S. Shah
Chairman, Executive Committee of BAIF Trustees
Smt. Rajashree A. Birla
Mr. Kishor A. Chaukar
Mr. Sunil. S. Lalbhai
Dr. Devendra R. Mehta
Mr. Deepak C. Mehta
Mr. Pratap G. Pawar
Mr. Sharad Upasani
Dr. Narayan G. Hegde
In this Issue
Climate Change and Sustainable Development
1
Coping Strategies amidst Agrarian Distress
2
Climate Change Adaptation Initiatives in BAIF
5
Integrated Renewable Energy and
Sustainable Agriculture
7
Climate Change-related Risk Perceptions
of Rural Communities
9
Launch of Climate Smart Actions and
Mr. Ramesh Rawal
Mr. Girish G. Sohani
President and Managing Trustee
Founder: Late Dr. Manibhai Desai
Strategies in North Western Himalayas
10
Carbon Sequestration in Wadi
13
Impressions and Reflections
15
Conservation and Revival of Local Crop
Cultivars and Livestock Biodiversity
Resources - Climate Resilient Initiatives
Editorial Office
BAIF Bhavan, Dr. Manibhai Desai Nagar
Warje, Pune 411 058
18
Edited, Printed and Published by:
BAIF Development Research Foundation
Dr. Manibhai Desai Nagar, Warje, Pune 411 058
E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.baif.org.in
Managing Editor
Ms. Sucharita Dhar
Annual Subscription
Inland: Rs. 50/Overseas: US $10
Designed and Printed by Pratima Offset, Pune.
FromthePresident
Climate Change and Sustainable Development
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
Global warming and climate change have been
seriously affecting the farmers in India particularly
the small holders who represent the majority of
the farming community in India. There is now
increasing awareness of climate change effects
and the need for developing adaptation/coping
strategies. These strategies would also contribute
positively to more sustainable development –
various interventions that make possible
production of perennial biomass, biomass
recycling and improved soil health, contribute to a
sustainable environment. While series of research
and development initiatives are taken up across
the globe, it is time for us to work at the micro level
and develop a mitigation/adaptation approach for
small land holders in India. This strategy should be
such that it can be easily adopted by small farmers.
The Climate Change Adaptation Programme to
address farm production vulnerability through
agro bio-diversity, has been initiated by BAIF. The
programme includes promotion and conservation
of promising native germplasm of crops and
indigenous breeds of cattle, promotion of drought
resistant short duration crops and other potential
varieties and multiple cropping with a strong value
chain which can improve the soil carbon content
and micro climate. Promotion of mixed farming
can further facilitate efficient nutrient recycling
while substantially contributing to the family
income. Systematic planning and implementation
of the programme to carry out efficient rain water
harvesting for creating stocks of water on the
surface and in the aquifiers, address the water
scarcity due to consecutive droughts.
Soil health is the backbone of food and
nutrition security. The relationship with soil needs
to be one of nurturing, not extractive.
Unfortunately, farm lands in India are categorised
as highly degraded crop lands having very little top
soil and very poor in organic carbon, while the
livelihoods of the small holders are in jeopardy.
1
Local initiatives are required for developing
context-specific solutions, community-based
approaches, internalisation of good practices at
community level and contribution to national
strategies and policies. The soil conservation and
enrichment programme launched by BAIF since
inception has impacted over 400,000 ha in 8 states
through community managed watershed
development and Land Use Planning, community
driven landscape development, farm pond
networks in lateritic geology, ravine land
restoration and ground water recharge systems
under problem-soil conditions. Agroforestry with
farming system approach covers integration of
perennials into farms; approaches for promoting
Non-timber forestry helps to create carbon sinks
and generate livelihood while agro-ecology
approaches enable sustainable farming. These
sustainable approaches being adopted in BAIF
programmes, have impacted the lives of over
500,000 small holder tribal families in 8 states.
Some of the restorative methodologies include
large scale promotion of recycling of farm waste,
promotion of zero-tillage or low-tillage practices,
crop diversification, and conservation agriculture
apart from approaches promoting various other
climate smart agriculture practices.
This issue covers the above topics. Various
other articles focus on the concept of
sustainability, climate resilient agriculture, carbon
sequestration in wadi, Integrated Renewable
Energy and Sustainable Agriculture, recent climate
change adaptation initiatives, study on climate
change related risks as perceived by rural
communities and coping strategies amidst
agrarian distress.
Happy Reading!
Girish G. Sohani
Girish Sohani
COPING STRATEGIES
AMIDST AGRARIAN DISTRESS:
Experiential Enquiry, Revisiting Presumptions and
Re-searching Directions
The Roots of Agrarian Distress
Amidst this distress situation,
the reduced social cohesion and
the break-down of traditional
social structure have left
communities devoid of village
level community-based support
mechanisms. All these factors
have contributed to completely
'Distressed Societies' as in parts
of Vidarbha or nearly 'Dying
Societies' as in parts of
Marathwada.
Deforestation and erosion of
forests and forest-based
livelihoods; the neglect of
grasslands and worse still, their
conversion to commercial monocrop systems such as cotton in the
Deccan Plateau region; unchecked
soil erosion; overexploitation of
groundwater; and a break-down
of traditional social cohesion; all
these represent major transitions
that are largely responsible for
agrarian distress.
Complex Problems require
Holistic Solutions
Climate Change impacts are
manifesting themselves in the
form of unpredictable monsoon;
shifting and erratic rainfall
patterns; simultaneous presence
of drought-like conditions in some
areas and excessive rainfall in
others; hailstorms causing severe
crop damage; and other extreme
weather events such as
cloudbursts leading to heavy
precipitation in a smaller number
of rainy days thereby affecting the
groundwater recharge patterns.
Sustainability and security of
livelihoods are important
parameters to decide
development directions. These
become even more critical in
distress situations where farmers
are even more vulnerable and
under-empowered. Resilience
building also implies reducing
exposure to externalities. This in
turn requires some minimal
effort at producing 'home-grown'
inputs and 'home-consumption'
of part of the output.
2
Refreshing Examples
Over the last few decades,
BAIF has worked on various
approaches and programmes
that have shown a refreshing
potentiality to counter agrarian
distress. These holistic
approaches encompass three
key thrust directions:
Sustainable Management of
Natural Resources; Diversifying
Farming Systems; and Building
Social Capital and Cohesion.
There are three core
programmes of BAIF that have
contributed substantially to
unlock these potentialities.
=
Introducing a highly
remunerative dairy animal
integration into farming
systems using cutting edge
technologies of breeding
and animal management.
BAIF pioneered the
introduction of doorstep
breeding services using the
frozen semen technology,
to create wealth not
through induction of
livestock assets but by
building them up in a homegrown and acclimatized
manner. Similarly, integration
of goat rearing through a
comprehensive programme
of introducing elite bucks,
preventive health care, better
animal management and
increased awareness of
market functioning brings a
stable and remunerative
diversity to the livelihoods of
small farmers and the
landless. This diversification
of the farming system has not
only brought prosperity
across different geographies
but served as an excellent
drought-proofing intervention
even in semi-arid regions by
bringing resilience to farming
systems.
=
3
Introducing a crop-based
farm diversification by
introducing trees (both fruit
and forestry) and other
perennials into the farm. This
is integrated with soil
conservation along with
water resource management
and introduction of improved
agricultural crops and
practices. The diversity of
cropping - in terms of
seasonality, gestation periods,
shelf life and labour
requirements – not only
optimizes resource use (by
enabling dynamic and flexible
resource allocations by the
farmer) but makes possible
more effective hedging of
risks. This has made possible - even in rain fed conditions a
more productive land-use,
has extended incomegeneration to the whole year
and helped in climate-change
adaptation, while also
opening opportunities of
greater producer
participation in value chains.
=
Introducing diverse contextspecific approaches to land
and water management in
different geologies – ranging
from lateritic / basaltic
configurations of the Deccan
Plateau to the ravines in MP
/ UP. The management of
water at individual and
community level makes
possible an effective
resource use with local
control, and the ability to
create local strategic
reserves that can even out
availability between
different years. The
sustainable management of
the natural resources – from
soil and water on the one
hand to grasslands and
forests on the other, have
resulted in enriched natural
resource base that in turns
make the interspersed
farmlands more productive
through an improved soil
and moisture regime.
These programmes have been
implemented at scale across
the country in varying situations
and contexts. The dairy animal
production programme,
reaching out to about 4 million
farmers, covers semi-arid regions
of Rajasthan and Gujarat, the
Indo-Gangetic plains as well as
the undeveloped regions of
Central and Eastern India. The
diversified tree-based farming
systems have stabilized and
secured the lives of close to two
lakh smallholder tribal farmers
(through BAIF's wadi
programme) and thousands of
farmers from Vidarbha reeling
under agrarian distress (through
the SukhiBaliraja Initiative).
All these programmes have
successfully helped to build a
portfolio of activities for the
subsistence-farmer turned
agri-entrepreneur and provides
a built-in resilience to the
production system. But even
beyond the positive impacts on
the physical parameters, it is
experienced that the
programmes have led to a
massive mobilization of
communities around the
agenda of reconstruction. This
mobilization has been
channelized as tens of
thousands of SHGs,
'WadiTukadis' and 'Activity
Groups'; as well as numerous
Farmer Producer
Organisations, engaged in
doing not just thrift and credit,
but also in planning their
development and
implementing various
programme interventions.
Parallel to these activities, a
large number of rural youth
are taken through a process of
demystification of technology,
skills and capacity building in
these and produces a new
cadre of grassroot technicians
who function as service
providers and entrepreneurs to
provide forward and backward
linkages to the production
system and for emerging
societal needs. There is greater
confidence, increased resource
literacy, higher skills and
human capacity, build up of
social capital in the form of
vibrant groups of men and
women and farmer
organizations; and all this
results in an atmosphere of
confident hope.
All these make distress a
remote possibility. In most of
these areas impacts are seen in
terms of food security,
marketable surpluses of diverse
farm produce, value chain
activities, adequate farm-based
provisioning of food – fuel –
fodder, increased creditabsorption capacity, an
integration into mainstream
financial channels, and the
phenomenon of reverse
migration. Further there is
strong social equity and the
rejuvenated social groups
provide a vital latent force to
deal with crisis situations.
Many of the above have
shaped through key initiatives by
NABARD or involving NABARD's
long-term partners in
development: the impetus given
to shape the SHG movement in
the country; the expansion of
BAIF's Wadi concept of
diversified tree-based farming
systems across the nation; the
promotion of people-centered
land and water resource
management through innovative
Watershed Programme
approach; are various examples
of such NABARD initiatives. The
combination of these
approaches in a holistic manner
and dovetailed with appropriate
livestock development
component can provide the
building blocks to address
agrarian distress. This however
will require the internalizing of
these programme learnings and
to move beyond the mindset of
'Financial Inclusion' which is not
an end but only a means.
New Age Mechanisms to deal
with Agrarian Distress
New Age Coping Mechanisms
have to draw upon the above
positive experiences and be
introduced through a holistic
4
programme approach that builds
natural capital, diversifies
production systems and
strengthens social capital.
However the largely
traditional technology for
agricultural production is a
deterrent for rural youth to take
up the farming profession since
it does not match the everincreasing aspirations triggered
by exposure to urban lifestyles
which are illusorily enchanting.
Yet there is considerable
opportunity to introduce
modern technologies to make
farming highly remunerative; to
mechanise operations and
reduce drudgery; to introduce
ICT based applications; and to
add dignity to farming.
The experiences listed above
also demonstrate that along
with such a resurgent and
resilient production system,
numerous opportunities can
arise for off-farm livelihoods
within backward and forward
linkages as well as within value
chains. These off-farm and nonfarm livelihood options will be in
the form of a rural farm based
industrial and service sector.
Such a vibrant rural farm-based
industrial and service sector will
not only reduce the pressure on
farming but also increase
investment in the farm sector.
The symbiotic relationship will
stimulate and benefit both these
sectors. Further the seamless
integration of the IT sector with
the Farm sector will bring in
both vertical and horizontal
growth in the sector.
All these possibilities will
require a holistic programme as
its starting point. All these
potentialities would also call for
a higher public and private
investment in agricultural
infrastructure, particularly for
water resource management,
post harvest handling,
smallholder farm mechanization
and the off-farm rural industrial
and service sector.
Holistic solutions will also
require newer delivery
mechanisms. It is probably the
opportune time to conceive a
holistic Farm Resilience Mission
which will be interdisciplinary in
scope.
To measure and track the
progress with such
interdisciplinary scope requires a
set of different Metrics.
Economic / financial analysis of
the entire farming enterprise;
credit programmes will need to
move towards portfolio
financing instead of activity
financing; rather than tracking
loan disbursed / outstanding we
may need to measure in terms
of equity: debt ratios (equity
being contributed by SHGs /
Farmer groups /WDCs etc); and
instead of yields of individual
crops, we may need to look at
system outputs.
Based on the legacy and
learning from these
programmes, NABARD - as a
Developmental Financial
Institution - is eminently placed
to break the shackles of
conventional thinking, develop
and deliver new-age holistic
solutions, and contribute to a
paradigm shift to bring about a
resilient solution to deal with
agrarian distress. This will
however require an internal
transformation and close
§
working with field partners.
Source : NABARD Foundation
Day Lecture, 2016
Climate Change Adaptation Initiatives in BAIF
C
limate change is emerging as a major
challenge to livelihoods, food security and
overall well-being of rural communities in
India who are to a large extent, dependent on
climate sensitive sectors and resources such as
agriculture, animal husbandry, forest, soil and
water. Many field studies support the fact that
communities are facing greater uncertainty than
ever before and that these changes and their
consequent results have further accelerated the
process of marginalisation of these agriculturedependent communities.
BAIF is committed to the cause of rural and
tribal development in the country. With the
changing climate context, BAIF is striving to
provide sustainable and climate smart livelihood
opportunities to rural communities. Various
programmes are thus being conceptualised for
building resilience for the communities living in
climate sensitive regions of India.
Two such programmes to be undertaken by
BAIF with the support of NABARD are:
1. Climate smart actions and strategies in North
Western Himalayan region for sustainable
livelihood of agriculture-dependent hill
communities. The adaptation activity is proposed
to be undertaken in a cluster of Champavat district
in Uttarakhand state. The project seeks to improve
the adaptive capacity of vulnerable communities in
this region by introducing climate smart farming
technologies covering crops, livestock and water
resources, and community strengthening
processes and capacity building actions.
Building resilience: Suggested pathways under
this project:
1.Improved community mobilisation
to collectively plan and undertake
climate change adaptation
2 . B u i l d i n g re s i l i e n c e t h ro u g h
increased water availability and
efficient water use in hill region
3.Adoption of climate smart agriculture
technologies and farm diversification
options for climate resilient livelihoods
4.Improved potential of livestock
resources as an option for livelihood
stabilisation in hills
5.Knowledge generation based on field actions and wider
dissemination to enhance awareness of hill communities
and stakeholders as well as for better policy inputs
5
2. Climate Proofing of Watershed Development
Projects in the States of Rajasthan. The objective is
to build adaptive capacities of the communities to
shifting rainfall patterns and extreme weather
events exacerbated by climate change in the rain
fed areas of Rajasthan
Improving adaptation to climate
variability / change in farm sector with
better management and maintenance of
soil and water regime enabling better
crop / pasture land productivity and
resultant increase in income of small and
marginal farmers.
Reducing climate change
vulnerability and process of
marginalisation with integration of
risk mitigation products, like crop,
weather and market advisory; and
information system.
The Adaptation Fund Board has been established
to finance concrete adaptation projects and
programmes in developing countries that are party
to the Kyoto Protocol and are particularly
vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate
change. NABARD is working in the capacity of
National Implementing Entity (NIE) for Adaptation
6
Building resilience: Suggested pathways under
this project:
Both these projects are supported by Adaptation
Fund Board (AFB) NABARD Fund for a period of
four years with a view to reduce vulnerability of the
population by increasing their adaptive capacity to
respond to the impacts of climate change.
Promoting climate resilient farming
system and diversification of
livelihoods engaging community and
their associations in the concrete
adaptation pathway.
Creation of knowledge management
system on climate change
adaptation and sharing the learning
to wider audience for replication
and technology cascading.
Fund in India. The Ministry of Environment, Forests
and Climate Change, Government of India is a
National Designated Authority (N D A) for
Adaptation Fund and proposals are submitted with
§
the endorsement of NDA.
BAIF Team
Integrated Renewable Energy and
Sustainable Agriculture (IRESA)
T
4.
Guiding farmers for downstream
production of cash crops on intensive small
plots for higher earnings.
he Integrated Renewable Energy and
Sustainable Agriculture (IRESA) approach
presents a portfolio of activities around
the central theme of household level biogas
units. The focus is on optimal use of existing
resources to generate sustainable energy for
cooking and value added organic manure for soil
fertility. The package incorporates the following
components:
Pre-requisites
1.
=
2.
3.
7
Introduction of pre-fabricated biogas
technology which is compact, standardised,
failure-proof and clean.
Introduction of an integrated package
consisting of a well-tested, low cost, inhouse developed slurry filter for which
patent has been applied, effecting up to 50%
water recycling and better slurry handling.
Integration of composting and
vermicomposting using the sludge and
other biomass for enhanced production of
quality manure resulting in saving in usage
of chemical fertilisers.
Project Location
The project has been rolled out in Satara, Nagpur
and Bhandara districts of Maharashtra and
Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh.
=
=
Household level availability of 3 cattle (for 2
m3 unit)
3
2 m unit shall be sufficient for a household
with 4-6 members
Installation area requirement of approx. 300
sq. ft. (combined area for biogas unit, slurry
filter, storage, vermicomposting). The area
should ideally be near the house and farm.
Preference should be given to the location
near the house. Distance between biogas
unit and kitchen should not be more than
500 ft.
=
=
=
=
Biogas unit installation site should be open
to the sky. Level ground with soft soil is
required. 3 ft. underground installation for
ergonomic operation is feasible.
Availability of agri residue for
vermicomposting Phosphate Rich Organic
Manure (PROM).
Enrichment of sludge and filtrate for usage
enhancement
Intensive small plot (10 – 20 gunthas / 0.25 –
0.5 acre) farming of high value crops using
value-added quality organic inputs
Benefits
The approach enables farmers to reduce their
dependence on external sources for fulfilling
their energy and soil nutrient requirements. The
savings on fuel and chemical fertilisers along
with high value intensive crop cultivation
presents a decent payback possibility. The
savings on import bills for the country is
considerable. Additionally, the approach with
renewed and modern outlook along with
improved technology presents a strong incentive
for adoption.
Ergonomics and Process Simplicity
«
«
Ready to install and durable family size
biogas plant ( H D P E , 2 m 3 daily gas
production, 14 – 20 LPG cylinder equivalent
gas production)
BAIF Slurry Filter (BSF) for efficient in-situ
slurry handling. 90% solids recovery and
«
«
1 – 1.5 tons of dry slurry cake per annum to
be available
Water saving up to 50% through recycling
Slurry value addition through
vermicomposting, PROM (2 tons per
annum) and liquid bio-fertiliser production
Economic Gains
Ø
Ø
Ø
Ø
Ø
Ø
Cost saving on fossil fuel and chemical
fertilizers. Savings on LPG is Rs. 4000
(considering 8 cylinders per year).
Vermicompost production worth Rs. 12000
per annum possible.
Income generation from value added
organic products
Improved soil health by use of organic
inputs
Enhanced health through nutrition garden
(small plot cultivation)
Local liquid organic fertiliser enterprise
setup potential
Payback in 2 – 3 years
Environmental Gains
Reduced carbon footprint
Reduced water footprint
Climate change adaptation and mitigation
t
t
t
Viability Quotient
o
o
Micro level – Sustainable energy and
cultivation practices
Macro level – Savings in import and fertiliser
§
subsidy
Rakesh Warrier
Very inspiring visit. I am looking for
further contact and collabora on
between BAIF and Israel.
– Mr. David Akov, Consul General of
Israel visited BAIF Central Research
Sta on on August 3, 2016.
8
Climate Change-related Risk Perceptions
of Rural Communities
A Field Assessment Study was undertaken by BAIF to understand the climate
change related risk perceptions of rural communities in coastal Gujarat and North
Western Himalayas regions of the country.
T
o understand the exact nature of the
emerging threat of climate change and
how communities perceive this risk, a
study was conducted by BAIF during 2012-13.
The study involved rapid assessment of the
nature of risks, risk perceptions and
interpretation of risks by the rural communities
and their coping mechanisms living in coastal
Gujarat and North Western Himalayas. The data
collection tools included village level meetings
using PRA tools for community engagements,
Focus Group Discussions with farmers and
formal and informal interviews with key
stakeholders.
occurred in their regions, the frequency,
interval, intensity and predictability have
undergone changes;
Key Findings
The following findings emerged from the study:
=
Majority of the respondents were aware of
the changes in climatic conditions and were
keen to discuss them;
=
Communities seem to have their unique
ways of interpreting nature/climatic
conditions based on earlier experience in
addressing these hazards;
=
=
The definition of drought among the
communities as “shortfall of rains during the
critical stages of growth of crops, leading to
loss of crop yields” was quite different from
the scientific definition of “prolonged
period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to
a shortage of water';
=
The changes in behavior, distribution, date
of onset, distribution, daily and monthly
rainfall, rainfall during critical stages of
agriculture crops, total rainfall, spread
during the kharif season, number of days,
year to year variation and growing
unpredictability were of greater concern to
the communities;
=
Communities were equally concerned
about the changing temperature, cycle of
seasons, occurrence of hail storms and frost
conditions as these conditions directly
affect the performance of agriculture in a
region;
Most of the respondents shared the fact
that although floods and droughts have
Con nued on Page 12
9
Launch of Climate Smart Actions and Strategies in North Western Himalayas
A one-day workshop was jointly organised by
BAIF and NABARD Regional Office, Dehradun
in Champawat district of Uttarakhand state
on November 16 to launch the “Climate smart
actions and strategies in North Western
Himalayan region for sustainable livelihoods
of agriculture-dependent hill communities''
Project. The goal of this project is to improve
the adaptive capacity of rural small and
marginal farmers including hill women in the
region to respond to climate change. This is
aimed to be achieved by introducing Climate
Smart Farming Technologies along with
requisite social engineering and capacity
building processes. The project also envisages
creating field-based evidence of climate
resilient strategies and approaches in
mountain eco-systems.
Mr. D.N. Magar, Chief General Manager,
NABARD, formally announced the launching
of this project in 10 villages of Pati and
Lohaghat blocks of Champavat to be
implemented by BAIF and monitored by
NABARD. This project is one among five
other Projects approved under International
10
Adaptation Fund Board support to India. Mr.
Bharat Kakade, Senior Vice President, BAIF,
elaborated the need to adopt climate smart
development interventions by development
agencies to build resilience and reduce
vulnerability of communities. He also gave an
overview of the work undertaken by BAIF in
the country and in Uttarakhand in particular.
Shri. Jugal Kishor, AGM, NABARD, urged BAIF
to make the project participatory and
inclusive in nature and emphasised on the
need to blend local knowledge with scientific
technology. Scientists from reputed Institutes,
State Agricultural Universities, Krishi Vigyan
Kendra, Research Foundations such as,
V P K A S , C I T H M u k t e s h w a r, D C F R
Champawat, other I C A R Institutes,
Government officials, subject matter
specialists, academicians and NGO and
community representatives from 10 project
villages actively participated in the
discussions. Dr. A.K. Srivastava, Prof. Emeritus
and former Director, VPKAS, highlighted the
ill-effects of climate change on hill agriculture
with special focus on changes in crop pattern,
rainfall, soil, crop productivity, shifting of
crops from lower to higher altitudes and the
need to adopt climate smart farming systems
in hilly regions. He suggested protected
cultivation of high value crops, water
harvesting, and fodder development,
reduction of drudgery in women, diversified
farming system and introduction of
indigenous/improved varieties of crops in
hills. Mr. Devi Dutt Joshi, a progressive farmer
from Suyalkhark village, shared his
experience on the changing climate resulting
in erratic rainfall, water shortage, change in
crop pattern, reduced crop productivity,
rising temperatures and deforestation.
Ms. Priyanka Verma, Goshni, a self help group
of women, highlighted the need for women
empowerment and the need to form more
groups in villages for community
mobilisation. Dr. Raj Narayan, Principal
Scientist, CITH, suggested introduction of
new horticultural crops such as kiwi and low
chilling varieties of apple, apart from use of
high density plantation systems and intercropping methods to obtain high production.
11
Dr. M.P. Singh, Senior Scientist, K V K,
Lohaghat, shared the technologies tested by
KVK for hilly regions. He suggested using
protected cultivation, water harvesting,
mulching, application of FYM, bio-pesticides
and fungicides for value addition of produce.
Mr. H.C. Tiwari, District Horticulture Officer,
highlighted the impact of climate change on
local communities and horticulture-based
activities. He suggested change in crop
pattern based on the clusters and called for
promotion of organic farming. Dr. P.S.
B h a n d a r i , C h i e f Ve t e r i n a r y O f f i c e r,
highlighted the diseases observed in livestock
due to changing climate and promotion of
livestock indigenous to the hilly region. Mr.
Puneet Nagar, DDM, NABARD, Pithorgarh,
proposed the vote of thanks. The workshop
also sensitised the media and other
stakeholders about the emerging threat of
climate change in North Western Himalayas
and the need to develop a programme for
reducing the vulnerability of agriculturedependent hill communities.
Con nued from Page 9
=
The greatest bottleneck as expressed by the
communities was not having assured and
timely weather forecasting data service or
early warning service support at the village
level;
=
It was also observed that changing climate
has direct impact on the livelihood support
systems such as agriculture, water, soils,
vegetation and livestock;
=
The unpredictability of these changes was
of utmost concern to the communities and
the sense of despair and ignorance could be
realised during the interactions;
=
From the type of risks identified by the
communities, it was evident that the
communities are facing greater uncertainty
and that these changes and consequent
results have further accelerated the process
of marginalization of these agriculturedependent communities;
=
It was also realized that communities have
their own preferences and priorities for
planning region-specific adaptation
strategies/preparedness plans.
=
Knowledge of participants, their exposure
and access to various climate smart
technologies, current dependence on
climate sensitive sectors for generation of
livelihood and type of resource ownership
also influenced their perceptions.
12
=
It was observed that the risk perceptions of
planners and policy makers and
communities in the region were generally
based on scientific/meteorological data
which captured only the gross changes
whereas communities were mostly drawing
risk perceptions from past experiences.
=
As far as region-wise risk perceptions were
concerned, it was seen that the risk
perceptions varied from region to region. In
coastal Gujarat, cyclonic disturbances were
identified as the highest type of risk, causing
damage to crops, land and infrastructure.
There was also fear of intrusion of sea water
to adjacent land leading to increment in
salinity, water logging and incidence of
more diseases whereas in case of fragile hill
ecosystem (Champavat, Uttarakhand),
decreasing snow cover / snowfall year after
year was identified as the major hazard
leading to maximum damage.
A significant outcome of this study was the need
to plan programme responses on priority for
building resilience among the affected rural
communities and involve the local communities
actively in adaptation planning process before
§
selecting the ''top down'' adaptation plan.
Rajashree Joshi and Bharat Kakade
Carbon Sequestration in Wadi
T
he influence of carbon on earth and the
atmosphere can be either positive or
negative depending on where it is
present. Carbon is essential to sustain biological
activity, biodiversity and ecosystem productivity.
In recent times, excessive release of carbon into
the atmosphere, primarily the result of human
activity, has had adverse consequences. To
reverse this situation, global efforts are being
made to sequester carbon. Foremost among
them is the process of fixing carbon in plant
biomass through photosynthesis with forests,
both vegetation and soil, functioning as the
primary sinks. Farming systems with perennial
species, can hold substantial quantities of
carbon.
Carbon sinks on farm bunds
The trees promoted in wadi are mainly fast
growing species such as acacia, eucalyptus,
cassia, leucaena and casuarina which facilitate
the process of carbon sink in the form of woody
biomass within a short time. The rate of growth
is inversely proportionate to the volume of
biomass production leading to maximum carbon
sink in the wood. A study undertaken in the wadi
programme being implemented in Rajasthan
indicated that assuming 2 m width of the bund in
the wadi orchard, 1 m2 bund area, has potential
to store 0.012 t carbon in the form of woody
biomass of forestry trees having an average age
of 8.5 – 12.5 years equivalent to 0.043 t carbon
dioxide present in the atmosphere. From the
forestry trees, the estimated carbon stock per ha
was 126.03 t C. The environmental benefits of
such trees are far more than their economic
benefits.
BAIF has been promoting agri-horti-forestry
popularly known as wadi (productive orchard)
on degraded farmlands. This system consists of
horticultural trees and vegetable crops as
intercrops and multipurpose trees on field bunds
and borders as live fence covering an area of
70,000 ha. Besides providing livelihood to tribal
families, the orchard development programme
ensures long-term environmental benefits,
mainly through carbon sequestration.
Besides trees raised on bunds, grafted fruit
plants were also planted in varied spacings
based on the species. The carbon sequestration
mainly depends on the rate of photosynthesis in
Tree measurement in Anola
Canopy measurement in Mango
13
Carbon sinks through horticulture trees
the plants leading to increased biomass.
Generally, fruit plants such as anola, cashewnut,
mango and sapota have been promoted based
on the agro-climatic conditions of the area. The
carbon sequestration differs from wadi to wadi
as it mainly depends on the growth and density
of wood.
A total of 69.7 t of biomass, 38 t of carbon and
139 t of equivalent carbon dioxide was
estimated from 723 trees of anola planted on 7.4
ha land. Similarly, the same study was carried out
in mango orchards and 47.4 t of biomass, 26 t of
carbon and 95.6 t of equivalent carbon dioxide
was estimated from 544 mango trees planted on
5.7 ha. The per tree average accumulated carbon
stock in anola was 0.05 t carbon and 0.04 t
carbon in mango. This indicates that anola wadi
has greater potential in sequestration of carbon
in the form of woody biomass.
Carbon sink in soil
Soils are the largest carbon reservoir of the
terrestrial carbon cycle. The quantity of carbon
stored in soils is three times more than that
contained in vegetation in forest and twice as
much as that present in the atmosphere. The
perennial plantations of anola, mango and
forestry trees contribute large amounts of
organic matter in the form of leaf litter and
wood. This helps in increasing the soil organic
carbon and soil fertility. Soil samples up to a
depth of 15 cm were collected from 50 orchards
and analyzed for organic carbon. The average
carbon stock in soil surface depth of 15 cm was
found to be only 8 t C ha1.
Potential of 1 ha wadi in carbon sequestration
Wadi orchards established in degraded lands
where there is low organic carbon in soil (0.28%
SOC), low rainfall and high temperature, have
great potential for carbon sequestration.
The total accumulated carbon stock by above
ground woody biomass of horticulture trees
(anola and mango) was 64 t C as estimated from
50 wadi orchards planted on 13.1 ha area. The
per tree average accumulated carbon stock in
mango was 0.04 t C and 0.05 t C in anola.
Similarly, the estimated carbon stock from
forestry trees planted around the border of
anola and mango orchards was 132.07 t C. The
-1
total estimated carbon stock was 23 t C ha
-1
equivalent to 84.67 t C O 2 ha carbon
sequestration from standing woody biomass. §
Canopy and girth measurement of Anola
14
S.D. Nimbalkar and D.S. Patil
Impressions and Reflections
This Study Report by Prof. Emeritus Uriel Safriel, Desert Ecologist, Hebrew University of
Journalism, articulates the concept of sustainability, the work BAIF could take up in this
area in future with focus on Ecosystem services and Biodiversity by linking with
initiatives such as Man and Biosphere (MAB), Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research
(BIDR) and Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology (GUIDE). This report compiled by him, is
based on his study tour to the sustainable development projects of BAIF in arid regions
of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra from November 22 to December 4, 2015.
Upon the recommendation of Mr. Hasmukh
Shah, Mr. Girish Sohani, President of BAIF
Development Research Foundation invited me in
April 2015 to make a visit to BAIF activity sites in
drylands of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra
for gaining first hand information on the
organization's activities. This for enabling me to
accumulate impressions and provide reflections,
as much as visiting 4-5 expansive sites
(Nanodara, Barmer, Pragar, Urulicanchan) within
a period of five days in late November and early
December of 2015 would allow.
The visit was perfectly and effectively
organized and the dedicated escort of Dr. S.S.
Roy and Mr. Sagar Kadao were indispensable in
assisting me to overcome the inevitable
knowledge, information, culture and language
barriers and thus enabled me to make sense of
what I was seeing and experiencing. Of course,
the provided written material and verbal
information in each site and the number and
diversity of persons commissioned to meet me
and to be exposed to my “interrogation”,
reflected the work of a dedicated personnel
behind the scenes, who made my visit not only
instructing but also exciting and even touching.
From what I had learned from reading BAIF
literature and reports prior to my arrival, from
being exposed to more of these during and after
my visit, and from what I saw and heard during
the visit, it was clear to me that BAIF deserves its
reputation - its staff is professional and
committed, its leadership is attentive to the
country's and its people needs and aspirations
15
and its science-based work on the ground is
land-users' relevant, innovative and inspiring.
I was impressed by the warm relations the
BAIF personnel have with the villagers, by the
c o u ra g e fo r ex p e r i m e n t i n g w i t h n o n conventional solutions to emerging issues, by
the respect given to the local traditional
practices and by the wide-open ear to the
farmers' grievances and proposals. I was mostly
captivated by the “wadi” projects, not so much
as to their agricultural results as to their cultural
component, that is often ignored by scientists
inspite of its significance in moulding the land
users' mode of operation. It was also most
ref re s h i n g to b e a c q u a i nte d w i t h t h e
experimental ecological cultivation plots in
Urulikanchan Research Station.
However, BAIF President has not expected a
suite of compliments to be the sole outcome of
the visit, but he envisaged an opinion based on
the visit, on specific issues spelled out in his
invitation letter:
(a) Management approach to development
initiatives in dry areas;
(b) Ecological aspects with regard to farm
production and natural resource
management in arid areas;
(c) Understanding desertification control
measures that are more effective;
(d) Field actions associated with biodiversity,
ecosystem and climate change in dryland
management;
In fact, these four queries reflect a concern
regarding the outlook and mostly the
sustainability of dryland development, and
especially the development through land-based
livelihoods. In this context it can be noted that
drylands are of inherent failing with respect to
livelihoods based on land productivity, since this
productivity is limited by water, as the literal
meaning of the word “dryland” attests. More
critically, water is not only limiting due to its low
availability, but also limiting due to the variability
of the availability, thus creating an inherent
sustainability issue, especially in the drylands.
Note that “sustainability” is an offspring of
“sustainable development” that emerged on the
global political arena in the early 90s of the last
century. BAIF is a “Development Research
Foundation”, and I sense that Mr. Sohani's
concern is about the sustainability of the
development that the Foundation's research is
expected to support.
The prevailing paradigm is that sustainable
development is one that enables the future
generation to continue using the planet's
resources at the same level the present
generation does.. More important than the
definition, is how to achieve such sustainability,
and the prevailing notion is that for being
sustainable, development needs the
environment to support development. Thus, the
environment (which translates to natural
ecosystems, which means biological diversity)
needs to be protected not for its aesthetic and
cultural values only, but first and foremost, for its
essential support of human survival. So here is
the prescription for sustainability – for society's
long-term survival, it needs to transform natural
ecosystems to agricultural and residential (urban
and rural) areas, which would be supported by
the remaining non-transformed ecosystems,
namely the natural ones.
The problem, however, is the location for
positioning the “red line” beyond which
development should not encroach upon the
n a t u ra l e nv i ro n m e n t , s o t h a t e n o u g h
environment, i.e. natural ecosystems are left, to
be able to support development and secure its
sustainability. This is the greatest challenge that
faces our planet, and on land – especially the
drylands, including those of India.
The positioning of this “red line” is not
known, but emerging stumbling block to
sustainability are already identified – climate
change, desertification and shrinking of natural
ecosystems and their biological diversity. These
are the direct anti-sustainability biophysical
drivers, which are underlined by political and
social drivers. There is no point to further
elaborate in this report on how to navigate in this
arena of sustainability, but BAIF can be
commended on starting wondering about this
issue, as expressed by Mr. Sohani's expectations
from the visit, spelled out in his invitation letter.
What may be suggested, though, is that BAIF
requires an additional track of activity, which
16
addresses sustainability and joins the globally
and newly emerging discipline of sustainability
science. This added track could work first
independently, then in parallel to the major
traditional and current trajectory of BAIF's
agricultural development, to eventually working
jointly and even merging with it, such that BAIF
would qualify to become Sustainable
Development Research Foundation.
There are already two approaches in place
used to clearing the way for sustainability. One is
the ecosystem service concept and the
ecosystem assessment activity, in which both
jointly expose the tangible benefits people
derive from ecosystems and their biological
diversity, thus creating awareness that could
facilitate the road to sustainability. The googled
sources for starting with it are the Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment and UK-NEA portals, the
Ecosystem Services Partnership and the SubGlobal Assessment Network, and the portal of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and
Ecosystem Services.
The other is the approach of the Man and
Biosphere concept of U N E S C O and its
mechanism of Global Network of Biosphere
Reserves, which is already practiced in India here
17
and there, but requires more work. It is a
mechanism that blends environment and
development and strives to achieve local
sustainability, based on attendance to
ecosystem services and full engagement of the
land users communities. Information can be
found in Man and Biosphere section of UNESCO
website.
Finally, Mr. Sohani also expressed an interest in‫״‬Creating linkages nationally (e.g. Gujarat
Institute of Desert Ecology) and globally (e.g.
Global Network of Dryland Research Institutes)”.
Incidentally, these two entities have some
connections with the Blaustein Institutes for
Desert Research (BIDR) in Israel: the initial
blueprint for GUIDE has been drafted by the
Director of the BIDR in 1994; the motivation to
establish GNDRI arose in the BIDR, who chaired
this network in its first three years.
Regarding GUIDE, both entities, GUIDE and
BAIF would benefit from jointly advancing a
sustainability program. Regarding GNDRI, it is
absolutely clear that increasing its attention to
India's drylands, BAIF is fully qualified to join this
network. This can be done through GNDRI
§
portal.
Conservation and Revival of Local Crop
Cultivars and Livestock Biodiversity
Resources - Climate Resilient Initiatives
India as a Biodiversity Hotspot:
food crops that are resistant to pests, can grow
on poor soils and can sustain under changed
climatic conditions, while retaining high
nutritive values. BAIF has adopted participatory
conservation and revival of crop and livestock
biodiversity resources in diverse agro-climatic
zones. The focussed resources are crop
landraces, livestock breeds, forestry species
(Non-Timber Forest Produce) and diverse
habitat types. Such efforts are confined to
remote rural clusters where naturally occurring
biodiversity still exists but are fast getting
eroded. Hence, efforts are also being made to
preserve the traditional wisdom and knowledge
base on biodiversity.
India is known as a mega diversity nation due to
its rich biodiversity resources, diverse agroclimatic/ecological conditions and diverse
seasonal patterns. Biodiversity is understood to
be genetic variation, ecosystem variation or
species variation within an area which provides
food, fuel, shelter, medicines and other
resources to humankind. Since generations,
such diversity has been contributing to food
security, well-being, survival and sustainable
livelihood of communities. Such diverse agro
biodiversity still exists in tribal areas, where
tribal communities especially women are the
main custodians of the rich traditional
knowledge associated with many of these native
resources.
=
In-situ and Ex-itu Conservation actions
Climate change and biodiversity:
=
Sustainable use of bio resources
=
Restoration
=
Value addition
=
Marketing
With climate change, it is noted that an
ecosystem based approach to adaptation is
necessary. This also requires conservation of the
regional biodiversity, ecosystem services and
ecological functions. Biodiversity can
help in building resilience against
climate change effects for vulnerable
farming communities. This regional
biodiversity is an important source of
livelihood and food security. Small
farmers are benefitted from hardy
crops. Diverse zones represent a
unique habitat, having their own
physical and climatic conditions, which
allow growth of region-specific plants
and crops which have adapted to these
conditions for many years.
There are a number of landraces of
18
The major areas include:
=
Employment generation
=
Preservation of folk knowledge
=
Generation of new knowledge
Under the livestock resource, focus is on in-situ
and ex-situ conservation of local/ indigenous
breeds of cows, buffaloes and goats. There are
numerous local breeds and strains which are
known for certain common characteristics such
as hardiness, resistance to diseases, and ability
to withstand harsh ecological conditions. BAIF
programmes focus on many local breeds of cows
such as Gir, Tharparkar, Dangi, Gaolav, LalKandhari, Khillar, etc., Banni breed of buffalo and
Usmanabadi, Berari and Black Bengal, etc breeds
of goats. The efforts include rearing of bulls,
establishing semen banks for conservation and
multiplication, doorstep services, advice and
training for scientific management of cattle
units.
The N T F P and Habitat conser vation
component of this programme focusses on insitu and ex-situ conservation of useful and
endemic forestry species and setting up eco
restoration processes in natural but degrading
habitat.
U n d e r c ro p t h e m e , t h e fo c u s i s o n
conservation of diverse local cultivars including
paddy, millets, maize, sorghum, local vegetables,
beans and wild food resources such as wild
vegetables and fruits. This diversity acts as a
safety net for vulnerable farmers against the ill
effects of climate change. The interventions
include characterisation of crop types using
scientific methods, germplasm collection,
i d e n t i f y i n g t r a d i t i o n a l s e e d ke e p e r s ,
participatory varietal selection, seed purity
maintenance, collecting morphological data,
innovative trials for propagation, innovative agro
techniques, productivity enhancement and pest
and disease management for improved
performance and adoption of shortlisted local
19
cultivars, standardisation of storage techniques
and processing and value addition for providing
financial incentives to the producers.
A recent initiative has been the conservation
of biodiversity in a participatory mode
undertaken under the Maharashtra Gene Bank
Project to address the existing gap of in situ
conservation of bio resources and checking the
erosion of valuable genetic resources and
knowledge associated with it. The project also
aims at realising the objectives of improved food
security, livelihood gains and risk mitigation
capacity of rural and tribal communities living in
diverse agro climatic zones of Maharashtra. The
programme focusses on diverse local cultivar,
local breeds of animal, local NTFP vegetation
types and local habitats and conservation of
ecological functions.
This is being implemented as a multi
stakeholder initiative with PRIs, community,
Community based Organisations, Civil Society
Organisations, Government Academia and
Research Institutes working towards
conservation and revival of region-specific bio
resources.
Some of the unique characteristics of
traditional rice varieties cultivated in BAIF's
project location at Jawhar in Palghar district and
Dhadgaon in Nandurbar district have been
documented.
With the changing climate change and
emerging threat of vulnerability due to
variability of climatic factors, such efforts
towards agro biodiversity conservation and
revival, are significant in sustaining the regional
biodiversity, ensuring food and nutrition
security for vulnerable communities, reducing
climate sensitivity of agriculture while creating
opportunities for improved livelihood and risk
mitigation capacity of small farmers and their
future generation.
List of Landraces/Local names
Descrip on
Dula, Hari, Kali khadsi, Dangi (Red),
Hari bhat, Dhundune
As these landraces mature between 70-95 days, they are a
source of food security during inadequate rainfall.
Javayachi gundi
This mid late landrace can grows well in upland and low land.
Good yield and non-lodging and non-sha ering proper es
Kasvel, Kasbai
These landraces can withstand deep water and non-lodging
Denomina on
Descrip on
Finger millet
Piter bendri
Early maturing landrace (matures at Sarvpitri amavasya and hence
denominated as Piter bendri)
Dasar bendri
Matures during Dussehra fes val and hence denominated as Dasar bendri.
Non lodging and good for sloppy land. Can withstand stress condi ons
Kalperi
Pinnacle shape is compact and hence can survive in high rainfall. As there
is blackish, anthocyanin coloura on on internodes of each plant, it is
denominated as Kalperi
Shitoli Nagli
Spicklets are longer, late maturing, water stress tolerance
Proso Millet
Dudh mogra
Milkish white coloured and hence denominated as Dudh mogra. Good
market value. Very less weight loss during storage. Midlate maturing and
can withstand high rainfall
Garvi varai
Tall; Non lodging, water stress tolerant
Barnyard Millet
Banty
(Barnyard Millet)
Grown in low fe lity soil with less water holding capacity.
End use - sweet , liquid gruel, seed sowing by broadcast method, given to
expectant mothers as nutri ve food
Rajashree Joshi and Sanjay Patil
20
PATRONS AND ASSOCIATES OF BAIF:
A CALL FOR PARTNERSHIP
BAIF has established the
DR. MANIBHAI DESAI ENDOWMENT FUND
for promoting sustainable livelihood in rural India.
We invite generous donors to support this worthy cause by associating
with us as our Patrons and Associates.
You can become our Patron by contributing over Rs. 25 lakhs and
our Associate by contributing over Rs. 10 lakhs.
This book is a compilation of various
Research, Thematic Papers and Case
Studies on livestock development,
watershed development, natural
resource management and
sustainable agriculture, with focus
on sustainable livelihood of rural
families and food security, published
in national and international
journals, workshop proceedings and
research reports in the year 2015.
An Impact Study was conducted in drought prone Adihalli-Myllanhalli
watershed in Hassan district of Karnataka in 2015-16. Under this innovative
approach, farm ponds were used to recharge ground water table and ensure
protective irrigation to crops. This cost-effective project transformed the lives of
rural communities while enriching the biodiversity. This revised Third Edition
documents the learnings from the project over 15 years and demonstrates that
this model has relevance throughout the country.
Price: Rs. 50
Pages: 36