It is said that “agriculture is the backbone of Indian economy.” To an agriculturist, water is more valuable. In many ways, the monsoon is the lifeblood of India’s farm-dependent economy. The Monsoon’s increasing unpredictability calls for greater efficiency in rainwater storage and use.

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Unpredictability of Monsoon in India:

• In June, rainfall was 8 per cent deficient on an average across India and the prospect of a monsoon failure loomed large.
• And with the dry spell extending from September in many parts, the return of food inflation, it seemed, would present the re-elected government with its first big challenge.
• But in July, the rains turned out 6 per cent more than the average.
• In this month, till August 17, they have been a whopping 34.9 per cent above normal.
• As a result, cumulative rainfall for the southwest monsoon season (June-September), which was almost one-third deficit till June-end, has now become 9 per cent surplus.
• Such a dramatic turnaround is, perhaps, unprecedented.
• The current revival has also helped substantially close the gap in kharif crop plantings: Till July 5, the total area sown by farmers was 26.7 per cent lower than last year’s corresponding coverage.
• That has since narrowed to just 5.3 per cent, which should considerably assuage food inflation fears.

The monsoon’s increasing unpredictability, with fewer rainy days and more extreme precipitation. For the farmer, this is a nightmare. When the rains don’t come on time, pour when they do, or take extended breaks, it disrupts the entire cropping cycle from the sowing, vegetative and reproductive growth stage right up to harvesting. Agriculture is a gamble in the best of times; but now it becomes a game of pure chance embodying risk as well as uncertainty. And blaming it all on climate change is hardly helpful.

Rainwater harvest and storage – a potential solution:

• India has some 107 major reservoirs with over 166 billion cubic meters’ active storage capacity.
• A time-bound programme for lining of irrigation channels — or even better, replacing all open canals with pressurised HDPE/PVC piped distribution networks — will enable the water filled in these dams during the monsoon to be used for a longer period.
• The same water can be further conveyed to farmers’ fields through drip/sprinkler irrigation.
• Harvesting of rainwater, whether in large reservoirs or farm ponds, and which can take place any time during the monsoon season, will give farmers greater flexibility in their cropping operations.

Challenges in the above approach:

• Dam safety issues: Most dams are old and pose grave threat to the people living downstream.
• Evaporation: India has more than 300 sunny days and reservoir storage can lead to evaporation.
• Issues with states: The storage of water in reservoirs in one state can lead to shortage of water in other states leading to tussle between states.
• Lack of education: Huge storage levels could lead to reckless usage of water

Thus, only water storage is not the panacea. There is need for other measures too:

• In rainfed areas, water security primarily depends upon rainwater harvesting and the efficient use of the available water through techniques like drip irrigation, and the appropriate choice of farming systems.
• Groundwater augmentation and management is an important method of ensuring adequate and timely availability of water for crops. Fortunately, the concept of ‘more crop per drop’ is being promoted by the government.
• The government must resolve to address the structural issues and there is a need to give farmers not just a better, but also more stable, return on their crops.
• The monsoon-dependent Indian economy needs climate-sensitive budgeting.
• The excessive dependence on monsoon may be mitigated by the construction of modern irrigation canals, afforestation, and diversification of Indian industries.
• Farmers, especially smallholder farmers, need advance warning of emergent weather conditions at a local level.
• Develop climate-smart agriculture practices.
• Build adaptive capacities to climate variability and strengthen the sustainability of farming systems.
• Preventive measures for drought that include growing of pulses and oilseeds instead of rice.
• Mobile telecommunication systems are increasingly cost-effective and an efficient way of delivering weather-based agro-advisories to farmers at a large scale.
• Allied agricultural practices like Agroforestry, Apiary, Fisheries, Animal husbandry should be promoted which can act as economic alternative in times of Monsoon failure