Creating a climate for smart farming

A Deutsche Bank-Tata Trusts collaboration is enabling a sisterhood of farmers in Rajasthan’s Dausa district find their feet and their place in the world

Dausa district in Rajasthan falls in the semiarid eastern plains of the state and is characterised by an agriculture-dependent economy. That comes with a chunk of problems: landholding sizes decreasing over successive generations, ever-depleting groundwater resources, and the increasing cost of electricity for irrigation and to draw water through borewells.

With average rainfall in the range of 550-600 mm per year, groundwater is the only source of irrigation for farmers seeking a second crop. The electricity expenses involved are daunting, as also the infrequency of supply. When there is no electricity during the day, farmers stay up nights to operate the pumps and regulate the water flow. Too much water, or too little, could harm the crops.

There was another problem: a crop killer called white grub. This pest attacks the roots of plants and eats them from the bottom up. Relentless and difficult to contain, white grub has been a widespread menace in Dausa.

Groundnuts, largely grown in the monsoon season and, therefore, requiring less of borewell irrigation, is a profitable cash crop in the region, but this was getting affected due to the white grub peril. That forced farmers to give up on groundnuts and shift to less remunerative crops such as bajra (pearl millet). Worse, some farmers were letting their land go fallow. That would change.

In 2023, the Centre for microFinance (CmF), an associate organisation of the Tata Trusts, introduced a climate-smart agriculture programme for local farmers, focusing on water security and agriculture. This three-year initiative is supported by Deutsche Bank and is expected to benefit an exclusive sisterhood of at least 3,000, all of them women farmers from Dausa.

Sustainability of the environment and sustainability of income for the women farmers are the objectives here, says Malika Srivastava, regional manager with the Tata Trusts. “In the context of environment sustainability, the Tata Trusts have been focusing on climate-smart agriculture across many geographies. In Dausa the programme is designed to help women farmers adopt produce-enhancing technologies while also reducing the use of chemical fertilisers.”

The majority of Dausa’s farmers own about one hectare of agricultural land, so it is imperative to nourish the land and maximise output. In the mix to achieve this are micro-irrigation systems; biogas units in homes to provide safe and clean fuel for cooking; biogas slurry as high-quality organic fertiliser; and a package of practices that farmers are educated about.

Weathering the water challenge

Overcoming the water shortage challenge is one of the key elements of the initiative. Secure that and increases in agricultural yield and, consequently, household incomes are guaranteed. There’s more to it. The water table in Dausa’s Lalsot region is reportedly dropping by 10 feet every year. By introducing sprinklers the farmers already use 30-40% less water than previously.

Ravita Devi, a farmer from Suratpura village in Lalsot, says her sprinkler systems and home-based biogas unit have been a boon. “Earlier, when we irriga ted ourfields by flooding them, we would have to channel the water through large plastic pipes,” she says. “That meant physically carrying these heavy pipes to the field, setting them up and connecting them to an electric pump that would draw water from the ground.” Not only was this backbreaking work, it also required high maintenance. The sprinkler system has eased Ms Ravita’s burden.

As has the biogas unit installed in her home, one of about 100 that have been set up by CmF in the area. These units, which come with a biodigester reactor and an attached stove, generate cooking gas from dung cakes and organic waste. Households like Ms Ravita’s that used to buy LPG cylinders for cooking no longer require those. “I needed a new LPG cylinder once every two months, or sooner if we had guests over,” says Ms Ravita. “Now all our cooking is done using the biogas unit (though I keep an LPG cylinder for emergencies).”

The biogas unit, when operated, produces a slurry that can be used as a fertiliser for crops. Earlier, farmers used mainly chemical fertilisers, which were not only expensive but also compromised soil quality over time. Now they employ the slurry, a natural fertiliser, to improve the quality of crops as well as soil health.

As an experiment, Ms Ravita decided to use the slurry on a small portion of her field, while another was reinforced with chemical fertilisers. “I could actually see the difference; there was a noticeable improvement in the crops that had been nourished with the slurry.”

Practices such as seed treatment and using yellow sticky traps (pheromone traps) to determine infestation levels have led to a reduction in the use of cost-heavy and health-harming insecticides. Cutting costs in the process has helped Ms Ravita up her income to about 83,000 a year.

Shital Devi of Salagrampura village, also in Lalsot, says she is grateful to learn new farming techniques. Her large family — husband, two children and in-laws — once subsisted on mustard, wheat and pearl millet. Ms Shital wanted to grow groundnuts and vegetables, but just couldn’t manage it. Then, at a farmer meeting hosted by CmF, she got to know about trellis gardening (growing vegetables vertically on a frame), how and where to purchase better seeds and cast them correctly, and about micro-irrigation systems.

“I couldn’t grow the crops I wanted to because of the water issue,” says Ms Shital, “but now, with a sprinkler in my field, I’m planning to start cultivating groundnuts. Next year I’ll have a drip-irrigation system as well and I’m sure growing vegetables will become a lot easier.” With better water management and more lucrative produce, Ms Shital’s annual household income has increased by almost 20,000.

Fuelling income rise

“On average, households adopting these measures have seen their annual incomes go up by between 20,000 and 40,000,” says Himadri Banerjee, manager, livelihood programmes, at CmF.

Linking farmers to the market is an important part of the programme. “If we can get farmers to practice climate-resilient farming using less harmful pesticides and more biomicrobial inputs, then we also have to help them with market linkages,” says Ms Srivastava.

In October 2023, the women farmers were supported to set up their own farmer producer company, called the Lalsot Krishijivi Agri Producer Company Limited (LKAPCL). It has 480 women members who are shareholders and is managed by an all-women board of directors. LKAPCL’s mandate includes furthering the cause of climate-smart agriculture by bringing more women farmers into the fold, enabling the procurement of farm produce and finding new markets that offer better prices.

Money to count on

Ms Shital, a member of the LKAPCL board, says this has been a helpful initiative. “Earlier, our husbands or other male members of the family would take the produce to the market and sell it,” she says. “We never knew how much we made because they handled all the money. Today we buy the produce from women farmers at a fair price or connect them to more lucrative markets. We not only grow our own crops but also sell them ourselves, which gives us some control over our finances.”

To ensure that members have a stake and sense of ownership, LKAPCL encourages its women farmers to contribute about 20% of the costs of every initiative they undertake. To supplement member incomes, LKAPCL has — with support from Deutsche Bank — set up an oil-press machine that processes mustard into oil (there are plans to expand to groundnut oil in the future). It has also set up a phosphate-rich organic manure production unit to produce bio-fertilisers.

The outcomes are positive. “Our recommended agricultural practices have been adopted by more than 800 women farmers,” says Mr Banerjee. “This integration of agritech with traditional farming methods has led to a 20-25% increase in productivity.” That includes a 20-25% increase in oilseed and vegetable production and a 10% increase in pulses. Micro-irrigation has also led to a considerable reduction in water use.

In its first year the programme has reached more than 1,700 households — well above the target of 1,000 — across 30 villages. “We have had great success,” says Mr Banerjee. “We have provided solutions to the most basic of challenges faced by the local farmers.” As Ms Ravita adds, “Now everyone wants to sign on.”