Innovations in traditional methods revolutionising farming in Rajasthan’s parched Shekhawati
Neat rows of vegetable and fruit plants in a portion of the 4.50hectare agricultural land, a 3.3KV solar power panel running pumps and other electrical appliances, slim polyethylene hoses for drip irrigation and the uniformly spaced trees form part of some innovative practices adopted by farmer Bhanwar Lal Meel in Sikar district’s Lalasi village.
Mr. Meel, 41, who has studied till Class 12, has made innovations in the traditional practices and adopted new techniques to turn the farming on his ancestral land into a profitable venture amid the allpervading decline in groundwater level and erratic rainfall. A pond constructed in his field last year, utilising subsidy under the Prime Minister’s
Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, provides an additional support to farming by storing rainwater.
Mr. Meel is among a bunch of farmers in Rajasthan’s Shekhawati region who have adopted new techniques for optimum utilisation of water and getting remunerative prices for the agricultural produce. The expertise at the farmland has led to a significant expansion in the sowing area for crops and vegetables, higher yield and an enhanced annual income per hectare of land.
The decline in the groundwater level is a major issue for agriculturists in all four districts of Shekhawati — Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Churu and Neem Ka Thana.
As the production of crops has constantly declined, farmers have started cultivating vegetables, as they can get eight times the yield with just 25% labour as compared to traditional farming. The sowing area of vegetables has almost doubled in the last 10 years.
Farmer Mahesh Pachar in Sikar tehsil’s Jheegar Bari village has adopted rainwater harvesting techniques in his sevenacre land and established a climatecontrolled polyhouse in an area measuring 1,000 square metres for growing vegetables. “The polyhouse remains vacant only during April to June. The rest of the year, I grow a good quantity of fruits, vegetables and flowers,” said Mr. Pachar.
Sundaram Verma of Danta village has developed techniques to help grow crops with less water and at the same time conserve water in the arid regions. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2020 for developing a technique called ‘dryland agroforestry’ to help tree plantation efforts.
Bhanwar Lal of Sarwari village in Sikar’s Dhod block has established a processing plant for gooseberries grown in his fields and started producing candy, powder and murabba (sweet fruit preserve), which fetch him an annual profit of ₹15 lakh. Similarly,
Dharampal Singh in Jhunjhunu district’s Bharu village has taken up organic farming in a big way with the help of vermicompost produced in his 19acre field.
Increase in income
Agricultural expert Chiranji Lal Maharia, who owns a 10hectare land in Sikar’s Kudan village, pointed out that the average income of farmers in the region, which was earlier about ₹1 lakh per hectare in a year, has touched about ₹8 lakh a year as a result of the innovative practices and hitech applications. The sowing area of crops has also increased by oneandahalf times. Besides, the separate agriculture budget started by the previous Congress regime in the State has introduced subsidies for horticulture and farm mechanisation through the purchase of agricultural equipment.
Faced with paucity of water, Mr. Maharia had to take up animal husbandry as an avocation and encouraged others in his village to rear sheep and goats.
“I am getting the services of a veterinarian to ensure proper growth of my animals, whose number has now crossed 60,” he added. The bakra mandi (goat market) in Sikar is one of the biggest such mandis in the State, where the annual turnover is estimated at ₹600 crore.
For this year, the Agriculture Department has announced a subsidy of up to ₹1.35 lakh for construction of farm ponds, which may be used for collecting rainwater for irrigation.
Mr. Maharia has led a group of farmers to raise the demand for bringing canal waters for irrigation in the parched fields. He says if a provision of 5,000 cusecs of canal water is made for the 50lakh acre irrigable land in the region, it will solve the problem of water scarcity and also provide enough drinking water to the 85lakh population in Sikar division. The Chaudhary Kumbharam Lift Canal, built under the Indira Gandhi Canal Project, supplies 1,500 cusecs of water to some areas. If the Indira Gandhi Canal is repaired on a war footing, the present inflow of water may increase to 15,000 cusecs and a portion of the additional quantity may be allocated to Sikar.
If one cusec of water is allotted per 1,000 acres of land, the drinking water requirement may be met and fruit and vegetable production can be taken up in 50lakh acres through drip irrigation. The rearing of sheep and goat will provide additional support, Mr. Maharia points out, while calling for the appointment of a panel of experts and framing of water allocation rules. These rules may be made on the lines of allocation coming to Sanchore in southwestern Rajasthan from Sardar Sarovar Dam in neighbouring Gujarat.
The Sikar Sambhag Nahar Lao Sangharsh Samiti has also pointed out some anomalies in a memorandum of understanding signed between the Haryana and the Rajasthan governments last month for ensuring the supply of the latter’s entire share of water as per the 1994 Yamuna Water Agreement. Sangharsh Samiti president Bhola Ram says the Rajasthan government should make an attempt to get its full share of water from Tajewala Head and arrange for its supply to Sikar division through pipelines.
In the midst of the demands for bringing water to Shekhawati, Sikar Collector QummerulZaman Choudhary said that he is encouraging farmers to adopt new cropping patterns. “The establishment of farmer producer organisations, linkages with cooperatives and ensuring market accessibility will enhance their income,” Mr. Choudhary told The Hindu.
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