Micro-Scholarship, What it is, How can it help me.pdf
A P F A M G S Project
1. FAO-Programme
Andhra Pradesh Farmer
Managed Groundwater
Systems (APFAMGS) Project
presentation
by
Ravi Kanth Ganti
Project Associate
APFAMGS
Empowering farming communities to collectively manage their
Groundwater resources
Pune, 21st May 2009
2. Background
• Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) is implementing the Andhra
Pradesh Farmer Managed
Groundwater systems (APFAMGS)
Project as a Nationally Executed
(NEX) project over 4 years (2004-
09).
• The Implementation is through a
federation of 63 registered farmer
Institutions guided by 9 NGO’s.
• Operational area of the project is
spread over 40 mandals forming
part of 303 Panchayats in 7
districts.
• The operational unit is Hydrological
Unit (63 HU’s) spread over 638
habitations.
3. Project Premise
APFAMGS project’s approach is to empower people’s institution to identify
solutions to mange groundwater distress
Demystify science, offer skills, capacity and knowledge (no infrastructure
support/ incentives)
Strengthen people’s institutions to build pro-active partnerships between up-
stream and downstream water users
Group action ensure farmers work unitedly towards managing available
groundwater resource optimally
Fully informed Farmers take tough decisions voluntarily (sacrifice for
collective gain)
Women’s participation in decision making ensures improved groundwater
governance
4. Farmer Water School (FWS) approach adopted to promote group learning for
improving skills and knowledge on Demand Side Management
• 30 Farmers meet as a school once every 15 days for 12 months (June–May)
to discuss and diagnose the different problems related to resource
availability based on the data they have collected
• Non formal Education Tools utilized to understand the science of Hydrology
• Short and long term experiments serve to identify solutions for addressing
typical problems
• Implemented through farmer facilitators who are already trained and have
adequate experience
• FWS provides most contents of a formal Hydrology course in an informal
mode
• 15000 Farmer Facilitators graduated over the 3 years, whose services are
used by project, government and other programmes
Farmer Water Schools
6. Promote People’s Institution
for community action
Capacity building of community with
new knowledge and skills
Farmer led data collection, creation of
data base, dissemination and analysis
Demonstrate reduce
water use and
increased wealth
DecisionMaking
IMPLEMENTATION METHODOLOGY Habitation,
Hydrologic unit
level
Gender
Equity
Democratic
institution
Water as Common
Property Resource
Participatory
Hydrologic
Monitoring
Crop Water
Balance
Link water
availability to
water use for
agriculture
Farmer
Water
Schools
Demystify science
7. Data Collection Network
4333 farmer volunteers (men and
women) collect data regularly from
• 190 rain gauge stations (every 5 sq
kms)
• Groundwater levels form 2109
monitoring wells (every sq km)
• well discharge measurement from
969 monitoring wells
• Surface flow from 63 flow gauging
stations
• Groundwater quality from 300
drinking water source (seasonal)
• Data organized as Computerized
data base
• Data sharing with Government and
institutions
8. Data validation
Data collection conform to
standard protocols accepted
for the different
parameters
Data recorded in log books
and made available for
regular validation check
Real time data shared with
entire community using
display boards
Data Analyzed by
community for computing
water balance for planning
the appropriate crops
9. People’s Institutions
• Multi layer inclusive institution (638-GMC, 63-HUN) run the programme on
their own supported by 9 NGO’s
– Ground water Management Committee (GMC) operate at the Habitation
level with membership of men and women farmers
– GMC’s within a hydrological boundary federated to form Hydrological
Unit Network (HUN)
– HUN’s provided with legal cover (registered under societies act) to
receive funds and implement the project on their own
– HUN’s receive funds from NGO’s and transact all business independently
– Furnish monthly reports, annual balance sheet and develop vision
document
– Institutions ensure farmers overcome selfish interests and work towards
common goal
– Institutions consolidate individual views, develop common perspective
towards handling groundwater distress collectively
– Institutions tap government schemes related to water savings and inputs
for agriculture
10. Crop Water Budget (CWB)
• Crop Water Budget (CWB) exercise carried out annually for individual
Hydrological Units.
• Farmers make information out of the data collected for planning the cropping
system
• Quantify amount of groundwater that can be safely pumped
• Assess risks associated with high water consuming crops
• Set framework for adoption of appropriate crop plan without sacrifices
• Identify opportunities for water savings and improving crop water efficiency
• Link with government schemes for tapping investments for improved crop
water efficiency
11. falling
water levels
seasonal
Drying of
wells
Poor pump
efficiency
groundwater
pumping
far more
than
recharge
Managedepletion
Reduceddeclinein47HU
Results of Pro-active Management of
Groundwater Depletion by Farmers
ImproveWaterUseEfficiency
Diversifycroppingsystem
Reduced pumping
Crop Changes
Water Saving
devices
Check growth of
new wells
Local Governance
ContinuedgroundwaterDepletionin58HU
12. Restraint in groundwater pumping
Groundwater pumping for agricultural use significantly controlled over the four years
15. Quantification of Water Savings
Water savings
through devices
and efficient
irrigation
32 MCM
Efficient paddy /
reduction in
paddy area
53 MCM
16. • Community successfully
restricted the construction
of bore-wells that are not
critical
• Improved Efficiency of pump
performance
• Prevented usage of in-
efficient bore-wells
• Rejuvenated abandoned open
dug wells
• Increased groundwater
recharge at Hydrologic Unit
level
Number of Active Pumping Borewells
21500
22000
22500
23000
23500
24000
24500
25000
2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
Year
NoofWells
Check Growth of new wells
17. Dissemination of Project Learning's
• Regular Learning Workshop on
Demand Side Groundwater
Management
• Participants include Government
Officers, Programme Managers of
International Agencies, NGO’s,
Government Project Staff and
farmers
• Visitors from Central, State
agencies, Bi-Lateral, International
Projects, students and bureaucrats
• Training Faculty largely farmers ,
facilitators, village co-coordinators
supported by project staff.
20. Relevance of APFAMGS learning’s
– Alternative model for managing groundwater distress through
community empowerment with knowledge and skills.
– Implementation limited to parts of 7 districts in Andhra
Pradesh, has however reached to number of districts through
other programmes of State Governments.
– Concept can be safely adopted for managing all natural
resources and addressing the issue of climate change
– Offers a good model for CGWB planning to take water balance
estimation at micro-basin level for the entire country (large
scope for community participation, large area coverge and
substantial cost reduction)
– FAO-APFAMGS fully equipped to help design programmes,
collaborate with government agencies in implementation and
offer trainings.
