Increasing crop yield and preventing soil erosion in India
16 April 2009
For
years, Bholaram Bhil (pictured left) has made a living from his patch of land in
a village in Rajasthan, north-west India. But with water leakage from the field
causing relatively low crop yields, Bholoram has found it increasingly difficult
to support his family.
The UK-based charity Tearfund, which is currently receiving DFID funding, runs a number of projects in India designed to protect people, like Bholaram, whose livelihoods are dependent on land. It was a Tearfund water retention project that provided Bholaram with the knowledge to build a protective wall to keep rainwater inside his field.
When the June rains came, Bholaram was able to see the difference the wall had made. Rather than flowing out of the field as it had before, the water stayed inside, keeping the land moist and making it ideal for sowing millet and lentils. During the first week of September the crops were harvested and, soon after, Bholaram prepared the field for sowing a second crop, sorghum.
The yield from the first harvest is enough to feed his family while the second crop will be sold in the market. Anything left over can be used as fodder for livestock. "For the first time in my life I have harvested two crops from my field within the span of a year," says Bholaram joyfully.
Opening eyes
In
the north-east of the country, in Assam, a Tearfund project is protecting a
village at risk from soil erosion. With help from the charity, local people
formed a "disaster management committee" (pictured left) to look into particular
risks and work to address them.
After training in disaster risk assessment, the committee identified that soil erosion on the bank of the River Taklai was increasing the risk of flooding. Their next step was to develop a plan to reduce this risk - in this case by planting bamboo saplings on the sides of the river, strengthening the soil. Each household contributed three bamboo saplings and even helped to plant them.
"We face this problem every year," says one villager, "but we never thought it to be a threat. Only after the (Tearfund) project came could we identify what is actually happening in our area. It opened our eyes."
Facts and stats
- DFID is providing £3.3 million to Tearfund over five years (2005-10).
