Watershed & Water Resources Development

Watershed and water resources development remains one of the core activities in ASA's strategy to develop rural livelihoods. Rural livelihoods in ASA's operational areas remain intrinsically linked to natural resources with livelihood insecurity commonly a result of degradation or improper management of these resources. ASA's multi-disciplinary and integrated approach therefore is based on the premise that the most significant opportunity for livelihood enhancement in these contexts exists in the restoration and management of the available natural resources – land, water and vegetation Through its watershed and water resources development interventions, ASA aims to tackle the issues of lack of irrigation, part failure of monsoon and low agricultural productivity as a result of poor land productivity. This is being done through regeneration of the ecological basis of the watershed, including activities to promote control of soil erosion, accelerated groundwater recharge, and in-situ conservation and harvesting of water.

Micro Irrigation

This mainly comprises of group and individual dugwells activity and group based lift irrigation scheme. The aim is to optimize the use of water which has resulted from watershed and water resources development activities.

Participatory Irrigation Management

Particpatory Irrigation Management is an effort to promote a partnership-based relationship between the government and the farmer. It is expected that such an approach will bring about greater involvement of farmers in canal irrigation management, which in turn will help ensure reliable and equitable distribution of water supply upto the tail end, while at the same time improving recovery of water charges, required for maintenance and upkeep of the system. The objective is: Involvement of farmers in all aspects and levels of irrigation management Ensuring and improving water delivery to all farmers Increasing per unit productivity of available irrigation water Building the capacity of the farmers' organization for system management Improvement and modernization of the existing system to achieve full potential of the resources.

Participatory Varietal Selection and Promotion (PVSP)

PVSP is one of the central interventions under the productivity enhancement activities. Seeds of improved varieties of crop can increase the production levels significantly. The adoption of new varieties is still not a common practice among farmers, especially in resource poor areas which is dominated by small and marginal farmers. The number of new varieties grown is small and the most used varieties are mostly local, occupy sometimes nearly hundred percent of the area. Widely grown old varieties (age of these varieties is over 15-20 years) are not only low yielding, but also vulnerable to pests and diseases due to improper preservation, mono culture and because of decay in genetic purity over the years. Generally, the rate also very low. In Participatory Varietal Selection and Promotion methodology or PVSP, a method ASA has pioneered in India over the last ten years, intends to understand the felt and perceived needs of the farmers for suitable crop varieties and allow them to test, identify, and adopt/spread the suitable “farmer preferred” varieties from a “basket of choices” provided to them.

Farmers' Field School

Most significant amongst the numerous activities ASA has undertaken through Agriculture productivity enhancement is the development of Farmers' Field Schools (FFS).The purpose is the extension of technologies through a participatory & trickle down approach along with grooming of local group leaders for future extension. FFS is basically a virtual school in-situ where the farmers are given hands-on training on various productivity enhancement technologies with primary focus on learning by doing. The FFS includes on-farm trials and demonstration, training and exposure of farmers, field day, etc. The objective here is to expose farmers on various agriculture technologies, test and validate them under their own management conditions so as to improve adoption of technologies by the farmers.

Specifically under the FFS the technologies that will be introduced, validated and promoted are mostly the factors responsible for low productivity of that particular area like (a) introducing new crop varieties , (b) Integrated Nutrient Management, (c) Integrated Pest Management, (c) reducing household level risk by taking up mixed cropping, (d) Balanced Fertilisers Application, (e) Soil health management-application of vermicompost /organic manure, (f) Crop rotation, and various other small but crucial agronomic practices. The FFS would concentrate on the major crops of the area with emphasis on crop change for cash crop. As stated above that one of the major objectives of the FFS will be the refinement of the technologies to suit to the local conditions and to the requirement of various socio-economic categories of farmers. In a way the FFS would enlarge the basket of choices of technologies to the farmers.

System of Rice Intensification

Systems for rice intensification or SRI is a methodology rather than a technology, in which the management of soil, water, plant and nutrients is altered for greater root growth and nurturing microbial diversity resulting in healthier soil and plant conditions. In SRI, practices like seed rate, method of raising of seedlings in nursery, transplantation, control of water in the main field, weeding/hoeing are modified to ensure higher ratios of tillers to mother seedling, increased number of effective tillers/hill, enhanced panicle length and bolder grains, or in short enhanced yield of paddy.

SRI talks about change in package of practices of paddy cultivation. The intervention aims the productivity enhancement as well as reducing the risk factor associated with production system particularly for the resource poor areas & beneficiaries with low land holdings.

Common Pool Resource Management

ASA has identified common grassland development as a priority livelihoods issue, and has been taking action through organising community around barren common land and putting it into a management practice through social protection .