By J R Pawar, WOTR/SIED, INDIA 7th International conference on Community Based Adaptation To Climate Change April 22-25, 2013 Dhaka

1. Wel Come To This presentation
By J R Pawar,
WOTR/SIED, INDIA
7th International conference on
Community Based Adaptation To Climate ChangeCommunity Based Adaptation To Climate Change
April 22-25, 2013 Dhaka
Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) 1

2. Adaptive sustainable agriculture inAdaptive sustainable agriculture in
Climate Change AdaptationClimate Change Adaptation
inin RainfedRainfed Regions ofRegions of Maharashtra,Maharashtra,
Madhya Pradesh and Andhra PradeshMadhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh
An Overview

3. Sustainable Agriculture
• Agro Metrology-for tracking weather patterns at the
village level leading to generation of advisories to
farmers on what steps to take in emergency conditions.
• Water budgeting- To use water judiciously for humans,
agriculture and livestock with a view to optimizingagriculture and livestock with a view to optimizing
benefits in a context of climate variability, erratic rainfall
and possible drought.
• Adaptive Sustainable Agriculture-System of Crop
Intensification , Promotion of organic fertilizers and low
external inputs ensures high productivity as well as soil
health.
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4. Agro Metrology
• WOTR’s Agro-Meteorology component of
Climate Change Adaptation Project -includes
locale-specific Met-advisories and Agro-
advisories for timely weather information to help
farmers plan their agricultural activities. Also a
web based initiative, it is marked by its unique
farmers plan their agricultural activities. Also a
web based initiative, it is marked by its unique
automated platform and software to provide
village wise weather trends that can be widely up
scaled.
• The advisories and met-forecasts are shared with
the communities through phone and smses.
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5. What problem is being addressed?
• Agriculture is weather dependent at the local level. Yet, currently, farmers
do not have access to reliable locally relevant meteorological and
agricultural information by which to plan and manage their farming
operations. Information presently available is based on inputs from
weather stations that are located at taluka places and which are manually
obtained. In the monsoon-driven weather system that is ours, local agro-
meteorological conditions, especially rainfall, vary within even a kilometer;
and such distantly located weather stations are not able to provide dataand such distantly located weather stations are not able to provide data
that can generate locale-specific knowledge and advisories. In earlier days,
before technology drove our lives, the elders of the village planned their
agriculture activities based on how they sensed the forthcoming weather
and what they observed in the surrounding flora ( plants and trees) and
fauna ( insects, birds and animals). Most of this indigenous knowledge is
now lost.
• It is, thus, important to retrieve, document, analyse, utilize and
disseminate practices that are promising and useful.
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6. The Agro-meteorology ensures:
• Local weather data is
available to the farmers.
• Local community
understands and uses
weather information for
Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) 6
weather information for
agriculture planning
and management.
• Agro-advisories are
provided based on local
weather data.

7. Key Achievements (2012-13)
Automate
d
Weather
Stations
Indian
Meteorological
Dept., New
Delhi
Weather-Based Crop Advisories through SMS
Preparation of
Crop Advisories
Krishisalla by
Experts
Automated
content
Management
system &
Crop
Weather
Calendar
Software
SMS
Advisories

9. Water budgeting
• WOTR’s conceptualization of Water Budgeting
is geared towards ensuring optimum and most
efficient use of water. This involves gaining an
understanding of water availability,understanding of water availability,
community’s existing needs and requirements
of water, crop-planning based on water
availability, optimizing irrigation, equitable
sharing of excess water, and considered
decisions on groundwater withdrawals.
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10. Water budgeting
• This kind of integrated approach and exercises
help the village community understand the
implications of the different patterns of water use
that are prevalent. By obtaining village level
water availability data (from the rainfall and that
obtained from the well data), the people are able
water availability data (from the rainfall and that
obtained from the well data), the people are able
to assess the water available at their disposal for
the coming months, plan the judicious uses of
water and decide on the crops accordingly, after
taking into consideration the needs of
households and livestock.
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11. Water budgeting
• This consideration of various local claims on
water resources in the village provide a strong
basis for making decisions regarding the
different and appropriate cropping patterns,different and appropriate cropping patterns,
area to be taken for cultivation, the method of
application of irrigation water, imposition of
water use charges, if any, that arrives at not
only equitable sharing of waterbut
also optimizing output per drop of water.
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12. Water-budgeting in Gram Panchayats
Key Achievements (2012-13)
Pan-evaporimeter

13. Stone Bunds
Land Treatments: Catching Rainwater Everywhere!Land Treatments: Catching Rainwater Everywhere!Land Treatments: Catching Rainwater Everywhere!Land Treatments: Catching Rainwater Everywhere!

14. Adaptive sustainable agriculture
• WOTR has been extensively promoting
sustainable agriculture practices as part of its
adaptive sustainable development approach. The
objective is to promote low external inputs,
increase land productivity, use of indigenous
seeds, and reduce cost of cultivation. This
increase land productivity, use of indigenous
seeds, and reduce cost of cultivation. This
involves promotion of agricultural demonstration
plots, vermi-compost pits, training farmers on
better practices of transplantation, crop
geometry (spaced planting), soil and manure
preparation, correct tillage operations, seed
treatment, better sowing methods etc.
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15. Adaptive sustainable agriculture
• FFS is an effort toward bringing new technological advances in
organic and sustainable agricultural practices at the village level,
right to farmers’ homes. It aims at achieving maximum yield at the
least cost to farmers, while also keeping in mind the long term
sustainability of their lands.
• What is unique about FFS is that it has been able to bring the
benefits of an existing government programme of technicalbenefits of an existing government programme of technical
guidance for farmers directly to the community through NGO
facilitation. The technical support in FFS is given by the Government
Agriculture Departments at District and Taluka
• The farmers collected in groups once a week and were guided by
various experts on different subjects- preparation of the land,
sowing of seeds, spacing of the crop, kinds of pests, the correct
time and amount of fertilizers and pesticides to be used, weeding
etc. They were also taken on exposure and training visits and to see
the work of other group farming endeavours.
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16. Adaptive sustainable agriculture
• Through FFS, farmers now have an effective platform
which they can now use to avail information about
relevant schemes and also for the overall development
of their villages. FFS also has a very strong social
impact by being open to all levels of farmers and
bringing them together as a group with commonbringing them together as a group with common
concerns. The farmers have now realised the potential
of coming together as a group. One can also see a
gradual change in the attitude of young farmers. The
trend of rising disinterest in agriculture has been
replaced with greater enthusiasm and dreams for the
future.
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17. Systematic
Application
of Organic
Inputs
Soil
Preparation
and
Management
System of Crop Intensification
Micro-
nutrient
foliar spray
and basal
applications
Crop
Geometry
4 step approach to enhancing productivity of both soil &
crop yields

18. FOOD&WATER
Conservation,Management,UseEfficiency Adaptive Sustainable Agriculture
Water Budgeting
Water
Cropping
Pattern
Water
Sharing
Pilot Crop
Demos/
Farmer Field
Schools
FOOD&WATER
Conservation,Management,UseEfficiency
Water Budgeting
Agro metrology
Sustainable agri
practices
Water
Conservation
Technologies
Integrated
Water-
Nutrient
Mgmt
Integrated
Pest
Management

19. Farmers
Field
Schools
Crop
Demos
training with
visual
documentation
& exposure
visits
on-site
technical
support
Market meets , Drip systems ,
Agro-advisories
Field
Schools
scientific data
recording &
dissemination
incentivisation
enterprise
promotion

20. Systematic Application
of Organic Inputs
Improves soil fertility,
microbial and organic
content
in the soil, maintains soilin the soil, maintains soil
texture
and most critical for dry
areas is "increases the
soils water holding
capacity,
Low cost

21. Crop Demonstrations
• Live demonstrations make a huge difference

22. Who we areWho we areWho we areWho we are
• No. of People directly impacted - >1,100,000
• No. of Watershed Villages - 1145
Vision: "Communities, especially the poor within, are empowered to live
in dignity and secure their livelihood in sustainable eco-systems"
• No. of Watershed Villages - 1145
• No. of Project Villages - 2516
• No. of States Operating In - 6
• Total Area Covered (ha) - ≈696,000 ha
• No. of People Trained - > 310,000
• Support provided to Projects in Somaliland,
Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi .

23. Kachner Cluster
LEGEND
Project States
Project Districts
Project Blocks
Total Villages : 65
Districts / Blocks : 6
Area ha. : 40,734
Population : 63,282
WOTR’s Climate Change Adaptation ProjectWOTR’s Climate Change Adaptation Project
Narayanganj Cluster
(Niwas Tehsil, Mandla District)
Total Villages : 8
Area : 2,859 ha.
Tallakondapally Cluster
(Mahboobnagar District)
Total Villages : 3
Area : 2,290 ha.
Atmakur Cluster
(Kurnool District)
Total Villages : 3
Area : 2,041 ha.
Akole – Sangamner
(Ahmednagar District)
Total Villages : 41
Area : 29,142 haa.
Kachner Cluster
Aurangabad /
Paithan Taluka
(Aurangabad
District)
Total Villages : 10
Area : 4402 ha.

24. Tools and Methodologies
Successfully tested and finalized various tools to aid bottom-
up project planning, design and execution
Vulnerability Assessment ToolVulnerability Assessment Tool
Disaster Risk Reduction Methodology
Methodology for implementing the PBRs
Livelihood assessment tools – CASDAAT and LM3

27. Thank You.
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